April - August 2003

LCA is now Tejas

!

Tejas goes supersonic

!

The flight of the Silver Bat

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Aeronautical Society of India
13-B Indraprastha Estate

Monthly Newsletter from

Aeronautical Society of India

New Delhi 110 002, India.

Phone: 91-011-23370516

Vol: 2, No: 4-8, Apr-Aug 2003

Fax: 91-011-23370768

Roddam Narasimha

E-mail: aerosoc@bol.net.in
www.aesi.org

Chief Editor
Dr Srinivas Bhogle, NAL
Feature Editors
Dr R Balasubramaniam,
Editor, AeSI Journal
(Technology).
Prof K Sudhakar, IIT,
Mumbai (Academics)
Prof P R Mahapatra,
IISc, (Student Activities)
Gp Capt HC Bhatia (retd)
Secretary (Admn) (HO
and Branch Activities)
Mr Ajay Kumar, Secretary,
AR&DB (AR&DB)
Mr V P Mathur, HAL,
Bangalore (Industry)
Mr Devanandham Henry,
ADA (ADA)
Ms R Swarnalatha, NAL
(NAL)
Mr Shivanandan, Jet
Airways (Airlines)
Mr Lalit Gupta, DGCA
(DGCA/AAI)
Mr B H Malkani, Max
Aerospace & Aviation
Ltd. (Mumbai Centre)
Mr Janardhana, VSSC
(Space)
AM S K Jain AVSM,
VSM, HQ, TC, IAF,
Bangalore (Armed
Forces)
Design Editor
Mr A S Rajasekar, NAL

Not long ago, Aerospace America noted in a

review of Asian aerospace that India is
emerging as the regions most powerful aircraft
manufacturing nation. The widely read US
weekly, Aviation Week and Space Technology,
lauded India for running its successful space
programme on a shoe-string budget. So, has
India arrived on the global aerospace scene?
Not quite yet, I am afraid, but few realize how
close we are. Watching Aero India 2003 held
so professionally in Bangalore, and the visibly
increasing presence of Indian aerospace
products there and everywhere, one cannot
avoid the thought that Indian aerospace is far
more mature than many think.
The breadth of Indias
aerospace
programmes HAL has
produced 23 types of
aircraft, including 11
Indian designs, Dhruv
is matchless in its
class, the LCA (now
Tejas) is likely to be
the most affordable
high performance
supersonic fighter,
SARAS is getting
ready to fly, HJT-36 is
projected to enter
service in 2005,
ISROs PSLV is now a
reliable workhorse
would be remarkable
anywhere in the
Chief Editors note

China has bigger

missiles and
launch vehicles,
Brazil has a more
vigorous civil
aircraft industry,
Israelis have
some fancy
technologies, but
none of these
covers as broad a
spectrum as
India.

world. China has bigger missiles and launch

vehicles, Brazil has a more vigorous civil aircraft
industry, Israelis have some fancy technologies,
but none of these covers as broad a spectrum
as India.
Indian aeronautical programmes have, of
course, usually taken very much longer than
projected for a variety of reasons. But the net
result of this long drawn-out process has been
that we find ourselves now with an unusually
sound base of research, development, design
and manufacture in the country. Indian
capabilities, like Indian products, are now truly
spread across the board.
Almost all the ingredients needed for a boom
are therefore now in place. This boom, however,
cannot happen without the will of the State.
R&D and industry have also to be able to define
projects with development times of the order
of five to eight years. Such time frames require
a totally different kind of decision-making
process, and would have to involve private
enterprise within India and in some cases,
abroad. Indian aerospace products now have
no global brand equity and the best way to
acquire it quickly is to team up with
international companies that already have it.
We require more Indo-X products, where X
can be a suitable brand owner from elsewhere
in the world. From this point of view the
BrahMos cruise missile and the avionics and
marketing agreement between HAL and Israel
Aircraft Industries seem to be the right
directions to pursue.

