Man who Built Sixseater Plane Gets DGCA Nod to Fly

Captain Amol Yadav on Friday evening after receiving a copy of the permit for a flight test from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for his six-seater amateur aircraft. The aviation regulatory body has given a conditional permit to Yadav to first fly for 10 hours out of the required 40, below 10,000 ft.

Yadav, who dreams of starting an indigenous aircraft manufacturing centre in India, has floated Thrust Aircraft Company and named his TAC003 prototype aircraft after Narendra Modi and Devendra Fadnavis–
VT NMD. He has to take the flight test in the presence of flight test experts (FTE). “Earlier, I was under the impression that I would have to undergo a 14-day test flight orientation course at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Wing Commander Laganjit Biswal vwill be my FTE but now I got to know that DGCA will conduct the course and appoint an FTE,” he said.

Yadav, a 44-year-old pilot with SpiceJet, has been obsessed with planes since school. He developed the current prototype over six years on his terrace in Kandivali. The aircraft was featured in the Make-in-India event in 2016 at BKC after which it was parked in a hangar at Dhule airport.

The state government in February, 2018, signed a Rs 35,000-crore Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Yadav to build an aircraft manufacturing company and promised 157 acres of land in Palghar — neither of which has been acted on. In the absence of sponsors, Yadav has been forced to mortgage his flat to pay for the expenses of the project.

“Many have supported him in this journey. We are sure that one day he will be flying high,” said Rashmikant Yadav, his elder brother.

Once he completes the mandatory 40 hours, Amol can apply for airworthiness certificate.

Source: MM

Image Courtesy: Business Today