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Hyderabadis will get their first dekko of Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer’s Profit Hunter E195-E2 aircraft, and the Honda Jet Elite, a mid-sized corporate jet which has an over-the-wing mounted engine, at the Wings India airshow that opened here on Thursday.
These are among the 10-odd jets that are on live display at the Begumpet airport, which is hosting Wings India 2020.
Visitors also get to see a team of Global Stars — a group of pilots into aerobatic flying who are performing at the show. They have shipped a small single-seater German Extra 300 acrobatic aircraft from the UK for the airshow.
“It takes a day-and-a-half to put together the plane which arrives in crates. We need five or six people to carry the wing so that it can be fitted to the body,” Chris Burkett, one of the pilots, told BusinessLine .
The team includes Stephen Carver, a former commercial pilot who flew for a major UK airline for 25 years. “Acrobatic flying is very different from commercial flying. In many ways commercial flying is sedate compared to acrobatic flying. You require the same discipline as commercial flying but a lot more planning and preparation goes into acrobatic flying — that is, if you do not want any surprises during the flight,” he explained.
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The team is not flying in India for the first time. “Indians are appreciative of what we do. There is a warmth which is very visible,” Carver added.
Claude Draillard, Vice-President, Finance, Honda Aircraft Company, said the company’s elite jet is being exhibited here for the first time. “The over-the-wing mounted engine, which is our patent, allows for better air flow and provides better performance to a similar variety of aircraft which could be the Cessana,” he said, pointing to the jet engine.
With a single pilot, the Elite can carry six passengers over about 2,700 km. This aircraft will visit a few more cities in the country before returning home, Draillard said.
Embraer is pitching its E195-E2 as being ideally suited for the Centre’s UDAN scheme. “The aircraft can easily fly five to five-and-a-half hours,” said Neville D’Souza, Customer Account Manager, Service and support, Embraer.
Visitors can also view the static display of the Airbus A 350-900, HAL and Boeing’s products, as well as airline- and aircraft-related memorabilia at the display centre.
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