Copies of AVIA in sufficient numbers will now be transferred to all branches. Members can

pick up their AVIA copy from the Societys Branch offices. The newsletter is also available online at www.aesi.org or
www.nal.res.in or http://www.casde.iitb.ac.in/we-also/.

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L CA is no
wT
ejas
now
Tejas
The Prime Minister Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee
named the light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas
on 4 May 2003 at Bangalore. In a truly
memorable function the TD1 and TD2 flew
in formation, piloted by Gp. Capt R K S
Bhadauria and Sqd Ldr Suneet Krishna
respectively. The PV1 aircraft was also rolled
out. /Devanandham Henry

Tejas goes super

sonic
supersonic
School Outr
each
Outreach
Pr
ogramme
Programme
I gave a presentation
to the students and
staff of classes IX and
X of The Bishops
School, here in Pune,
on Monday, 30 June
2003. There were
about 485 boys and
teachers present and
the presentation was
very well received.
However, I do feel that
it was too large a
crowd and personal
interaction was not
possible. I would think
that the ideal size
would be around 150.
I also showed a clip of
an IAF film that I had
been able to lay hands
on. The clip was a
great hit.

An
important
milestone of the
Tejas aircraft flight
test programme was
achieved on 1
August 2003 when
the TD-1 aircraft,
piloted by Wg Cdr
Vikram Singh, flew
at a speed greater
than the speed of
sound (Mach 1.0).
The aircraft reached 1.08 Mach at an altitude
of 11 km. This was the 33rd flight of the Tejas
TD-1 aircraft.
Five days later, on 5 August 2003, during its
34th flight, the Tejas TD-1 aircraft, this time
flown by Gp Capt R K S Bhadauria, again
reached 1.15 Mach at 11 km altitude.
During supersonic flight, the unstable (at
subsonic speeds) aerodynamic configu-ration
becomes stable. The air data probes, that
sense air pressure and indicate aircraft speed
and height, face a significant change in the
flow field and pressures at supersonic speeds

Air Marshal S S
Ramdas.

The A
gr
a meeting
Agr
gra

Next month: Sonal

Gopujkar on how she
got hooked to the
School Outreach
programme.

The 181st Council Meeting of the Societys

Governing Council was held on 26 July 2003
at ADRDE, Agra. Mr N R Mohanty, President
of the Society, chaired the meeting. A number
of issues concerning policies, promotional
activities like Air Race India-2003, the criteria

due to the formation of shocks.

The aircraft air-intake also faces a stern test
at supersonic speeds: it must give a good
performance and ensure that supersonic buzz
does not occur. Other challenges are posed
by the drag of the aircraft; drag increases
sharply at supersonic speeds and the aircraft
requires much more thrust to overcome this
air resistance. The aircraft structure must also
be flutter safe at supersonic speeds.
After completing 61 safe test flights, the Tejas
TD-2 aircraft is an being upgraded to enable
it to operate in an expanded flight envelope. /DH

for the Associate Membership examination

and plans for the forthcoming AGM at
Bangalore came up for discussion. It was also
decided that AVIA will henceforth have its
e-avtaar; the newsletter will be posted on the
Societys website.

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We started very well

Dr S R Valluri on Indian aeronautics
in the 1950s and 1960s.

Indian aeronautics had a flying start in the years

immediately after Independence.
Actually even a little before Independence
during World War II when the Government
of India took over Hindustan Aircraft Limited
(HAL), from the Mysore Government and
Walchand Industries. HAL became a repair base
for the South East Asia Command during the
War and, when the War ended, started
converting war surplus DC 3 aircraft for
commercial aviation. These planes became a
part of the Indian Airlines fleet.

Srinivas Bhogle, Chief

Editor, in conversation
with Dr S R Valluri. Dr
Va l l u r i
D i r e c t o r,

who
NAL

was

What about military aircraft?

HAL was also producing a number of military
aircraft and engines but only in the licence
production mode. The first indigenous
technology development effort happened only
in the late 1950s.

