![]() With all the trimmings that were done, we finally had a sleek looking tandem seater helicopter which was what the IAF had asked for. To cut down the flab, what the experts did was to take a radius of 18 inches around the pilot's head in the cockpit and shave off the rest of the curved design to make it sleek, almost like what you see today. Mr Rao was a quick thinker and worked relentlessly on the design all over again. IMAGE: The LCH's first flight on March 29, 2010. "I remember there was this amazing aerodynamics expert and designer, Mr B P Rao, whose first design came in for a bit of critique for being rather tubby." The basic design of the new machine was being 'borrowed' from the already operational Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) - the Dhruv - and everyone thought it would be easy. The next few years was hectic and interesting too. "After a brief tenure out of ASTE later, I was back at HAL when the project was just about taking off." "I was posted at the Aircraft Systems Testing Establishment ( ASTE) at Bangalore then, and was the go-between HAL and Air Headquarters during the ASQR phase, when the IAF's requirements for the LCH were being finalised," Harry tells me. The IAF spelt out the air staff qualifying requirements (GSQRs or ASQRs as they are called) for such a machine as early as 2003 and worked with the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited at Bangalore exploring possibilities of producing our own attack helicopter. IMAGE: The LCH's first ground run on February 4, 2010 The Mi-35, or for that matter the Apache too (we didn't have it then) wasn't capable of operating at those altitudes and, as an ad-hoc measure, the armed version of the medium lift helicopter-the Mi-17 was used in this conflict. Very recently, the Apache helicopter from the US has become part of the offensive arm and is operational in two squadrons of the IAF.Įver since the Kargil conflict of 1999, it was felt that the armed forces needed a machine that could operate at high altitudes so that our forces guarding our northern borders could get the necessary armed support. These helicopters are now on their last leg having served more than three decades. In 1989, the first of the upgraded Mi-25, named the Mi-35, augmented this fleet and we now had two squadrons of these versatile machines operating with the army mainly in the anti-tank role and with the IAF in some specialised roles. ![]() The first of the attack helicopters, the Mi-25 (NATO name HIND) arrived in India in 1984 from Russia and they were extensively used in the operations against the LTTE in Sri Lanka. I decided to speak with a few to find out. Getting an aircraft from the drawing board into the air is no mean task.Īsk any test pilot and he will tell you what all goes behind taking a new machine into the air and proving it fit for operational use. The aircraft was soon to become part of the IAF inventory with 6 machines handed over to the new unit being raised at Jodhpur in the western sector. I somehow felt that I had contributed my little bit in the making of the first indigenous attack helicopter of our nation!Īll that was forgotten till a few days ago when I read about the LCH in the news. But hear me patiently he did, and thanked me for the inputs. The question thrilled me no end and I went on to tell him a lot more than he wanted to hear. American Cruise Lines creates a versatile vessel The company says its fleet of new ships, expected to debut in 2023, will combine the simple luxuries of river cruising and the.IMAGE: The Light Combat Helicopter First mock up in 2007.DOT proposal will require these fee disclosures If the DOT's fare-disclosure rules are approved, here's what advisors will need to do.For the trade, as Martha Stewart would say. The attraction of theme park skip-the-line services About half of Disney theme parkgoers are opting into paid, skip-the-line services. ![]() How R Family Vacations became KelliGregg Travel Kelli Carpenter and Gregg Kaminsky, the founders of the LGBTQ-focused tour operator, say the company has evolved beyond its.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |