Aircraft designed on rooftop clears 1st phase of test flight

Aviation regulator DGCA had granted the permission for the first phase of the flight late last year. (ANI Image)

An aircraft, which was developed on rooftop of a flat, has “successfully” performed the first phase of test flight, its designer and developer claimed.

The aircraft would now have to prove a flight at a height of 2000 feet in the next phase, Captain Amol Yadav, who has been working for a fully ‘made-in-India’ plane for the past two decades, said.

Yadav has designed and developed the aircraft on the rooftop of his house in the western suburb of Kandivali in Maharashtra.

“I along with a technician performed the first phase of the test flight of our aircraft and the plane made a balance flight. And it was a fantastic one,” he said.

In the first phase of the flight, the aircraft’s movement on the ground at a slow and a fast speed, its capability to make turns on ground for taxiways and bays, and proper application of brakes were checked.

“It was also checked whether the aircraft can maintain a balance flight after taking off the ground,” Yadav said.

Aviation regulator DGCA had granted the permission for the first phase of the flight late last year.

The test flight required insurance, which was huge, he said, adding, I bought that as well with the funding from family members. “I have done everything that the DGCA wanted me to do prior to the test flight,” Yadav added.

He said the aircraft was airborne for 15-20 seconds and landed back safely.

He also said that the next phase of the flight involves risk. “If we decide to go ahead further, we will be needing at least Rs 1-1.50 crore. So we will have to mop funds as well.”

It took almost six years for Yadav, a former pilot of now defunct Jet Airways, to build his self-financed aircraft. It was built for practical purposes solely on the terrace of his apartment.