The HF 24?
Thats right. Dr Kurt Tank, a German designer,
and his group of designers of the HAL Design
Bureau, developed the HF 24 (or Marut, as it
was called). It was quite a special project India
was trying to come to grips with the design and
development of a fighter aircraft for the first

Why, what went wrong?

from

1965-1984, was the

President of the Society
in 1977.

When did indigenous civil aircraft development

start?
I think the beginnings were made with the
appointment of Dr V M Ghatage as HALs chief
designer. Ghatages team developed the HT2
trainer. The trainer was even productionised.
That was a wonderful early effort.

time! Maruts aerodynamic design concepts

were comparable to those of the developed
world, but it failed to achieve its design
supersonic performance because the engine
around which it was designed was not
eventually available.

Perhaps the
single greatest
contribution to
Indian aeronautics
came from Air
Chief Marshal
Latif. His decision
to support an
indigenous fighter
aircraft
development
programme
completely turned
things around.

Its quite a long story. The idea was that HF-24

would use a reheat version of Bristol Siddleys
Orpheus 703. Bristol Siddley, at that point of
time, was offering this version both to India and
the NATO countries. But NATO unexpectedly
dropped their project. Bristol Siddley then
offered to develop the reheat version for India
at a cost of Rs 5 crores. The offer was rejected.
This was a serious blunder.

What were the positives from this experience?

The HF-24 development highlighted the
importance of a strong R&D base in
aeronautics. This experience resulted in the
creation of NAL, GTRE and ADE around 195960. Soon there after, based on the
recommendations (1964) of a committee led
by Dr Satish Dhawan, all the IITs created
Departments of Aeronautical Engineering
offering both teaching and research
programmes in aeronautics. These
developments considerably strengthened
Indias aeronautical base.

There was also much excitement when the

Subramaniam Committee was established in
1969-70 to review Indian aeronautics.
Yes, indeed, and with good reason. Mr C

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Subramaniam was a truly outstanding Indian

leader and thinker. Recognising the importance
of creating a strong aeronautics base in the
country, the Committee recommended, among
other things, the creation of an Aeronautics
Research & Development Board (AR&DB). The
AR&DB was set up in 1971 and continues to be
active. Even in its early years the AR&DB could
sanction funds up to Rs 2 crores every year.
This wasnt a small amount; but it wasnt very
large either certainly insufficient for a major
national thrust in aeronautics.

So that was a bit of a lull.

You could say so. Although there was one last
hurrah: the HJT-16 (Kiran), Indias first and truly

indigenous jet trainer, successfully entered into

production at about the time the Subramaniam
recommendations were presented.

What was it like in the 1970s?

Mr C Subramaniam was a
truly outstanding
Indian leader and
thinker.

It was a trying period because the IAF didnt

have enough confidence in the Indian industry;
neither was the climate sufficiently conducive
for industry and R&D to work together.
Fortunately Air Chief Marshal I H Latif
intervened decisively to eventually break the
impasse. A major change in the situation
developed after he strongly supported the
decision to build an indigenous fighter aircraft.
The LCA programme eventually went on to
integrate the IAF, industry and R&D labs .

Tw o ne
w pr
omotional activities
new
promotional
The Governing Council of the Society has
approved two more promotional activities
a national aero quiz and an aviation photo
exhibition as part of the centenary
celebrations of manned flight. The Chandigarh
Branch would be the nodal agency for both
these activities.

While editing a page

for a project document
in MS Word, I initiated
a spellcheck on a para
that contained the
sentence Then by
integrating these
structural components
along with rear
fuselage, the dynamic
analysis of SARAS
empennage is carried
out, MS Word
helpfully suggested:
.........the dynamic
analysis of SARAs
empennage is.....
R Swarnalatha

The national aero quiz will generate

interest and awareness on aeronautics and
aviation among school children. The
preliminary rounds will be organised by all
the Branches at their respective locations
during August-September 2003. The two
semifinals and the final will be held at

Chandigarh. The Society will bear the travel

and lodging expenses of the participating
team members.
The aviation photo exhibition is also targeted
at school and college students. The exhibition
will be organized at every branch city for 2-3
days, starting end- October 2003.
We welcome suggestions telling us how to
make the two events more informative and
interesting. Please contact Wg Cdr H C
Chaudhary, Honorary Secretary, AeSI
Chandigarh Branch (tel: 0172-659434, email: aerosoc@sify.com).

