They need to go an Gage Repeatabilty tests with atleast 2 platforms with different test pilots to check its consistency which is done over few months or X numbers of sorties before applying for certifications.
Trainer Aircraft of IAF - PC-7, HTT-40, HJT-36, BAE Hawk
- Thread starter Ashwin
- Start date
They need to go an Gage Repeatabilty tests with atleast 2 platforms with different test pilots to check its consistency which is done over few months or X numbers of sorties before applying for certifications.
From HAL Annual report:
HTT – 40 is the Basic Trainer Aircraft (BTA) currently being designed and developed indigenously by the Company. The aircraft would be used for basic flight training, aerobatics, instrument flying and close-formation flights with its secondary roles including navigation and night flying. A total of three prototypes have been built, with two flying prototypes and one Structural Test Specimen (STS).The two flying prototypes are undergoing flight trials with 260 cumulative test flights completed towards certification. The STS ultimate test was completed for ultimate load()165 %)
HTT – 40 completed Stall tests and achieved acceptable stall characteristics. It also completed hot weather, Sea level, Crosswind, Range & Endurance, and Night Flying trials. Aircraft successfully entered and recovered from a two-turn spin using conventional controls in November, 2018. Further spin tests are under progress.
Once certified, the aircraft will ensure the availability of an indigenous platform in this segment. Further with 0-0 ejection seat, the aircraft has better safety features compared to the currently operational imported variant. Being an indigenous product it will also provide greater maintenance support and reduced dependence on exports at a much lower life cycle cost. The customer has evinced interest in the Aircraft and the Company is likely to get future orders once the Aircraft is fully certified.
HTT – 40 is the Basic Trainer Aircraft (BTA) currently being designed and developed indigenously by the Company. The aircraft would be used for basic flight training, aerobatics, instrument flying and close-formation flights with its secondary roles including navigation and night flying. A total of three prototypes have been built, with two flying prototypes and one Structural Test Specimen (STS).The two flying prototypes are undergoing flight trials with 260 cumulative test flights completed towards certification. The STS ultimate test was completed for ultimate load()165 %)
HTT – 40 completed Stall tests and achieved acceptable stall characteristics. It also completed hot weather, Sea level, Crosswind, Range & Endurance, and Night Flying trials. Aircraft successfully entered and recovered from a two-turn spin using conventional controls in November, 2018. Further spin tests are under progress.
Once certified, the aircraft will ensure the availability of an indigenous platform in this segment. Further with 0-0 ejection seat, the aircraft has better safety features compared to the currently operational imported variant. Being an indigenous product it will also provide greater maintenance support and reduced dependence on exports at a much lower life cycle cost. The customer has evinced interest in the Aircraft and the Company is likely to get future orders once the Aircraft is fully certified.
IAF may order 70 basic trainers made by HAL
The HTT-40 is currently undergoing a string of elaborate tests at HAL to demonstrate that it is safe for rookie pilots and meets IAF’s exacting standards for trainer planes. Test pilots have wrapped up intensive flight tests but some brutal trials are yet to be conducted, said a second official.
Updated: Sep 18, 2019 07:43 IST
By Rahul Singh
Hindustan Times, New Delhi
A Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40) aircraft developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) takes part in a test flight in the Indian city of Bangalore in June 17, 2016. IAF is set to send a request for proposal (RFP) to HAL for the indigenous Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40) before the end of the year, senior IAF officers said .(AFP File Photo )
The Indian Air Force (IAF) plans to start the official process within three months for the possible purchase of 70 locally produced basic trainers from state-owned aircraft maker Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), three senior IAF officers said on condition of anonymity.
IAF is set to send a request for proposal (RFP) to HAL for the indigenous Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40) before the end of the year, they added.
“The HTT-40 has entered the final stages of rigourous testing. The air force is optimistic that the trainer will meet its requirements. If all goes well, the RFP will be out by the year-end,” said one of the officials cited above who asked not to be named.
The HTT-40 is currently undergoing a string of elaborate tests at HAL to demonstrate that it is safe for rookie pilots and meets IAF’s exacting standards for trainer planes. Test pilots have wrapped up intensive flight tests but some brutal trials are yet to be conducted, said a second official.
