India needs more airports. Its network of rivers, lakes and the coastline offers an alternative
Consider this: India is facing an explosive growth in air traffic. We are seeing a fast growth in airline seats and in passenger traffic. We are scrambling to expand existing metro airports, and smaller regional airports are also bursting at the seams. Even with all
this, we have one of the lowest per capita levels of air travel in the world—in low single digits. The civil aviation minister has gone on record to say that the number of airports has increased from 50 to about 80 cities in the last three years and there is a need to increase the number further to 300 or 400 airports in the future.
However, building an airport is easier said than done. Even a small airport takes huge tracts of land, large amounts of money and more importantly, a long gestation period to start functioning.
Is there a way out?
Cut to the Maldives. The Maldives is made up of 1,190 coral islands, out of which 87 are exclusive resorts. If you have ever travelled to the Maldives, you would remember that you walk out straight from the airport terminal to the boat jetty! And if you are the curious type, you would also have noticed that just before the jetty, to the left is the terminal for the Maldivian Air Taxi Service. The Maldivian Air Taxi Service operates De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters on floats.
These aircraft take off and land on calm water! They do not need expensive runways. All you need is a jetty where passengers can disembark. Push comes to shove, passengers can even wade out of ankle deep water! The planes mostly fly on VFR (visual flight rules) and thus do not need the support of full-fledged air traffic control (ATC) towers and services. They usually cover short distances, as in the Maldives.
| DARE/seaplanes |
| Seaplanes, also known as hydroplanes, are fixed-wing aircrafts designed to take off and land on water with almost no wave action. The amplitude of the wave they can withstand depends on the size, design, and weight of the aircraft. There are two kinds of seaplanes. Floatplanes have pontoons (floats) fixed under the fuselage (main body of the plane). In flying boats, the fuselage acts like the body of a ship in water. Modern seaplanes are usually floatplanes with amphibious qualities, meaning that they can take off both on land and water. The De Havilland Twin Otter, which is the model used in the Maldives, is a 20-passenger utility seaplane, developed by De Havilland Canada. It can operate on floats, wheel/ski combinations and high floatation tires. Unlike big jets, the twin otters fly at a much lower altitude of 3500ft. They are designed for short takeoff and landing (STOL), That is, an aircraft can clear a 50 ft. obstacle within 1500 ft. of takeoff and do not require much distance for takeoff or landing. |
India has a large coastline, as well as large rivers and lakes in almost every part of the country. Brahmaputra, Ganges, Cauvery, Jhelum, Chena, Ravi, Beas, Sutlej, Narmada, Godavari, Krishna, Tapti, Mahanadi, Periyar, Pamba, Dal lake, Hussein Sagar lake, Vembanad Lake, Chilika lake, Kukkarahalli lake, Loktak Lake, Bhimtal, Suraj Tal… the list is virtually endless.
The question: Can seaplanes provide a quick and cost-effective alternative to costly and time-consuming airport building, particularly in the remote and coastal areas of India? Is there a business opportunity floating out there? The answer is waiting for you to find out.
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written by Bharat Agrawal, October 23, 2009
It is very bright concept.
But do u think the civil aviation ministry and the environment ministry will give the consent for this.
written by Mr. Chris Ryff, January 19, 2009
The emphatically negative design of most amphibious aircraft is mainly the result of insufficient thrust lines and poor aerodynamic characteristics. This applies for boat-hulled type aircraft and float planes. Market surveys and feasibility studies reveal however that there is a substantial niche-, replacement and growth market for these type of planes, providing that they come as a truly new and innovative concept. The design of the Brevity tackles the mayor design flaws of older types of seaplanes and integrated many improvements. The Brevity concept is a boat-hulled type of aircraft characterized by a ground-breaking design that actually incorporates the propulsive unit in its center of gravity, and hence, is an evolution of an existing EASA CS-23 certified aircraft design. A large number of components and parts of the brevity are there for already designed and qualified. The Brevity™ concept is ready for launching the detailed development phase. Interest from several aviation companies persuade us to explore the Brevity’s potential market. As a result of these findings, it was decided to bring the development of the aircraft in a separate legal entity, The Brevity Seaplane LLC. This way, the project can progress independently and leave better options for investors to participate. Please take a look at the website at www.seaplanes.nl We look forward to receive serious inquiries.
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