Man who built plane on terrace set to get flying nod
Amol Yadav, a city-based pilot, took six years to build a six-seater aircraft from scratch with his own money on the terrace a Kandivali building. Now his indigenous aircraft is all set to get a special fly permit from DGCA to test the capabilitie...
Amol Yadav’s six-seater will have to undergo 40-hour test to ascertain airworthiness.
City-based pilot Amol Yadav, who built an indigenous aircraft on the terrace a Kandivali building, is all set to get a special fly permit from aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to test the capabilities of the airplane.
Yadav, then a senior commander with Jet Airways, took six years to build the six-seater aircraft from scratch with his own money. Mirror had first reported on his efforts that February. He got the certificate of registration from the DGCA the following year.
The aircraft was featured during the weeklong Make in India event in 2016.
Currently in Delhi to formally receive the certificate from the DGCA, Yadav, who now works with low-cost carrier SpiceJet, will have to fly the aircraft he manufactured in a 40-hour test. Wing Commander Laganjit Biswal, a Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd flight test expert, will monitor the flight, and an observer will accompany him.
The DGCA has imposed several riders for the permission—there is no room for a mishap during the test and Yadav will have to undergo a15-day course at HAL before undertaking the test. Once he clears the test, he will be granted an airworthiness certificate.
The state government in February last year signed a Rs 35,000-crore memorandum of understanding with Yadav to build an aircraft manufacturing company and had promised 157 acres of land in Palghar—neither of which has been acted on. Yadav has been forced to mortgage his flat to pay for the expenses of the project in the absence of sponsors.
