ARUP CHATTERJEE VIVIDLY remembers that freezing Leh day from more than two years ago. As director (engineering and R&D) of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), he was in Leh for the cold weather endurance test of the light utility helicopter (LUH) prototype.
His team’s task was to fly the LUH to a helipad at 17,000ft, leave it exposed there for 24 hours (at -30° Celsius), and check whether the chopper was still fit to fly. The team landed at the helipad, but was grounded for two days because of rough weather. “We were worried whether the helicopter would start,” Chatterjee. “If it did not, bringing it back would have been difficult. To our surprise, even after being exposed to such a harsh environment for 48 hours, the helicopter started. It told us that we were on the right track.”
From its manufacturing base in Bengaluru, Chatterjee and his team flew the prototype to Leh, instead of sending it on a C-17-Globemaster transport aircraft. “We flew to Leh with breaks in between. The LUH flew for 6,000km without any fault,” he said. “At a stretch, it can fly for around 400km to 500km. Helicopters are, however, not meant for long-haul flights.”
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