Fifteen years after it pulled out from India’s Saras light civilian transport aircraft programme, Russia’s Myasischev Design Bureau (MDB) is back in the prestigious but persistently shaky airplane project under development by India’s National Aerospace Laboratory since the early nineties. The bureau, along with Russia’s Tsentralniy Aerogidrodinamicheskiy Institut (TsAGI) and the Gromov Flight Research Institute (LII), have been hurriedly commissioned into the programme to assist in refinement and core modification of the Saras design, which after six years of flight testing, has finally been judged to have faulty design elements. I’m told a team from Myasischev arrived in Bangalore on May 17 on a month-long visit for detailed discussions with programme leaders on the scope of work to be conducted on the Saras, a programme that has been in a fairly troubled state ever since its second prototype crashed tragically last year, killing its three-man test crew. Crash investigations had also pointed to serious flaws in the aircraft’s basic design, which could be why the Russians have hurriedly been brought back in. The composition of the Russian team currently at NAL Headquarters in Bangalore tells you a little about what the project is looking for. The team consists of MDB chief designer Dr Alexander Bruk, his deputy Dr Alexander Arkhipov, Chief Specialist on Flight Dynamics Dr Eduard Abramenko, Engineer Designer on Control System Dr Vladimir Vinogadov and Dr Victor Frolovskiy from the Department of Design. The scope of work to be conducted by Myasischev includes flight testing and certification of the aircraft as well.
Tomorrow on LiveFist: never-before details of India’s low-key UCAV programme.
Crappy plane designed by people who know nothing about aerodynamics, was bound to happen !!!!
Nobody, don't you know this is the only way to becoming a superpower. We are better than china, they can only copy planes like su-27, look we are doing everything from the beginning…off course it means that sometimes we make a square wheel.
Can't we scrap the plane (or whatever is left of it)?
The incompetents at NAL are now working on a bigger plane – RTA-70. Awesome. Will eagerly wait for the unveiling in 50yrs.
It's scary that people who can't even design a small commercial aircraft are some of the people responsible for building equipment that is used to protect this country. God save us all!
This is what happpens when you try to grow bigger than your boot. NAL should stick making remote air planes.
yes – more cutting edge technology. For the last 15 years only cutting – no edge. Not to worry . NAL has already announced the next generation of reagional transport which will hopefully fly after all of us are truly dead and gone. And we will still be talking cutting edge.
Hey nobody….glad to know that NAL people don't know anything about aerodynamics….So why don't you start designing planes????
Do we have any IIT for aviation ?
NAL Saras is nothing but Myasischev Design Bureau (MDB) design aka duet, which was joint development between NAL/MDB.
But seeing that almost finished design , the chanukyan NAL, edged MDB out. That small ustadi that every ustaad keep to himsel( MDB) is what …holding up the saras.
these duds shouldnt ever try to build anything hal, nal both prooved to useless they had wasted valuble time so both lca , saras are going to be redesigned
yeah they know aerodynamics-but not designing aircraft. it takes three deaths after six years of flight testing to find out that it has faulty design elements? with so much computerised testing eqpt available?
Problem is the low quality manpower employed by these companies. I have come across few of these guys…they are not the brightest. They maybe good at passing exams but logical, out of box thinking, well is unknown to them. Anyway what do they care…there are plenty more pilots. What will happen when the first LCA crashes?
Hi Shiv
Where is the post on the UCAV???
Hope it will be up today 🙂
Thanks
It was bad design to begin with. I doubt they did any rigorous wind tunnel test! NAL is wasting tax player money. Unfortunately only experience mfr of air craft HAL is bogged down by fighters and Helos. rest of the private sector is new entrant with lessa than 15 years. NAL does not have good mfg facility. All the brightest workforce/engineers/scientists either with ISRO/HAL. Next generation bright minds are working in IT outsourcing company!
it is one of the best mini civilian aircrafts in the world. Indeed China is busy copying russia and usa isnt it. now it shud start copying india i guess
the capability to produce indigenous aircrafts will provide India an elite chair among the most self reliant & rapidly developing economies in the world. India will have it's very own asset of arsenals which wouldn't be available to it's competitors around the region. India can then very cheaply manufacture specific high quality weapons & crafts for it's different regional & international issues, which will be only available for India itself. Welcome an all new India to a new era of self realization & self recognition. GO INDIA GO!
the capability to produce indigenous aircrafts will provide India an elite chair among the most self reliant & rapidly developing economies in the world. India will have it's very own asset of arsenals which wouldn't be available to it's competitors around the region. India can then very cheaply manufacture specific high quality weapons & crafts for it's different regional & international issues, which will be only available for India itself. Welcome an all new India to a new era of self realization & self recognition. GO INDIA GO!