In the middle of the Osama chaos in the newsroom, this statement from the DRDO:
Kaveri Engine was integrated with IL-76 aircraft which is a well established Flying Test Bed (FTB) for engines at Gromov Flight Research Institute (GFRI), Russia. The Flight trials commenced on 3rd Nov 2010. Kaveri engine is one among the four engines on the Flying Test Bed platform.
Eleven flight tests for about 20 hours duration have been completed till April 2011. The flight tests successfully carried out so far are up to 12 km maximum altitude and a maximum forward speed of 0.7 Mach No. The tests conducted so far include testing for engine performance under different operating conditions of the engine. With this the first phase of Kaveri engine FTB trials have been completed successfully and further tests will continue from May 2011 onwards.
Sent on my BlackBerry® from Vodafone
good news! please post some more encouraging stuff.
good to hear
want to see much report on it
Good news and perhaps good timing of K10 test to make the case even stronger for Snecma – Rafale !
Why Indian media is not reporting this? They are paid to report negative stuff only? wtf ??
Shiv,
I am giving you a job. As a journalist, your inputs or seeking the truth really help we Indians.
In the last one year, 4 or more helicopters and planes crashed near the India-China border areas around Arunachal Pradesh or Sikhim. Were these just accidents caused by human error or weather? OR something else? Is China testing some laser weapons? Or Are they jamming the electronics in these planes?
Why the Min of Defense is silent on all the previous accidents? Shiv, Have you seen any reports?
Thanks,
A Concerned Indian Citizen
Sir,
Will the Kaveri engine be ever used for any purpose (in the current configuration)? LCA Mk2 features the GE engine, whereas any further devlopment on Kaveri will be done using the Snecma core (which is the heart and soul of any GTE). On these lines, has the 3000 Crore program been of ANY significance at all?
Wonder with your connections if you could shed some light on it.
Regards
Thats great news way to go
Hope they can integrate with LCA soon
Thats great news way to go
Hope they can integrate with LCA soon
Well if we are not going to use this engine and looking for a joint venture with snecma, what is the purpose of these tests? we can save some money for future development. Shiv, Please have a report on kaveri status and what purpose this engine will be used for? Can we use it for LCA trainer?
Hi Shiv,
Can u please clarify?
1. India has IL-76. Why can't we test the Kaveri ourselves? Is it because a) IAF can't spare an IL-76 for test purpose or B) we don't know how to test a new engine on a testbed a/c or c) we can do it ourselves but cannot do so because of mod restrictions from Russia?
Also, as DELTA mentioned, what's the use of these tests as Snecma core is selected for future development?
I think Kaveri engine may be fitted on the AMCA. So it is a good progress so far.
Do every engine manufacturer test their engines this way.. just curious. never seen a GE customized plane for testing engines? any link or any pointer is greatly appreciated..
also, does the engine in this configuration actually help lift the plane or does the testing commence at the high altitude.
-Murali
@ DELTA….
The Kaveri is producing 52kN and 81kN thrust….thats ~95% of the original target ….so right now..you cant use it…
but..
was the high school education you received of any use in getting a job???i mean would it have directly got you the job???
but was it a waste of time n money??
Absolutely
There seems some suspicion on china using some anti-helicopter technology espically in North-East India, it is uncertain why MOD is silent on this matter
Dhruv helicopter even in Mk-1 standard is a very powerful helicopter and North East India is not as high an altitute or wind are not such strong to force its avionics and controls to malfunction
They are tested for even harder conditions, still such an incident just a vew days ago and now even in case of Arunachal CM in his Pawan Hans. This matter needs some serious expert analysis
Shiv Please Write about this issue
Hi Shiv,
I agree with the comment anonymously posted by someone regarding the inquiry into those crashes. Are these because of technical failure or another factor which the government doesn't want to be in public?
My concerns are the same as Indy. Why on earth cant we test it in India? Whats the guarantee that the Russians wont screw this one up and then hold us to blackmail? Especially since they are desperate for cash ?
shiv when it is gonna mature in this way how many milestones needed to be passed is there any timeline or just keep testing for years and coming with milestorrnes
murali
this is for you
http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?regsearch=N747GE
🙂
guys I'm someone with very limited knowledge. I'd highly appreciate if someone could explain me a little bit about the mach 0.7 speed at which the flight was tested. I thought Tejas was supposed to be supersonic! Is it because IL-76 is much heavier to be clocking mach 1+ ???
