Hansa-3, NAL's two-seater trainer, heads for Australia

Bangalore: The National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), a Bangalore-based constituent of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research organisation, will exhibit its two-seater, Hansa-3 trainer aircraft at next month's Avalon Air Show in Melbourne, Australia.

According to NAL officials, a Hansa-3 will be ferried to Australia where it will be reassembled and the virtues of its tiny all-composite frame will be displayed to the Australian public and flying training clubs. NAL officials claim that the aircraft, at Rs60 lakh, will be approximately 20 times cheaper than its nearest competitors, such as the Cessna 152 and the Cessna 172.

The Hansa-3 boasts of several attractive features such as excellent visibility, full dual controls, nice control harmony, a proven and a reliable Rotax 914 F3 engine. Overall, NAL officials point out, the Hansa-3 is a rugged, cost-effective and easy-to-maintain aircraft. Though designed primarily for training, private flying, sport and aerobatics, the Hansa can also be used for surveillance activities, aerial photography and coast guard duty.

But before any sales should occur, NAL will need to get the Hansa certified in Australia. In this regard, NAL officials point out that the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology's Sir Lawrence Wackett Centre for Aerospace Design Technology has agreed to help them get the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority certification.

NAL intends to leave the aircraft in Australia at the Sir Lawrence Wackett Centre for a couple of months, allowing its pilots to fly it, and also apply for certification, officials said.

NAL officials also said that they are looking to transfer technology to a private  company, which can then produce the Hansa. So far seven Hansa's have been built by NAL, with the ministry of civil aviation ordering six of them.