Amphibious planes could soon take off from Bangalore lakes

These aircrafts do not require runways to take off. Instead, they can get airborne from say an Ulsoor or Hebbal lake. They are the Russian-made Pelican amphibious seaplanes which will soon be entering the Indian market to cater the tourism sector.

The amphibious seaplanes — Pelican-2 and Pelican- 4 — which are two and four-seaters, respectively, are developed by Russia’s International Institute of Advanced Aerospace Technologies and are being marketed in India by Millennium Aero Dynamics Private Limited.

The aircraft will be manufactured in India by Hosur-based Taneja Aerospace and Aviation. “The amphibious seaplanes (Pelican-2 and Pelican-4) can be used for tourism, leisure management, water sports, training and river-based transportation. The Kerala government has evinced interest in buying the aircraft for tourism purpose. Besides, we also want to target the flying schools in the country,” said M Balaraman, associate director, Millennium Aero Dynamics Private Limited.

He said that the aircraft can provide good logistics support without depending on any aviation or marine infrastructure as it is capable of taking-off or landing on unprepared roads, fields or water bodies including rivers, lakes, sea and ocean.

“The aircraft can take off from just 250 m, which means it is possible to operate the aircraft even from Ulsoor or Hebbal Lake,” he said.

Another specialty of the aircraft is that it runs on regular petrol or diesel. “Operators need not worry about the ever-rising Aviation Turbine Fuel prices as Pelican-2 runs on diesel and Pelican-4 on petrol,” said Balaraman.