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Sweden-based Ravin Aviation has outlined plans to develop an India-designed 10-seater multipurpose seaplane.
Nils Pihlblad, Chief Executive Officer and founding partner of Ravin, said: “It is proposed to design the plane and develop two prototypes of the multi-purpose seaplane within three years. Already, part of the design work has been taken up in Ukraine.”
He added that seaplanes have immense potential and, at the moment, there is no aviation player in this space in India. “Backed by the Swedish government, and support extended by the likes of Pratt & Whitney and Honeywell, we believe we are well-positioned to come up with this seaplane and bridge the gap in the market,” he said.
Speaking at Wings India 2020, Pihlblad said the company is in discussions with SAAB Aerospace and some of the former designers who worked with Boeing on the 787 Dreamliner and with Soviet plane-maker Antonov AN-225 on the initial design of the seaplane.
It is proposed to develop two planes — one static and other for testing. As a part of the development plan, Ravin plans to set up an Aircraft Design Bureau in either Hyderabad or Bengaluru, he said.
Most seaplanes are conventional planes that have been modified to serve as seaplanes, said Pihlblad. “Therefore, we want to build an exclusive seaplane for various applications, including passenger movement in places such as Andaman and Nicobar, Maldives and several countries in South-East Asia — (for people) to move from one island to another. These could also be used for naval patrol and surveillance,” he said.
Describing the seaplane, he said: “The SP10M is a multipurpose twin-engined turboprop amphibian that will carry up to 10 passengers plus two pilots. Other configurations will be as VIP, freight transportation and search and rescue operations.”
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