A potential poster boy for the Make-in-India campaign, Saji is running from pillar to post, seeking a licence for his aircraft so that it can be test flown.
His obsession with helicopters began as a toddler. When helicopters came to spray pesticides in rubber estates in the neighbourhood, in Idukki district of Kerala, the three-year-old Saji Thomas ran out in excitement. His mother followed him scolding. She feared the loud whirring would turn him hearing-impaired, not realising her child could hardly hear.
But nothing could stop this hearing- and speech-impaired school dropout from giving wings to his dreams – building and flying an aircraft. At 45, Saji has already built two light-weight aircraft, first just a model and the second that can fly, and is looking to build the third one. He could be a prized possession for any of the world's leading aviation companies like Boeing or Airbus, where innovation and cost effectiveness is the mantra for manufacturing.
A potential poster boy for the Make-in-India campaign is but struggling to make his both ends meet. Ever since he built his first aircraft 11 years ago, in 2005, he is running from pillar to post, seeking a licence for his aircraft so that it can be test flown.
In 2014, Saji took his second aircraft (he calls it Saji-X-Air-S) in a truck to Manimuthar, a flying club in Tamil Nadu. He taxied it on the runway and took it off to a small height since he is not allowed fly above 20 ft. The flight took place under the guidance of a retired IAF wing commander, SKJ Nair.
"He brought his aircraft to the flying club, one evening. I have flown it to see its fitness. It is a perfect aircraft but we cannot fly it unless there is a registration. For a registration, it is mandatory that Saji needs to have the qualification and the aircraft parts have be purchased from authorised companies," says Nair.
Saji has in fact used a bike engine and other low-cost materials for first aircraft as he could not afford to buy expensive parts from authorised dealers. For the second aircraft built with a 65 HP hirth German engine, the aircraft weighs 265 kg and can fly up to a height of 10,000-13,000 feet. Industry experts said the aircraft can be used for sports aviation, recreation and training purposes. It has a speed of 140 km per hour. For an hour's flight, the plane needs 16 litres of petrol. It can fly non-stop for 2-2.5 hours.
The aircraft, built at a cost of Rs 14 lakh, is still at the hangar of the flying club. To buy a similar aircraft, one will have to shell out upwards of Rs 25 lakh.
"To fly, he needs to get a licence. He is trying to get the aircraft registered from the aviation regulator, DGCA," Saji's wife Maria told dna, with a half smile.
His next plan is to make a twin-engine aircraft which needs a short runway to take off. It would cost him around Rs 20 lakh.
That is a big dream for Saji. The man, who lives off a tiny rubber plantation and through odd jobs like electric wiring and repairing of TVs and fridges, can't think of spending such huge sums.
Son of an ex-military man, Saji dropped out of school when he was in studying in seventh standard. Helicopters were his initial attraction, and he made a toy helicopter with wood at the age of 14, with the help of his carpenter friend Dinesh. Once in a while when the helicopters landed at the rubber estate near his house, Saji used to sit with the pilots and watch them in admiration. His disabilities were never a deterrent. When he was grown up, they invited him to Juhu flying club in Mumbai where Saji spent a lot of time discovering and watching planes. He bought lot of aviation books in Mumbai and learnt by observing how the pilots and others maintained and flew aircraft.
Saji realised he was obsessed with planes and flying. With books he had bought and knowledge he gained, he built his first aircraft. Built at a cost of Rs 1.75 lakh, the single seater – weighing 200 kg – was powered with a 26.5 HP Yamaha engine. In 2005, he participated in the air show held in Ahmedabad, exhibiting his first aircraft. He won the Sristi Saman Award, then.
His aircraft created a flutter at the agriculture fair organised by the Gandhiji Study Centre at Thodupuzha in Kerala. The aircraft was later purchased by the Visveswaraya Institute of Engineering in Kottayam for Rs 1.5 lakh where aviation students use it as their study model.
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