Hawker Beechcraft’s chalet was in one far corner of Aero India 2013, getting lesser eyeballs than many other companies who were upfront. In fact, Hawker Beechcraft found that it was to their advantage that they could get people who mattered, up to the chalet and have fairly quiet meetings. “This has been a busy show. It has been much better this year... So many customers coming over here, though we were far away from the main area,” said a beaming Todd Hattaway, Country Director, India, Beechcraft.

Hattaway along with Ted Farid, Senior Vice President (International Sales); Steve Porte, Vice President (International Support) and Mark Qualis, Director Commercial and International Special Mission (Business Development and Sales) were on a mission at Aero India, creating awareness and campaigning about KingAir 350i’s special mission capabilities.

Hattaway said: “Our aircraft are used in a wide variety of applications...be it for border control, maritime patrol, training, cargo, military, weather and the like. It is a very versatile and rugged aircraft. Our aircraft are in operation in about 125 countries in both military and special mission configurations. In the Asian region, the need for such aircraft is growing. For special mission applications, this is the most costeffective aircraft.”

In India, there are 94 KingAir aircraft with state and Central Governments; companies, operators and others. It is only now that there is the necessity of special mission, considering the vast geographical expanse of the country, with a difficult terrain in the north and a very long coastline in the south. “Special mission as a product has been around for years,” chipped in Farid. “The aircraft can land on short and unprepared fields. In India we are here to communicate to the defence sector about the special mission characteristics. We would like to be there when the government takes decision on fulfilling such requirements.”

Adding that homeland security terminology is a post-9/11 creation, Farid mentioned that the aircraft can do surveillance, mapping, photography and much more, all at an economical cost. “Sometimes, we reconfigure the aircraft, sometimes the customers get integrators to do it, depending on the needs and budget. We have three models of KingAir and we can fit equipment based on customer requirements.”

Giving details of special mission equipment for maritime patrol, Mark Qualis explained that it would have a search radar which could stay at higher altitudes; electro-optical cameras which could keep an eye on the movements on sea and could be used to detect illegal fishing; illegal discharge of pollutants in water, etc; on what kind of cargo the ship is carrying and also locate ships which are in distress.

Outlook

“It is hard for us to predict,” responded Hattaway but added that there are positive developments in the region. However, there were matters of concern regarding infrastructure, regulatory issues, etc. “For instance on January 23 this year, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has mandated that all new turbo twin-engine aircraft should have flight data recorders (blackbox), while we are alright with regard to safety, there has to be some kind of uniformity. A single engine turboprop is exempted and also the change was not discussed with OEMs or operators.”

Asked about leasing market, Farid added: “The leasing market around the world is weak. However, our kind of aircraft are typically acquired.” In India, the market is growing between 7 per cent and 12 per cent in the past three years, and they are mostly acquisitions, including pre-owned.

On changes at the corporate level, they said: “We were Beechcraft earlier and we are going back to being called Beechcraft. All service and support centres will remain the same, except that we would be signing a new contract with the customers in the name of Beechcraft,” said Steve Porte.

KingAir 350i has unmatched fuel efficiency and low operating costs and it is said to be the ‘greenest business aircraft’ in its segment. The King Air 350iER (extended range) delivers extended range or high performance special mission capabilities.