The German-designed Hamburger Flugzeugbau HFB-320 Hansa Jet created quite a stir in general aviation in the 1960s. After William Lear struck public-relations gold with his LearJet, airplane manufacturers around the world took notice—including some in Germany. Hoping to out-engineer the little Lear, Hansa Jet designers strived to create a roomier jet that was just as fast, using the same General Electric CJ610 engines.
Hansa Jets employed a mid-wing design known to maximize speed. The jet was designed with a forward-swept wing to keep the spar carry-through section farther aft on the fuselage, opening up the whole front portion to a 15-foot-long, 69-inch-tall cabin unencumbered with carry-through spars. And with the engines mounted far aft, it boasted a quiet cabin.
Hansa Jets employed a mid-wing design known to maximize speed. The jet was designed with a forward-swept wing to keep the spar carry-through section farther aft on the fuselage, opening up the whole front portion to a 15-foot-long, 69-inch-tall cabin unencumbered with carry-through spars. And with the engines mounted far aft, it boasted a quiet cabin.
The GE CJ610 was the powerplant of choice, since there were basically no other small turbojets manufactured at the time. These engines produce brutish thrust and incredible climb performance at the penalties of copious fuel burn and decibel ratings that rival a Kiss concert. Speaking of Kiss, it was rumored the band used a Hansa Jet as its tour airplane in the 1970s.
April 1964 marked the first flight of the Hansa Jet. Deliveries started in 1968 and, depending on the source, 45 to 47 airframes were built until production ended in 1973. The largest customer was the German Air Force, which had 16. The airplane was certified to Part 25 standards and featured triple-redundant systems. It had a fully automated fuel system with a 1,075-gallon capacity spread through tip, wing, and fuselage tanks.
The Hansa Jet soldiered on for decades as a cargo hauler around the world. An operator in Turkey used them until the early 2000s.
Because of the low number of airframes in the field, it became economically impractical to re-engine or install hush kits on the noisy CJ610s, effectively limiting aircraft powered by such engines (Lear 20s, among others) to locations where Stage 3 noise limits weren’t in place.
An airworthiness directive issued in September 2006, when no Hansa Jets were reportedly even airworthy, put a symbolic last nail in the coffin of the type, limiting the airplane to 15,000 hours or cycles. Despite its forward-thinking design and safety touches, the Hansa became relegated to corners of airports throughout the world,
HANSA–NEXT GENERATION (HANSA-NG)
HANSA–NEXT GENERATION (HANSA-NG) AIRCRAFT Roll-out was on Wednesday, 31 March 2021 at 10.45 am at Golden Jubilee Aircraft Hangar, Belur Campus (Behind HAL Airport), CSIR-NAL, Bengaluru-560037.
CSIR-NAL, Bengaluru, pioneers in India’s Civil Aircraft Design & Development, initiated the design and development of a two-seater ab-initio trainer aircraft “HANSA” – an all-composite aircraft and the first of its kind in the country. The aircraft underwent extensive flight testings and was certified by DGCA under the JAR-VLA category in the year 2000. CSIR-NAL manufactured and delivered 11 aircraft to flying clubs across India through DGCA during the year 2000 to 2007. Total flying hours logged by these aircraft is about 4000 hrs. By 2016, India became one of the largest civil aviation markets with a huge demand for trained pilots.
Many flying clubs started looking for cost-effective trainer aircraft, which could meet the statutory requirements of commercial pilot licensing. Realizing this potential, CSIR-NAL decided to revitalize HANSA to cater to the demand for a trainer aircraft. Interactions with flying clubs and regulatory authorities led to the specifications of HANSA – New Generation (NG). With a growing need for a Swadeshi trainer aircraft, the Government sanctioned the HANSA –NG project towards the end of 2018. CSIR-NAL retro-modified HANSA-3 aircraft with a glass cockpit and got it certified by DGCA. The aircraft was demonstrated at Aero-India 2019.
CSIR-NAL identified M/s Mesco Aerospace Ltd. as the production partner and jointly started the design and development of HANSA-NG with lower cost and superior performance as compared to contemporary aircraft of a similar class. HANSA-NG is equipped with IFR-compliant avionics with smart multi-functional displays,a glass cockpit, and a bubble canopy design. The selection of a highly efficient digitally controlled Rotax 912 ISC engine with superior performance increased the range and endurance.
The Smart Composite Manufacturing facility was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Harsh Vardhan in 2019. Design and Production Organization Approvals were obtained from DGCA and manufacturing of HANSA-NG was initiated in September 2020. By using the innovative JIPREG composite technique various components of HANSA-NG were manufactured in a record time of four months only. Subsequently, by using the latest semi-jigless technology, integration and equipping of the aircraft was completed in a record time of a mere two weeks.
HANSA-NG was exhibited in Wings India 2020 and Aero India 2021. Attracted by its potential capabilities, several flying clubs gave Letters of Intent for about 30 aircraft on the spot. In addition to this, Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA) proposed to sign an MoU with CSIR-NAL as a launch customer of HANSA-NG for pilot training.
We acknowledge the support provided by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, DGCA, various Govt. and private flying clubs, IGRUA, IAF, HAL, and Capt. Amit Dahiya and Capt. Ritu Raj Tyagi for supporting the HANSA-NG program.
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