The Hindu Business Line : HAL enters fuselage export zone for G-150

Bangalore, April 7 Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd on Tuesday delivered the first of the 200 rear fuselages it built for the Israeli business jet Gulfstream G-150.

HAL’s new Chairman, Mr Ashok Nayak, handed over the documents of the aft or rear fuselage to Mr Shlomi Karako, General Manager, Business Jets Division, Israel Aircraft Industries.

A next advanced 10-to-18-seater executive version, the G-250, is under development. A HAL release quoting Mr Nayak said, “The G-150 programme has given us huge confidence in taking up bigger challenges. We now look forward to the G-250 programme and we have made our strong presence felt in the bidding process. HAL-IAI has a time-tested partnership and we are here to capitalise on the vast potential in the business jet market.”

HAL moves up from exporting doors and assemblies to fuselages for global aircraft programmes, the release said.

7-year deal

The seven-year contract to deliver the G-150 fuselages was signed in 2007 and HAL put up a dedicated hangar at the aircraft division in Bangalore within nine months. The defence PSU said this was the first time that IAI got its aircraft fuselage built using digital data, against the practice of using paper drawings. It sought HAL’s partnership in December 2006.

Mr Karako of IAI was quoted as saying, “To us, this is a champion product. The Gulfstream fuselage is a perfect example of synergy and quality.”

The G-150 is built in Israel, furnished in the US and marketed globally by the US-based Gulfstream Corporation.

The release said the G-150 tie-up realised the hardware through Web-based design data transfer. It also brought together the two civil aviation regulators, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the Civil Aviation Authority of Israel.

The defence PSU said the aircraft division has made a mark on the global export map by supplying several types of door assemblies to Boeing, Airbus and other global firms.

“With the G-150 fuselage delivery, HAL has now entered a fairly advanced manufacturing level of building major structural assemblies for global players in the civil sector. The G-150 project augurs well not only for HAL, but also for the national objective of producing a civil aircraft of international standards,” Mr Nayak said.

More Stories on : Airlines | Exports & Imports

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Lufthansa Cargo begins services from Hyderabad

Jet Air, JetLite to fly to Srinagar

HAL enters fuselage export zone for G-150

Member (Engg) of Railway Board