Test flights of VT-NMD (Narendra Modi Devendra) India’s first experimental aircraft will finally be carried out in December so that it can be certified as airworthy after getting a go-ahead from the civil aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Amol Yadav, a former Jet Airways and now Spicejet pilot, developed the 6-seater aircraft after first setting out to build one in 1998. With India having no history of any individual wanting to fly an experimental aircraft, Mr. Yadav had to face several hurdles after he first displayed the aircraft at the Make in India week in 2016 and which has since been parked in Dhule.
Mr. Yadav who camped at the DGCA headquarters for days on end seeking permission for a test flight said there was a time when he almost gave up and decided to register his aircraft in the U.S., which would have been far more accommodative. The aircraft though ready in 2016 has not officially been tested to fly as the DGCA wanted Mr. Yadav to get a certified landing gear.
“An aircraft registered under experimental category does not really need a certified landing gear. But that is history and it cost me around ₹50 lakh to get the same. It has now been tested at the National Aeronautics Laboratory in Bengaluru,” the 44-year-old said.
Mr. Yadav, who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the weekend in New Delhi said, “I am really happy that he was following the project and invited me to his house. Mr. Modi asked me if my dream has been fulfilled now. It was unexpected for me. He was keen on knowing about my project.”
After his first effort, in 1998, and the subsequent one in 2001, did not yield results, Mr. Yadav made another attempt that led to VT-NMD, which was completely built on the terrace of his home in Mumbai’s Charkop. Apart from the lack of space and paucity of funds, Mr. Yadav said that he had to learn to ignore doubters.
“My wellwishers and friends ridiculed me for attempting to build a plane in a congested house. A few of them thought I had lost my mind. I would only talk about planes and they thought I was crazy to be attempting to build one at home,” he said.
The biggest challenge was the procurement of the basics - the engine and the navigation system. The Yadav family raised money by selling off ancestral jewellery and mortgage his home to import the customised piston engine from the US. It is a 350-horse power engine manufactured by Proformance Unlimited, and Mr. Yadav’s plane falls in the category of the single-engine land air plane — meaning it cannot fly over water.
Mr. Yadav through his Thrust Aircraft Private Ltd has already signed a ₹35,000 crore deal with the Maharashtra government to build over 1,300 aircraft (19-seater) in multiple phases. The MoU was signed at the Magnetic Maharashtra Global Investors Summit in 2018. The project, which also includes several ancillary hubs, will be spread over 157 acres in neighbouring Palghar district.
With the aviation regulator having given a conditional permit to Mr. Yadav to first fly for 10 hours of the required 40 hours flying at below 10,000 feet, his task is now cut out. Come December, VT-NMD will take to the skies and then Mr. Yadav will seek an airworthiness certificate which will not only allow it to fly on a regular basis but also make way for the peoposed 19-seater aircraft.