A few days ago, the aircraft successfully completed the six-turn spin (towards the right), recovering from an uncontrolled flight using conventional methods. “The next stage of trials will be critical as it involves testing the HTT-40’s spin behaviour in the left direction, which is far more complicated,” the second official said.
If the remaining tests go smoothly, HAL could begin production by early 2021, said a third official tracking the air force’s modernisation drive. IAF, however, is clear that it does not want a piecemeal delivery of the basic trainers. “We don’t want HAL to deliver the aircraft in ones and twos as that will not meet our training requirements. We would need at least 20 planes to begin training. According to our estimates, it will take HAL around four years to deliver that number,” the third official added.
To facilitate the release of the RFP this year, IAF plans to seek a fresh Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) from the defence acquisition council to pursue the HTT-40 purchase under the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2016 instead of DPP-2008, which currently covers it. “That’s important because under DPP-2008, user trials have to be conducted before the RFP is issued. However, the provisions of DPP-2016 allow the RFP to come before the user trials,” said the second official cited above.
The upcoming RFP may also allow HAL to release around $25 million to upgrade the Honeywell TPE331-12B turboprop engine that powers the basic trainer to extract maximum performance from the aircraft, said the first official. HAL was reluctant to spend on the upgrade unless the order came through.
Rookie pilots in IAF go through a three-stage training involving the Pilatus PC-7 MkII planes, Kiran trainers and finally the Hawk advanced jet trainers before they can fly fighter jets. As the Kirans are approaching the end of their service life, some amount of Stage 2 training is being done on the PC-7.
The defence ministry in July suspended business dealings with Pilatus Aircraft Limited for one year for violation of a pre-contract integrity pact in a ~2,900-crore contract for 75 basic trainers, and also factoring in ongoing Indian investigations against the Swiss plane maker for alleged corruption and irregularities.
The contract included a follow-on purchase of 38 more planes, but the ban means IAF can’t invoke the clause. The order for additional planes could be sourced from HAL, said a fourth IAF official. Experts welcomed IAF’s decision to take the HTT-40 purchase forward. “It’s a big thumps up to indigenisation and the RFP is an indicator that the locally made trainer will meet IAF’s requirements. It is now up to HAL to meet the timelines and provide adequate technical support. It has been found wanting in some of those aspects in the past,” said Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur (retd), additional director general, Centre for Air Power Studies.
IAF may order 70 basic trainers made by HAL
The HTT-40 is currently undergoing a string of elaborate tests at HAL to demonstrate that it is safe for rookie pilots and meets IAF’s exacting standards for trainer planes. Test pilots have wrapped up intensive flight tests but some brutal trials are yet to be conducted, said a second official.
Updated: Sep 18, 2019 07:43 IST
By Rahul Singh
Hindustan Times, New Delhi
The Indian Air Force (IAF) plans to start the official process within three months for the possible purchase of 70 locally produced basic trainers from state-owned aircraft maker Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), three senior IAF officers said on condition of anonymity.
IAF is set to send a request for proposal (RFP) to HAL for the indigenous Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40) before the end of the year, they added.
“The HTT-40 has entered the final stages of rigourous testing. The air force is optimistic that the trainer will meet its requirements. If all goes well, the RFP will be out by the year-end,” said one of the officials cited above who asked not to be named.
The HTT-40 is currently undergoing a string of elaborate tests at HAL to demonstrate that it is safe for rookie pilots and meets IAF’s exacting standards for trainer planes. Test pilots have wrapped up intensive flight tests but some brutal trials are yet to be conducted, said a second official.
A few days ago, the aircraft successfully completed the six-turn spin (towards the right), recovering from an uncontrolled flight using conventional methods. “The next stage of trials will be critical as it involves testing the HTT-40’s spin behaviour in the left direction, which is far more complicated,” the second official said.
If the remaining tests go smoothly, HAL could begin production by early 2021, said a third official tracking the air force’s modernisation drive. IAF, however, is clear that it does not want a piecemeal delivery of the basic trainers. “We don’t want HAL to deliver the aircraft in ones and twos as that will not meet our training requirements. We would need at least 20 planes to begin training. According to our estimates, it will take HAL around four years to deliver that number,” the third official added.
