Indian man takes family for trips in Europe in home-built plane

Ashok Aliseril Thamarakshan wanted a small plane to go on holidays with his family to places across Europe. So the mechanical engineer went ahead with what was for him the easiest way out - he built his own four-seater plane.

For Thamarakshan, a native of Kerala now settled in London, it took just 18 months to build a Sling TSi model aircraft which he named 'G-Diya', after his youngest daughter.

Thamarakshan, who now works with Ford Motor Company, is the son of former MLA AV Thamarakshan. He moved to the London in 2006, and is now settled there with his wife and two young daughters.


Earlier, after getting his pilot's licence in 2018, Thamarakshan used to rent small two-seater aircraft. But four-seater planes were hard to come by.

"Four-seaters are rare, and even if I could get one, they were very old. This made me explore options and learn about home-built aircraft," Thamarakshan told TOI.

He visited the Johannesburg-based Sling Aircraft to get an assembly kit. The Covid-induced lockdown gave him time to work from a workshop from his house compound. The construction was periodically overseen by UK civil aviation authorities.

He completed work in February at a total cost of Rs 1.8 crore, and soon took it around for a spin. His plane has a maximum speed of 200km/hr and needs 20 litres of fuel per hour. The fuel tank can take 180 litres.

The Indian family then set off on their home-built plane for trips not just within the UK, but also to other countries like Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic. Laws in Europe and the US allow home-built aircraft, and Thamarakshan now hopes the laws in India too will soon turn favourable.