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LCA TD-2 maiden flight by Aug-end

Our Bureau

HYDERABAD, June 22

THE maiden test flight of the Light Combat Aircraft's (LCA) TD-2 (technology demonstrator-2 version) is scheduled for the end of this August, Dr Kota Harinarayana, Programme Director of LCA, has said.

The TD-1 type of the LCA, which was successfully test flown on January 4, had been put through nearly a dozen flight trials and we are satisfied with the demonstrations, Dr Harinarayana said.

The project, which aims to build the lightest combat aircraft in the world, was progressing well and the necessary software is in an advanced stage of development, he told Business Line on the sidelines of a function, during which Midhani received airwor thiness certification from the Centre for Military Airworthiness & Certification (CEMILAC) for the 8 alloys it had supplied to the Kaveri engine.

Earlier, Dr. Harinarayana expressed confidence that Midhani, the defence PSU, would deliver the 9 critical alloys it was making for the LCA programme by the middle of August to help in the early flight of the TD-2 version.

Stating that nearly 80 per cent of the metallic components in the LCA were indigenous, Dr Harinarayana wanted the weight of the Kaveri engine to be reduced from 1,200 kg to below 1,050 kg. This could be achieved by using more light weight composite mater ials, which make up 45 per cent of the LCA.

The LCA Programme Director said more than 300 industries were involved in the prestigious project which had over 100 workstations. ``Indigenisation makes strategic as well as business sense,'' he said.

The Director of the Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE), Mr V. Sundararajan, said material indigenisation in the Kaveri engine constituted nearly 35 per cent of the crucial project activity and finance. While 70 per cent of the engine components ha d already been indigenised, planning and strategies were being worked out for the next 3-5 years to achieve the rest.

Dr R. Krishnan, former Director, GTRE, said the type certification had taken a bit too long and should have been completed in 1996. Pointing out that most of the alloys certified were reverse engineered, he expressed the wish that either Midhani or the D efence Metallurgical Research Laboratory should develop alloys indigenously.

The Chief Executive of CEMILAC, Mr K. Nagaraj, said there was hardly any precedence when so many important components were type approved. Because of the criticality of the parts, the certification had taken a longer time.

The Chairman and Managing Director of Midhani, Mr A.K. Taneja, said nearly 80 per cent of the advanced materials required for the Kaveri engine had been developed and supplied by Midhani. The 8 alloys which received certification included martensitic sta inless steel, alloys for compressor blades, and other critical forgings in the Kaveri engine. He said over a hundred components for the engine had been shaped out of the feedstock supplied by Midhani.