Str
at
ospheric air
ships
Strat
atospheric
airships
A presentation titled Stratospheric airships
for defence and civil applications by Lt. Gen.
James A Abrahamson, formerly of the US Air
Force and now the Chairman and CEO of
Stracom International, USA was organized by
the Delhi Branch on 19 July 2003.
In his presentation, Gen Abrahamson discussed the basic principles of airships, explained

their merits over other platforms like aircraft

and satellites and discussed the applications
of airships both in the civil and defence sectors.
The presentation was well prepared and
evoked a very encouraging response from the
audience. Mr K V S S Prasad Rao, Distinguished Scientist and Chief Controller (R&D),
DRDO presided over the function.

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AGM o
anch
off Delhi Br
Branch
The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the
Delhi Branch of Aeronautical Society of India
was held on 12 April 2003 under the
Chairmanship of Mr Satinder Singh. Besides
reviewing the working of the Branch in the
preceding year, the audit report for 2002-03
was passed, and a new Executive Committee
was elected. Mr Ajai Kumar, Director of
Aeronautics, DRDO, was elected Chairman,
AVM Rajkumar and Prof G S Bhatura were
elected Vice Chairmen. The AGM also
nominated Mr H S Khola and Air Marshal A

V Patkar as advisors to the Executive

Committee. Mr O P Sharma and Mr Lalit Gupta
were re-elected Hon. Secretary and Hon.
Treasurer respectively.
On this occasion, the Branch had also
organized two important lectures. Mr Jerry
Wilmot and Ms Heather Beeby of BAe Systems
spoke on Air Traffic Management and Capt
D V Singh, Director, Flight Safety, Indian
Airlines, spoke on Pilots Perspective on
Safely Management at Airports.

Ne
w corpor
ate member
New
corporate
memberss

New Fellows of the Society

The following new establishments have

joined as Corporate Members of the
Society.

The following members were elected Fellows of the

Society on 12 May 2003.
Mr A S Reddy, Additional General Manager (QC
Dept), HAL, Koraput. A graduate from Osmania
University and post-graduate from IIT, Kharagpur, Mr
Reddy specialises in design, development and defect
investigations of aero-engine components and
systems.
"

BAeHAL Software Ltd., Bangalore. The

company specialises in simulation, ERP and
multimedia software. It is also involved in
content creation.
"

VEM Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad.

The company specialises in solutions for
strategic applications.
"

Hi-Tec Systems, Inc, Gurgaon. A

subsidiary of Hi-Tech Systems Inc. USA,
specialises in CNS/ATM, aviation safely and
IT.
"

Address for
correspondence:
Aeronautical Society of
India, New Thippasandra

Taj Air Ltd, Mumbai. The company is a

nonscheduled air transportation service
provider.
"

Fax: 91-080-5297159

Graphic designer:
Vaishali Vinay

ECIL Hyderabad. The company

specialises in design and manufacturing of
electronic systems, including airborne
applications.
"

United Technologies International

Operations, Mumbai represents United
Technologies Inc. and its Pratt & Whitney
Division in the country.
"

Circulation and
logistic support:
J Vinayagam
Chandrika R Krishnan.

Mr Lalit Gupta, Deputy Director, DirectorateGeneral of Civil Aviation, is actively involved in the
type certification of the HPT-32, Dhruv and SARAS
aircraft. He specialises in aircraft investigation and
has authored a number of books including Advanced
Composite Materials.
"

Mr Ravi Menon, Director, Air Works India Engg.

Pvt Ltd. Mumbai the largest aircraft maintenance
organisation in the private sector that maintains 24
different types of aircraft. Mr Ravi Menon is also Vice
Chairman of the Societys Mumbai Branch and a
member of its Governing Council.
"

Post, Bangalore 560075.

