Pune-Based Maxlink in a Joint Venture with South African Firm to Make Bat Hawk Microlight Aircraft – Make in India

South African company Micro Aviation and Pune-based Maxlink India have entered into a technical collaboration to manufacture the Bat Hawk microlight aircraft in India. Micro Aviation will be licensing the technology to Maxlink for manufacturing.

Maxlink director Vijay Sethi said the microlight segment was an ignored category though it was suitable and affordable for a variety applications in a country like India. He said microlights were popular with hobbyists but apart from adventure sport these were capable of handling serious applications like surveillance by defence, police, coastguard and forest guards, vegetation mapping, farm spraying and disaster relief. “It is capable of performing like a helicopter at fraction of the cost,”

Sethi said, adding that earlier there were restrictions on such aircraft but the Indian government has now become more flexible and opened up the microlight aircraft segment.

We are awaiting approval from the DGCA and hope to start aircraft assembly operations by December 2019 with a facility around Pune, Sethi said. His company has set a target of manufacturing 200 aircraft in three years.
Maxlink Group of companies is a diversified group of companies with interests in government contracts, defence, highways and retail. Mixing Adventure Sports Pvt Ltd currently has a dealership of Australian microlight aircraft company to sell their aircraft in India.

The two-seater Bat Hawk light aircraft runs on a Rotax engine that can be run on petrol (16 litre per hour) and has six hour flying capability. It has short-field landing and take-off capabilities and can get airborne or land on service roads as well as fly in adverse conditions. It is expected to cost around `45 lakh. The South African company has so far manufactured 500 units if this light aircraft.

Source: FE

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