Flexing in rough weather

The NCAD project report suggests that if the government approves the Indian civil airliner programme quickly, the first prototype can be airborne by 2017 with inductions into airlines and other services by 2020

As if the size and scope of the project wasn’t daunting enough, it’s already rough weather for India’s indigenous civil aircraft development effort, with a turf war now being waged over how the aircraft will be developed, who will oversee the $2 billion ( Rs. 10,000 crore) programme, and how it will be marketed. The National Civil Aircraft Development (NCAD) effort, under the auspices of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)’s National Aerospace Laboratory, is less than a concept at this stage, but requires government investments to begin flowing in for work to begin in earnest. The NCAD project report suggests that if the government approves the programme quickly, the first prototype can be airborne by 2017 with inductions into airlines and other services by 2020. The preliminary project report, which contains programme definition and funding requirements, was submitted to the government mid-2011, but is yet to be approved despite strong signals that the government intends to back the project whole-heartedly. It is understood that the NCAD programme will only begin to make meaningful progress in the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2011-17) period.

More importantly for the substance of the programme, two crucial reports that will give shape to the NCAD effort are still awaited and expected shortly: one by former Finance Secretary Vijay Kelkar (who, notably, also authored a famous report for the Ministry of Defence recommending changes in acquisition procedures and enabling a greater participation of private sector in defence production) who will recommend a project and business model for the programme, and the second on the entire gamut of design, construction and technical aspects of the NCAD, by Dr Roddam Narasimha of the University of Hyderabad. The next few months will also be crucial in putting in place the supply chain and matrix of partnerships, particularly from the private sector.

Until November 2011, the NCAD governing council was headed by former ISRO Chief G. Madhavan Nair, who relinquished office on schedule. A top officer at the NCAD board denied that the allegations against him had anything to do with the government going slow on approving the NCAD committee report, though another member suggested it may have been precisely the reason why the government was taking its time.

Once major project funding begins flowing in, presumably from next year, the programme team is confident of working quickly. Several systems and concepts are ready, including basic configuration, overall performance characteristics and sub-system requirements. “The development will involve integration of existing technologies as much as it does involve developing new technologies from scratch,” says an NAL scientists associated with the NCAD. If things go according to the plan, the government hopes to see the NCAD competing with regional jets made by leaders Embraer and Bombardier.

According to the project report, the Indian civil aircraft will be built around a low acquisition/maintenance/operating cost ethic, but still be a platform with advanced technologies comparable with the best in the world. The 32.3-metre-long jet (with a wingspan of 29 metres) will see a variety of disciplines and technologies developed in-house, including aerodynamics, propulsion, materials, structures, avionics, fly-by-wire, flight control system (FCS) and integrated vehicle health management (IVHM). The aircraft is intended to sport a wide cabin with four abreast arrangement and will be offered in a standard and stretched fuselage variants to accommodate 70 or 90 passengers in different class configurations. The project report also lays emphasis on the aircraft being designed for operations from ill-prepared airfields in all weather conditions with a containable logistics footprint. The top level aircraft requirements envisage 90 passenger (long fuselage) and 70 passenger (short fuselage) variants each with 1,000 kg of cargo. At full capacity, the platform will be designed for a range of 2,500 km, or 3,175 km with maximum fuel and 60 passengers. The aircraft will cruise at 41,000 feet with a cruise speed of 750 kmph at 35,000 feet optimum cruising altitude. The all indigenous avionics will include fly by wire, GPS, a low-cost head up display for both pilots and electronic flight bag. Interestingly, the project report also puts down that the aircraft will have a “new generation power plant”, low drag configuration and a mostly composite airframe with structural health monitoring.

While the aircraft is being built primarily as a civil aircraft for airlines and logistics services companies, the NCAD will also fit an armed forces requirement into its vision. The use of the jet as a platform for special mission aircraft in the medium term, or even as an executive transport aircraft for VVIP movement cannot be ruled out. But there is unanimous recognition that there is a long and difficult road ahead, one that could be beset with trouble and challenges. But with the government at least signalling its full support, the NCAD programme is upbeat and raring to go. There is also every hope that the current crop of worries blow over soon.