As traffic on the ground clogs arterial roads, a new generation of hybrid machines capable of taking off from the heart of Delhi and landing at Cuffe Parade in Mumbai in half the time it takes to travel the distance by any commercial airline could become a reality in the Indian skies in the years to come.
Performance capabilities
AgustaWestland 609, already booked by five Indian corporate houses, is a certain possibility based on the performance capabilities of the TiltRotor craft.
Giving a presentation on Tilt Rotor technology at an international seminar on Heli Power India-2012 here, Roberto Garavaglia, senior vice-president (Marketing), AgustaWestland, said AW609 would be able to cover the distance between Connaught Place and Cuffe Parade in about two-and-a-half hours.
If one takes into account the time it takes to reach the airport, go through security check-in, boarding process and the flight time of nearly two hours from New Delhi to Mumbai, it amounts to nearly five hours spent on the journey. If a person travels by AW609, the hybrid TiltRotor craft can take off directly and land in Mumbai in around two-and-a-half hours.
The presentation organised by the Rotary Wing Society of India (RWSI) — the nodal agency for helicopter industry in India, was attended, among others, by Sitaram Yechury, Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport Tourism and Culture, S.N.A. Zaidi, Civil Aviation Secretary, E.K. Bharat Bhushan, Director General of Civil Aviation and K. Sridharan, president of RWSI.
Efficient and safe
Mr. Yechury said that civil helicopter operations in the country should be made more efficient and safe .He emphasised the need to impart necessary impetus in order to make the helicopter available for the common good whether it be for emergency medical services or law and order or disaster management.
Huge potential
Dr. Zaidi said though the number of civil helicopters was not enough, the potential was huge and the number was expected to increase in the future. He also mentioned a study commissioned with experts from the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to prepare a road map for the next 15 years for the development of aviation, sea planes and helicopters.
