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The Tejas Story: The Light Combat Aircraft Project
The Indian Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) "Tejas" had a long and laboured development history. The programme began with the formation of the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) in 1985, the project was beset with difficulties like finding a suitable person to be the Chief Designer, marshalling talent and resources, an economic crisis and later US technology sanctions.
The author, Air Marshal Philip Rajkumar (Retd), worked in the project for nine years from 1994 to 2003. He was in charge of the flight test programme. In the book he traces in detail the development of the all important fly-by-wire flight control system, which was being developed in India for the first time with help from the US (Calspan/Martin and the UK (BAe/DERA).
However the many challenges overcome by the development team is a success story of Indian technological endeavour and the country's progress towards self-reliance in the defence sector.
The book is nicely written and gives a good behind-the-scenes look at a major aviation development project. It gives a good insight into the different parties involved. The sometimes taxing relationship between the three major players in the project, ADA, Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) and the Indian Air Force raises its head several times throughout the development of the aircraft.
Project issues and resolutions are explained, I particularly liked the attempt to evaluate a Russian Close Combat Missile system for the LCA with the Russian’s reluctant to give any details on how it actually worked – very cold war even in the 21st Century!
The only complaint is minor, some of the pages (particularly in the FBW and Flight Simulator chapters) have extensive use of abbreviations. Luckily there are three and a half pages of Abbreviations listed before you start the first chapter!
There are also 30 black and white illustrations.
The book was reprinted in 2009 and is still available in Europe at a reasonable price of around £10.
A really interesting read.
The Chapters:
1 First Flight
2 the Long Road To First Flight
3 Change of Guard
4 Early Life and My Career In the IAF
5 The Aeronautical Development Agency
6 Quadruplex Digital Fly-By-Wire and The Glass Cockpit
7 In Flight Simulation and Roll Out of TD-1
8 Engine Ground Run, Pokharan Blasts, US Sanctions and RTS Problems
9 The Iron Bird and Taxi tests
10 The Patna Air Crash and Preparations For First Flight
11 Honours and Awards, Aero India 2001 and Completion of The First Block of Flights
12 Delay in The First Flight of TD-2 and Negotiations With Foreign Companies
13 Flutter, The Naming Ceromony, Supersonoc Flight and Retirement
14 Postscript
Author: Air Marshal Philip Rajkumar (Retd)
ISBN: 81-7304-764-2
Pages: 175
Publisher: Manohar (2008)
The Indian Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) "Tejas" had a long and laboured development history. The programme began with the formation of the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) in 1985, the project was beset with difficulties like finding a suitable person to be the Chief Designer, marshalling talent and resources, an economic crisis and later US technology sanctions.
The author, Air Marshal Philip Rajkumar (Retd), worked in the project for nine years from 1994 to 2003. He was in charge of the flight test programme. In the book he traces in detail the development of the all important fly-by-wire flight control system, which was being developed in India for the first time with help from the US (Calspan/Martin and the UK (BAe/DERA).
However the many challenges overcome by the development team is a success story of Indian technological endeavour and the country's progress towards self-reliance in the defence sector.
The book is nicely written and gives a good behind-the-scenes look at a major aviation development project. It gives a good insight into the different parties involved. The sometimes taxing relationship between the three major players in the project, ADA, Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) and the Indian Air Force raises its head several times throughout the development of the aircraft.
Project issues and resolutions are explained, I particularly liked the attempt to evaluate a Russian Close Combat Missile system for the LCA with the Russian’s reluctant to give any details on how it actually worked – very cold war even in the 21st Century!
The only complaint is minor, some of the pages (particularly in the FBW and Flight Simulator chapters) have extensive use of abbreviations. Luckily there are three and a half pages of Abbreviations listed before you start the first chapter!
There are also 30 black and white illustrations.
The book was reprinted in 2009 and is still available in Europe at a reasonable price of around £10.
A really interesting read.
The Chapters:
1 First Flight
2 the Long Road To First Flight
3 Change of Guard
4 Early Life and My Career In the IAF
5 The Aeronautical Development Agency
6 Quadruplex Digital Fly-By-Wire and The Glass Cockpit
7 In Flight Simulation and Roll Out of TD-1
8 Engine Ground Run, Pokharan Blasts, US Sanctions and RTS Problems
9 The Iron Bird and Taxi tests
10 The Patna Air Crash and Preparations For First Flight
11 Honours and Awards, Aero India 2001 and Completion of The First Block of Flights
12 Delay in The First Flight of TD-2 and Negotiations With Foreign Companies
13 Flutter, The Naming Ceromony, Supersonoc Flight and Retirement
14 Postscript
Author: Air Marshal Philip Rajkumar (Retd)
ISBN: 81-7304-764-2
Pages: 175
Publisher: Manohar (2008)