To facilitate the release of the RFP this year, IAF plans to seek a fresh Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) from the defence acquisition council to pursue the HTT-40 purchase under the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2016 instead of DPP-2008, which currently covers it. “That’s important because under DPP-2008, user trials have to be conducted before the RFP is issued. However, the provisions of DPP-2016 allow the RFP to come before the user trials,” said the second official cited above.
The upcoming RFP may also allow HAL to release around $25 million to upgrade the Honeywell TPE331-12B turboprop engine that powers the basic trainer to extract maximum performance from the aircraft, said the first official. HAL was reluctant to spend on the upgrade unless the order came through.
Rookie pilots in IAF go through a three-stage training involving the Pilatus PC-7 MkII planes, Kiran trainers and finally the Hawk advanced jet trainers before they can fly fighter jets. As the Kirans are approaching the end of their service life, some amount of Stage 2 training is being done on the PC-7.
The defence ministry in July suspended business dealings with Pilatus Aircraft Limited for one year for violation of a pre-contract integrity pact in a ~2,900-crore contract for 75 basic trainers, and also factoring in ongoing Indian investigations against the Swiss plane maker for alleged corruption and irregularities.
The contract included a follow-on purchase of 38 more planes, but the ban means IAF can’t invoke the clause. The order for additional planes could be sourced from HAL, said a fourth IAF official. Experts welcomed IAF’s decision to take the HTT-40 purchase forward. “It’s a big thumps up to indigenisation and the RFP is an indicator that the locally made trainer will meet IAF’s requirements. It is now up to HAL to meet the timelines and provide adequate technical support. It has been found wanting in some of those aspects in the past,” said Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur (retd), additional director general, Centre for Air Power Studies.
IAF may order 70 basic trainers made by HAL
Pilatus isn't my favourite. In fact I'm fine if they simply sell off the fleet and replace it with a single fleet of HTT-40 or an alternative.
As long as HTT-40 finishes all trials and is certified, it should become a contender.
If you had noticed in the video, in the initial two turns the nose is pointing down at approx 60* from the horizon and after that it drops to about 70-75* below the horizon. That stage is called fully developed spin and mature spin stage. The initial two turns are not stabilised spin stage and recovery is easy and quick.
In Spin, an aircraft has motion along all its axis. It rolls, It yaws and also pitches.
Because the angle from which it has been shot and the aircraft is nose down about 70-75*. The effect of roll and yaw is such that the wing seems give the illusion of being delta shaped.
Camera angle. The wings aren't really delta. The camera is a wide angled one placed inside the cockpit. So it stretches the image a bit.
@randomradio
'definitely'
Could it be that Doval & Modi brought in Bhaudaria specifically to push in indigenization thus sending a message to the import lobby and of course more Rafales given that he headed the PNC ?
No such thing.
HTT-40's induction is/was always dependent on it completing tests. Which is duh.
A tweet above says this: testing remains and procurement rules do not allow for a contract at this stage.
Which means there's still quite some ways to go before the IAF can actually start contract negotiations with HAL for the HTT-40. The FGFA received the same treatment.
The reason why the import lobby is powerful is because indigenous tech really sucks. It's only in the last 5 years that it's started to rise up to meet expectations. If indigenous tech matures, then there's no problem. People always forget that DRDO has a veto on imports. The import lobby is irrelevant if DRDO does not provide its support.
Bhaudaria can't do anything by himself, the IAF is not a one-man show. People on top actually stay away from deal-making. The IAF representive in the CNC has far more power than the air chief when it comes to this.
Ministry of Defence gives exemption to IAF on Pilatus business suspension
By Dinakar Peri
NEW DELHI, 27 October 2019 02:30 IST
In July, the Defence Ministry suspended all business dealings with Pilatus for a year on graft charges. | Photo Credit : Nagara Gopal
PC-7 basic trainer aircraft of IAF faced shortage of spares and maintenance issues
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has partially revoked suspension against business dealings with Pilatus Aircraft Ltd of Switzerland following representation from the Indian Air Force (IAF) as its fleet of PC-7 Basic Trainer Aircraft (BTA) was deprived of spares and maintenance.
