NAL-developed Saras aircraft completes successful first flight

[Water Car Engineer]

Nothing indigenous about it, but that is besides the point. What possible usage or achievement is putting pusher turboprops on what the standard business jet formula since 1962 going to achieve?

What is the achievement here?
Frankly both TATA and Mahindra have the industrial expertise and finances to be able to build a 100 seat Sukhoi superjet class aircraft within 5 years if given the go ahead and India’s government institutions are still trying to reinvent the wheel(and failing at it).

It's a start, NAL engineers are the ones certifying the design. If they need some hand holding here and there, so be it, not like India is the only one doing it.

The plane is a start, ISRO GSLV Mark 3 wasnt built right away, either, it's lineage started from simple sounding rockets. As far as the private sector is concerned, they are starting out with even smaller models than the NAL Saras - Again, a start. Mahindra specially bought of an Australian plane manufacturer to produce models smaller then Saras. Even they are working with NAL on small aeroplanes - they have also invested in reinventing the wheel.

 

[Taygibay]

What possible usage or achievement is putting pusher turboprops on what the standard business jet formula since 1962 going to achieve?

Well, I can help here if we forget Indians for a moment.

- The idea behind the turboprop is simply higher power
and dilution rate than a simple propeller. It is not aimed
at the same speed range as a faster turbofan and, higher
still, as a turbojet.

- The idea is neither new nor dumb but the market for it
is a bit small & resistant to change for industrial reasons.
Propfan, same concept but for passenger jets & so higher
speeds, hasn't yet pierced the market for similar reasons.

- Because of the open blades, the prop part, noise is much
higher than on a correctly operating turbofan or turbojet
and requires rear outboard fuselage location for comfort.
The same is true with propfans on commercial jet planes.

- The pusher configuration is likely due to ground clearance
issues but also to, again, a similar layout as for propfans.

So there is nothing inherently wrong with picking up that
route from earlier attempts and if it were to succeed and
produce a light/medium sized liaison aircraft, savings on
fuel and slightly higher speeds should result, normally.

Have a great day, Tay.