suryag wrote:BRF diggajs in blore please try to capture the flying/formation display in video from every possible angle. I am pretty sure the flight display will be anything but tame. It is an interesting day ahead. Shiv garu can possibly carry his camera to his golf course on monday
Sadly I won't be on the course at that time will actually be working 
Imagine needing to work for a living? I mean how SDRE is that?
As India’s Light Combat Aircraft ‘Tejas’ vrooms to take off, one of its project directors is on a trip down the runway to the early 1990s when industry titans Ratan Tata and Bajaj and former Air Marshal Idris Latif saved the ambitious project from being grounded.
Private sector participation is crucial in the growth of aeronautics in the country.Had it not been for these three people, the Tejas would not have come up far enough to get the initial operation clearance (IOC) on January 10, former LCA project director Kota Harinarayan told Deccan Herald. “Ratan Tata, Bajaj and former Air Marshal Idris Latif saved the national project from being a thing of the past...,” he said. In 1990-91, Kota said he had attended a review meeting of the LCA programme in Delhi, prior to which a 15-member strong high-level committee including Bajaj, Tata, Latif and some members of Parliament (MPs) had visited facilities in Bangalore to vet the progress team ‘Tejas’ had made.
...
...
Harry's article is there in BR itself.SaiK wrote:Just for remembrance linking this article.
DRDO's Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) director P S Subramanyam is an elated man. In less than 24 hours, the man and his entire team will showcase their creation to the world: the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), which is set for initial operational clearance (IOC) on Monday. Ahead of this aerospace milestone, Subramanyam spoke to STOI on Saturday:
Q. People say India took 27 years to develop the LCA. Is that a right assessment?
A. That would be an unfair assessment. It is true that the project was conceived in 1983 with initial funding of Rs560 crore. In 2001, we launched an operational aircraft and test flights. Ten years later - 2011 - we have the vehicle ready for initial clearance. If the date of flight testing and launch of operational aircraft is taken into account, the LCA has been developed in 10 years. The technology demonstration kick-started in 1993 but the money came in 2001. We have demonstrated that we could build an aircraft within a decade.
To what extent is LCA indigenous?
LCA is 70-80% indigenous. The foreign/imported component in LCA involves the engine, radar, some navigation technologies and some displays. The design, development, testing, certification and mastery of the system engineering is completely Indian. There are just six to eight countries in the world that can design, develop, test and certify a fighter aircraft -- India is now one among them.
Can we make the LCA 100% indigenous and when?
We expect to go 100% indigenous on the LCA in five years. Advanced plans are already in place and work is on. We expect to indigenize the engine, radar and a few components in five years. A higher variant of the present LCA will be launched by 2014.
Which aircraft can you compare the LCA to?
Swedish Gripen, Chinese-Pak J-17 Thunder, Korean T-50. The LCA is as good if not better than these.
How many LCAs are you looking at in terms of order?
We have suggested 200 in all for the IAF. We have received an order for 40 now -- 20 will go in soon, 20 three years later.
Yup, LCA has 8 hardpoints. The space on the right could be used for EW pods i guess.jamwal wrote:Regarding Tejas image posted by Krishnan;
Are there two hardpoints on Tejas in center ? Litening pod is on the left. Seems like there is space for some payload on the right too.
...............
.When asked how it compares with Migs! Group Captain Suneet Krishna described it has “Well Balanced aircraft, capable of fulfilling the roles for which it has been designed and developed.” he also added that “Tejas is the state-of-art technology and we can keep improving on it as Tejas is going to be there for many year and we can keep adding or modifying it as per our requirements .The good thing is that the technology is in our hands and we do not have to depend on anyone else”.
....
Group Captain Suneet Krishna has been associated with the Tejas Program for the last 10 years, and also the first Test pilot to cross 100 hours in Various Tejas aircrafts flown by him, as per sources Group Captain Suneet Krishna is not only senior most test Pilot in Tejas Program but also Pilot with highest number of flying hours in the fighter aircraft, he has close to 300 Hours of flying experience in Tejas. Group Captain Suneet Krishna was a Veteran pilot of Indian air forces Mig-27 and was based in West Bengal before joined Tejas Program in 2001.
Why not Sudarshans? They're just LGB guidance kits fitted to 1000 lb dumb bombs. With the Litening LDP lasing the target the Tejas can definitely use Sudarshans. This picture shows it carrying LGBs, one the Israeli Griffin and the other the Paveway.Craig Alpert wrote:I'd assume 2 1000lb or 1500lb dumb bombs or guided bombs..Definitely not Sudarshans
There were originally 7 hardpoints - 3 in each wing and one in centerline (between the mid-wheels). Plus, the right-center (front of the right mid-wheels) was allocated for the internal gun and remains so today.jamwal wrote:Regarding Tejas image posted by Krishnan;
Are there two hardpoints on Tejas in center ? Litening pod is on the left. Seems like there is space for some payload on the right too.
these are of course subjective points, but IMO, the main landing gear looks far better on the N-LCA than it does on the LCA. Not that the LCA's MLG doesn't do its job- its lighter and has been designed to take a lower sink rate, but I've never been a fan of its positioning. On the N-LCA, they've got the MLG doors opening higher up on the side with new fairings which looks better. I'm not suggesting it does a better job, but it does look better. Also, the N-LCA's MLG gives it a higher ride (at least a few inches higher when comparing pics) thanks to the greater gear travel for the higher sink rate that the MLG and nose gear are supposed to take.suryag wrote:^^^ if you have time KArtik garu please elaborate what is so good looking about it ?
may possibly be able to bring back the Harpoons, but it will definitely need to use up or jettison most of the onboard and drop tank fuel except for whatever percentage is kept as reserve. Or maybe carry 1 Harpoon on the centerline and 2 drop tanks with 2 R-73s/Derby's on the outermost pylons.Singha wrote:NP-1 is for training right , with the in-service birds being single seater?
harpoon is 700kg ..key question is will it be able to fly with 2 harpoons and a centerline tank and land back safely with all three?
the notorious PN Mirage3 "haiders" apparently fly with centerline exocets only for reasons I dont know.