“The service headquarters concerned requested for review of the order for sustaining of flying training on PC-7 MK-II BTA. In view of the fact that the IAF needs spares and maintenance support for 75 BTA already in use and appreciating its dependence on Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. for spares and maintenance for 75 BTA, it has been decided to review the suspension order…” an MoD note dated October 7 said.
In July this year, the MoD suspended all business dealings with Pilatus over allegations of corruption and violation of the pre-contract integrity pact of April 9, 2010 for a period of one year.
The Ministry’s exemption is applicable to the following: progress case to finalise the follow-on support contract (FoSC) on the revenue channel; to continue with the ongoing spares and maintenance supply cases on the revenue channel, where supply orders have already been placed; to progress cases for supply of spares and maintenance support that are “necessary to ensure uninterrupted sustaining” of the PC-7 Mk-II aircraft and its associated equipment, including simulators.
India signed a ₹4,000 crore deal with Pilatus in 2012 for 75 PC-7 MK-II aircraft and deliveries were completed by the end of 2015.
The MoD stated that the exemption from operation of suspension order is being granted subject to certain stipulations. “Air headquarters should obtain mean time between failures (MTBF) linked warranty within 3-4 months,” it stated.
Stipulations also state that the vendor discharges offsets without further loss of time as the prescribed time period has already elapsed and contractual obligations by the vendor is immediately undertaken and completed. “Exemption from operation of suspension order will have no impact on various probes by investigation agencies,” it further added.
The BTA is used for Stage I flying in the three-stage training schedule of the IAF to train rookie pilots. Second-stage training is done on Kiran trainers and third-stage on the BAE Hawk advanced jet trainers before the trainees move on to fly supersonic fighter jets.
Ministry of Defence gives exemption to IAF on Pilatus business suspension
By Dinakar Peri
NEW DELHI, 27 October 2019 02:30 IST
In July, the Defence Ministry suspended all business dealings with Pilatus for a year on graft charges. | Photo Credit : Nagara Gopal
PC-7 basic trainer aircraft of IAF faced shortage of spares and maintenance issues
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has partially revoked suspension against business dealings with Pilatus Aircraft Ltd of Switzerland following representation from the Indian Air Force (IAF) as its fleet of PC-7 Basic Trainer Aircraft (BTA) was deprived of spares and maintenance.
“The service headquarters concerned requested for review of the order for sustaining of flying training on PC-7 MK-II BTA. In view of the fact that the IAF needs spares and maintenance support for 75 BTA already in use and appreciating its dependence on Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. for spares and maintenance for 75 BTA, it has been decided to review the suspension order…” an MoD note dated October 7 said.
In July this year, the MoD suspended all business dealings with Pilatus over allegations of corruption and violation of the pre-contract integrity pact of April 9, 2010 for a period of one year.
The Ministry’s exemption is applicable to the following: progress case to finalise the follow-on support contract (FoSC) on the revenue channel; to continue with the ongoing spares and maintenance supply cases on the revenue channel, where supply orders have already been placed; to progress cases for supply of spares and maintenance support that are “necessary to ensure uninterrupted sustaining” of the PC-7 Mk-II aircraft and its associated equipment, including simulators.
India signed a ₹4,000 crore deal with Pilatus in 2012 for 75 PC-7 MK-II aircraft and deliveries were completed by the end of 2015.
The MoD stated that the exemption from operation of suspension order is being granted subject to certain stipulations. “Air headquarters should obtain mean time between failures (MTBF) linked warranty within 3-4 months,” it stated.
Stipulations also state that the vendor discharges offsets without further loss of time as the prescribed time period has already elapsed and contractual obligations by the vendor is immediately undertaken and completed. “Exemption from operation of suspension order will have no impact on various probes by investigation agencies,” it further added.
The BTA is used for Stage I flying in the three-stage training schedule of the IAF to train rookie pilots. Second-stage training is done on Kiran trainers and third-stage on the BAE Hawk advanced jet trainers before the trainees move on to fly supersonic fighter jets.
Ministry of Defence gives exemption to IAF on Pilatus business suspension