Maiden flight of ‘Saras’ successful
May 29, 2004 09:49 IST
Last Updated: May 29, 2004 10:10 IST
The first prototype of India’s indigenous civilian aircraft, Saras, had a successful maiden flight in Bangalore early on Saturday.
“It was a good flight,” B R Pai, Director, National Aerospace Laboratories, which has designed and developed the aircraft, told PTI.
The aircraft took off from the HAL airport and flew for about 30 minutes.
Saras was scheduled to make its maiden flight on Friday but it was put off by a day.
The Bangalore-based NAL has designed and developed the 14-seater multi-role aircraft for use as an executive jet and
for courier, reconnaissance and commuter roles.
The twin turbo-prop aircraft was flown by Sq Ldr K K Venugopal.
The prototype, powered by two American Pratt and Whitney engines, weighs 5,118 kg, about 900 kg heavier than its
desired empty weight of 4,125 kg, and is equipped with five seats, including one for the pilot and an observer.
Two prototypes of Saras have to be flown for a total of 500 hours before it receives the Directorate General of Civil Aviation certification.
The Rs 150 crore Saras project named after the Indian crane, began in 1991 but was stalled due to denial of critical components following US sanctions imposed in the wake of the Pokhran nuclear tests in 1998.
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no pics available yet but ill post them asap… im so freegin happy right now! 😀
source: http://in.rediff.com/news/2004/may/29saras.htm
By: KabirT - 31st May 2004 at 02:47
kabir, I wasn’t inferring that Embraer/CNA (thanks robbelc) has anything to do with the production or design of the Saras, just that the layout was similar. It’s a great looking aircraft. I hope it does well.
oh alright Neil…. i think India should market this aircraft in the third world well, it does have potential.
By: omohat - 30th May 2004 at 14:27
umm that was Sasser not Saras….and Saras in Hindi is a bird, a crane.
I think he meants SARS 😉
By: MSR777 - 30th May 2004 at 12:34
kabir, I wasn’t inferring that Embraer/CNA (thanks robbelc) has anything to do with the production or design of the Saras, just that the layout was similar. It’s a great looking aircraft. I hope it does well.
By: Bmused55 - 30th May 2004 at 10:56
I have some videos but I can’t post them here as they are to large. They are:
-Air France Concorde Final Landing
-Difficuilt Landing at Portugal (Its a must see!)
-DC-8 Aborts Landing, almost a crash!
-Tu144 CrashJust post me your e-mail below and I will send them. If you prefer not to post your e-mail below, PM me.
NCLRULES
p.s I will soon have the Concorde story if anyone wants it, PM me aswell.
And what has this got to do with this thread?
By: Bmused55 - 30th May 2004 at 10:38
Looks like a mish mash of the Embraer 120 fuse and tail, EMB 145 wing and Learjet flightdeck windows.
IMO, it also looks a bit cumbersome to me with those push propellors.
But thats just me. A brilliant achievement none the less
I agree with Mark L, the name does sound a lot like SARS.
I know the meaning behind the name SARAS, but perhaps some discretion is advised.
By: KabirT - 30th May 2004 at 03:34
Does anyone else think that SARAS is not a very good name considering the similar name of the superbug that infected that approximate region fairly recently?
umm that was Sasser not Saras….and Saras in Hindi is a bird, a crane.
This project had nothing to do with Embraer and the project with Embraer wont take off the ground anytime soon. Altough the project with Russia to make the SU 12 might get underway in the near future.
By: andrewm - 29th May 2004 at 15:23
Would agree with MarkL on the name but I think tht is one very sleek looking sexy aircraft!
By: Mark L - 29th May 2004 at 13:51
Does anyone else think that SARAS is not a very good name considering the similar name of the superbug that infected that approximate region fairly recently?
By: Distiller - 29th May 2004 at 13:49
…..
By: robbelc - 29th May 2004 at 13:35
Yes vety much looks like the CBA-123 produced by Embraer in the early 90’s. It was abandones whey the 145 came along.
By: MSR777 - 29th May 2004 at 10:43
Nice one kabir, I honestly thought that the project had died. Wasn’t there an Embraer/Argentinian design of similar layout? Look foreward to some pics when available.
By: Airline owner - 29th May 2004 at 09:05
this will be good i suppose if it gets good interest from worldwide commuter airlines and good for India’s economy.
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May 29, 2004 at 6:48 am