They are not providing the key information; i.e. what power out-put did the engine generate? I bet it was not any significant improvement over the past tests and that is why they do not want to disclose that number. When something is not to be disclosed due to failure, it becomes a secrecy thing, if there is success then all the secrecy goes out the window.
@ Anon..1115..
Why is your name not disclosed?????
PS: how many sources did you check to confirm the absence of the said data???
there is some data out there..try find out….and no i dont have to give you a source to prove i am saying the truth…esp to an Anonfor whom the absence of data @ livefist is the symbol of DRDO failure….
Anon @ 1:05AM… I have never said DRDO was a failure. Do not read more than what I have written. Why dont you disclose your name first.
DRDO Successes: Explosive detection kit, Arjun (yes, I am for arjun), missile program, LCA, the list goes on, and yes all these on a shoe-string budget. I guess you get the point. I am not saying that Kaveri is a failure, but I think the improvements that were hoped for may not have been achieved in these latest rounds of test…. I didn't claim that I have a solid source… read what I wrote, I said "I bet"…. does that sound like I am quoting someone, no. The other thing I have writted is a criticism on what they make public. This has happened in the past, DRDO and it's labs are reluctant to disclose test failures, only thing that come out quickly are successful results. The failures come out in bits and pieces and take for ever to be acknowledged. Just for the record: I still believe that this Kaveri program may not make an engine for the LCA, but will make an engine for a future program. For me, Kaveri is a school that DRDO learns from, it will be a while and it's dumb to expect to see a world-class engine at the first go. It may not be Kaveri that powers an aircraft, but I am sure there will be a Maha-Kaveri that rolles down the assembly line in coming the decades.
uhm, with respect to Arjun, I have heard that people operating the tank swear by it.
But I have a feeling that DRDO is "probably" not delivering upto its expected standards, too much foreign agency help, cost over-runs and delays. Relatively it may be doing well, I havent kept a tab on any other (foreign) R&D agency.
India is a developing country. Vast number of its citizens still live below the poverty line.
We must expedite the develpment of the KAVERI engne. Kaveri engine must be installed now on one of the existing Tejas aircraft and fly in sub-sonic mode. With flying we come to know the shortcomings of the aero-engine and eliminate the same. Also, constant improvements are to be incorporated in the engine. This polcy will definitely expedie the development of the aero-engine.
Please inform us the status of the successfully developed Marine Kaveri engine.
One of them said:
"North East India is not as high an altitute or wind are not such strong to force its avionics and controls to malfunction "
Then he does not know Ne at all and is talking in air. He does not know that the second most dangerious palce outside siachin is gerang plantue in North Sikkim.
Now about Seal massif. It is a massif and the commentetor would be wise to know its meaning. From Tawang, it is most diffucult to cross it.
About weather there, which changes within 20 minutes, North and South of Seal massif, it is the most dangerious flying route. The IAF people know it.
From the reports and the place where wreckages have been found, it is pretty clear taht the hepter got caught in very bad weather and attempt a return to Tawang but unfortunately could not negotiate the route back due to uncertainity and sheer loss of machine due to extreme fear or non negotiable weather conditions.
Nakyo GG means he was desparetely trying to come back to Tawang. Unfortunatelly even on return the weather became non negotiable. The machine therefore crashed NE of Tawang near the Indo Tibet border.
There are certain things and ares about which impulsive comments are not warranted unless one knows it. Many commentetors on the post appears to be suffering from that uncontrollable itch.
Regards
shiv bhai,any reports on osama …
yeah, he's dead.
Dhruv @ 7:08PM… details can be found at the bottom of the Arabian sea. By the way if you dive and get the details, please don't forget to post on this blog.
life is all about learning & sticking to your efforts. Even first 20 of american GE aero-engines failed and blasted on testbeds. Did they start crying or whining? No.
You have two options in life – Live in past, cry about it, be pessimistic, beat your chest OR be positive, humble, act in mature way and stand behind your team.
So far, IAF has failed to show a mature leadership. Same is the case with Army. Navy is far more mature and have better approach to things. They focus on realities rather than living in past and being cynical, pessimistic and showing "devdas" mentality.
IAF = Indian army = Devdas.
Indian Navy(IN) = A mature leadership, quite comparable to USN.