I can empathise with them totally, when going for a product for the first time one doesnt really understand what all needs to be tested on top of what is listed out by the standards body. The first products generally are off developers' shelves quickly but spend more time getting to the market. Somehow, devices have this unique ability of crashing only at customer sites causing much heartburn for engineers. If we hadnt built Tejas we would have hardly made a certification program and would have always been deficient. All those regular "why reinvent the wheel" morons should basically understand that as long as you dont invent the wheel you never own it in toto.To ensure systematic approach to clearance, RCMA (A/C) evolved a novel System Certification methodology. The aircraft was categorized into 17 major systems, with 346 LRUs and 33 software embedded systems. All the LRUs were certified by the issuance of Type approval. This ensured that the LRU has undergone complete qualification tests as stipulated by RCMA (A/C) and has met all Safety and Performance standards as laid down by CEMILAC. Each of the 17 systems is individually cleared and certified for its performance and safety over 1,500 test flights including outstation trials such as the hot weather, cold weather, high-altitude, sea-level and weapon trials. The design and testing of individual systems were evaluated as against compliance of top level requirements of the ASR and relevant Military Standards. There are 43 top level and several associated Military Standards to comply. RCMA (A/C) has ensured that Tejas is of an international product by complying with each and every requirement of all the relevant Military standards.
Seemingly innocuous fungus causing problemsIt is a mammoth task and great achievement by the designers, engineers, flight crew, pilots and many more. Remember, when the fly-by-wire system was designed, none of us really knew what it was. We have learned over the years. Everybody felt that we (CEMILAC) can’t do it. India is a country, were people say that the cup is half empty, instead of half full.
It’s a fact that we have set very tough quality standards. I remember an incident when rain drop test were to be done on Tejas ComSet and fungus test on some components. It had to be done on Indian conditions. It was a South African firm and there were some issues. They were trying to pass the buck on to our systems and eventually we put our foot down and said what went wrong. We have the guts to tell that what’s wrong. We won’t allow an iota of doubt to fall on us. Nobody should take us for granted. Our mission is to make Tejas safe.
So trueI joined the program when I was 22 years. The digital-fly-by-wire systems are very safety critical. Ours is a very demanding job and I have seen it inside out for the last 18 years. Our job was to get into a detailed analysis whenever a failure happened. I am grateful to God that everything has been smooth. I still remember my hands were shivering and heart beat doubling when I cleared the first flight of Tejas on January 4, 2001.
After 6 pm if we reach home and the wife smiles. After 7, it’s a stare; after 8 verbal abuse and beyond that ‘out of control’!
from above linkFor example, the design says it can go up to 1,350 kmph, but what is so far demonstrated is 1,250 kmph. It can pull up to 6G with stores and what has been demonstrated is 4.8 G.
You forgot to highlight or make bold what is the most important part of that statement - WITH STORES. Even the Rafale is limited to 5.5 Gs with stores.ravi_ku wrote:from above linkFor example, the design says it can go up to 1,350 kmph, but what is so far demonstrated is 1,250 kmph. It can pull up to 6G with stores and what has been demonstrated is 4.8 G.
Dassault Rafale flight test articleThe DFCS is a "g" demand system with +9.0g/29° angle of attack (AoA) limit in air-to-air mode and +5.5g/20° AoA limit in both of the two air-to-ground/heavy stores modes (ST1 and ST2) to cater for forward or aft centre of gravity.
It could also well be that this speed was achieved at sea level but wasnt achieved at cruising altitude as the design specified.suryag wrote:^^^ I think reporting error
it may have been
"For example, if the design says it can go"
lsp4 on its first flight itself did 1.1(1360Kmph) and there were published reports of 1.4 Mach
suryag wrote:Report on CEMILAC RCMA
They deleted the word Compromise to gift a safe Tejas!
Tarmak corrected the statement. It now reads...ravi_ku wrote:from above linkFor example, the design says it can go up to 1,350 kmph, but what is so far demonstrated is 1,250 kmph. It can pull up to 6G with stores and what has been demonstrated is 4.8 G.
After the Goa sea level trials, an IAF officer gave the speed Tejas clocked. It is 1.14 Mach, fastest of all the aircraft in IAF inventory. This is with GE404 and drag penalty. What would be the speed if it is GE414 with drag corrected airframe of Tejas Mk2?Tejas has flown up to a maximum speed of 1,350 kmph and pulled 6G, so far.
If you note, the official figure 1500 km/hr, is not against sea level. Others have quoted sea level figure as less than 1.1 Mach.nachiket wrote:Well wiki, says the max speed of the Mirage 2000 at sea level is 1110 km/hr. If the LCA can do 1350 km/hr, it's certainly an achievement. But the Mig-29 can do 1500km/hr, so its not the fastest.
Maximum flight speed, km/h:
- near ground 1500