Phone: 91-080-5273851

Air Cmde Sajjad Rahim, VSM. A graduate of

Defence Services Staff College and a post-graduate
in aerospace engineering, he specialises in high
explosive weapons.
"

Prof E Rathakrishnan, academician and faculty

member of IIT, Kanpur. He is also the recipient of
the Excellence in Aerospace Education Award
for the year 2002.
"

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The flight o
er Bat
off the Silv
Silver
19 March 2003 was a day with clear skies in Bangalore
despite the previous evenings rain. On the far side of Jakkur
airfield at 6.30 in the morning a crowd of almost 30 persons
had gathered. The group included Mr N R Mohanty,
Chairman, HAL (and President, Aeronautical Society of
India) and his colleagues, Dr B R Pai, Director, NAL, Lt.
Gen. V J Sundaram, Prof. S P Govindaraju and his team
from IISc and a number of aviation enthusiasts.
In the midst of this group was a person holding a strange
looking contraption. This object had a pair of bat-like wings
with a span of about 4.5ft covered in thin silver coloured
foil with a rudder and elevator at the back mounted on a
slim fuselage. While every one looked on, a tiny switch on
this contraption was turned on and it was launched by hand.
To the sheer amazement of the audience, the model began
beating its wings just like a bird and started flying! After a
brief flight, it glided back to land. Some trim adjustments
were made and the model was off once again flying in
circles, soaring up and swooping down. The flight was so
realistic that immediately a pair of kites began following
the Silver Bat!
This strange model is the creation of Mr K Nanda Kumar, a
35 year old aviation enthusiast from Chennai. Nanda
Kumars profession involves servicing electronic and
communication equipment in ships. His original hobby was
to operate an amateur radio, but, about five years ago,
Nanda Kumar got bored of it and switched his attention to
building and flying radio control airplane models with help
from Mr Sridhar of Chennai. It was while watching a feature
on the National Geographic TV channel that Nanda Kumar
came to know about ornithopters - machines that fly by
beating their wings and started dreaming of building
one himself.

Vital statistics of the Silver Bat

Wing Span
Total weight of model
Maximum altitude flown
Maximum endurance so far
Power
Radio

52"
438 g
100 ft.
4 minutes.
Electric motor
Three-channel
(motor speed,
elevator, rudder)

Unlike
the
conventional
radio controlled
airplane models
that use a tiny IC
engine for propulsion, the ornithopter model has an electric
motor and batteries. The motor turns an eccentric crank
through a reduction gearbox to which are attached the wings
through linkages.
There were many trials and
To the sheer
modifications to the design of his
model before Nanda Kumar
amazement of the
achieved first success in the form
audience, the
of a mere two-second sustained
flight! However, once the model flew
model began
on its own, refinements came fast beating its wings
the two-second flight stretched to
just like a bird
22 seconds within a few days and
then to a whopping four minutes! and started flying!
Nanda Kumar took almost two
years to perfect his ornithopter involving experi-mentation
with 10 different types of wings, five fuselages, 20 different
varieties of motor and five types of gearbox! Except for the
micro servo actuators, all other components have been totally
built from scratch or extensively modified. For example, small
motors available off the shelf didnt have the necessary power;
so a motor was modified by rewinding the rotor. A gearbox
with the required reduction that would fit within the small
space was not available and Nanda Kumar designed his own
gearbox and got the gears machined and assembled. Even
the tiny radio receiver required for this model was completely
built by him, as these are not available in India and prove to
be very expensive if imported.
Nanda Kumar also used an innovative technique to gauge
the thrust developed by his model. He used the smoke from
lighted incense sticks in a room and by observing the
movement of smoke when the model started flapping its
wings, he could make a comparison of the capabilities of
various configurations.
Needless to say, all this effort has cost him more than
Rs.30,000 that he has spent from his own pocket!

K S Raman
K S Raman, Scientist, NAL, passed away suddenly on 16 July 2003. This
article was received in April 2003.

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