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Date: 11-15 February 2009

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The bi-annual Aero India air show was held at Yelahanka Air Force Station north of 
Bangalore early February. This is an active air force base which means some shuffling 
with the local fleet has to take place to free up space for the venue. The south
side of the base is used from east to west for exposition halls, the main static, 
chalets, main flight lines and VIP area. The BAe748, Do228 and An-32, normally 
occupying the ramps and hangars on the south side, relocate to the north side and other
bases. The north side has some smaller hangars, home to the Mi-8T and Dhruv. The 
Do228s, some BAe748s and An-32s are parked behind and between the small helicopter 
hangars, one of which is used by the demo team Suryakirans also.

It is a trade show, starting on Wednesday with the traditional inaugural fly-by, in 
the presence of top brass and other VIPs obviously. The public days are Saturday and 
Sunday, a limited number of entrance tickets are available and can only be obtained 
in India. Security was stepped up this year with each ticket holding a transponder 
chip card, allegedly enabling the security staff to follow crowd movement, so much 
for hangar bashing... However, the build-up starts the weekend before and accessing 
the show terrain is possible from Monday, the security is not that strict so it seems. 
In any case, formal media accreditation is necessary which can be done through the 
internet. The media centre is reasonably well laid out, with some internet computers 
available and a lounge with free soft drinks and water. The local military at the 
airport seem not at all briefed on media or spotter’s needs and they are not there 
to cooperate. Do not expect lenience on their part. Although this differs greatly 
between persons and days, the further down the week, the stricter they seem to get.

Participants are normally a reflection of the host nation’s current needs of the armed 
forces. With the Bharatiya Vayu Sena seeking 126 fourth generation fighter aircraft 
to replace its MiG-21 and Jaguar fleets in due time, the usual suspects flocked to India 
mostly bringing more than one airframe, with some duals for check rides. Lockheed-Martin 
went to great lengths with three F-16CJ/DJs and two F-16Fs present, the latter were marked 
F-16IN Super Viper for the occasion. Boeing sent two F/A-18Fs, the Eurofighter consortium 
had three EF2000s present, and lastly the Russians showed off their MiG-35.

India suffers from the current economic situation like many other countries, with local 
airlines postponing orders, not taking up options and scrapping routes. Especially the 
ambitious plans of Kingfisher have been thwarted by this. Nonetheless, the business jet
market is still strong and not surprisingly, the main manufacturers brought aircraft to 
Yelahanka, not in great numbers though. Indigenous developed aircraft are pushed by the 
government and local economy and defence specialists are questioning why a large country 
like India, aspiring to be a super power, is not capable of developing a sizeable portion 
of its own front line defence material. The ill fated Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT) suffered 
another landing incident when the gear suddenly collapsed, just like in 2007, forcing HAL 
to withdraw its participation from Aero India 2009. The Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)
programme runs very slowly although it has picked up some pace recently. The four ship 
formation in the fly by was no more than keeping up appearances, much like using serials 2011 
and 2012 for limited scale production (LSP) aircraft number six and seven. With the first 
prototype being cannibalized for spares, only a couple of airframes have joined the flight 
test programme since 2007. The first dual was rolled out recently though, and in 2007 
expectations were wisely tempered by HAL. With hindsight, it was no surprise that the HAL 
helicopter division went all out with five Fuerza Aerea Ecuatoriana Advanced Light Helicopter
(ALH) Dhruvs being displayed. These will be delivered shortly with two more to follow later 
this year. Another small South American success was the order from Surinam for three aircraft. 
HAL has been targeting several Latino countries with this "poor man’s EC145", promoting its 
good hot-and-high qualities and very competitive price. That said, these were actually only 
the first export customers where the Dhruv won under competition, but at least its progress.

The report is largely based on opening day, the 11th of February, unless stated the
aircraft were seen then.

Static:
J4047 		Dhruv 		151 HU 		c/n DS36
A3489           Hawk Mk132 	FTS   
JT066           Jaguar           
Z3140           Mi-35            
CU2219 		MiG-21Bison
TU633 		MiG-27MU       
KB742           MiG-29         
KF146           Mirage 2000H   
SB114           Su-30MKI-3 	20sq
IT365           T-6G 		Dundigal  
KH2011 		Tejas 		HAL
30+38 		EF2000(T) 	nn
FAE601 		Dhruv 		Esc2211 	hall     
FAE603          Dhruv 		Esc2211 	c/n DS91     
FAE605          Dhruv 		Esc2211          
VT-DBK          DH.82A 		Dundigal 	‘HU838’
VT-OSB          A119                   
‘XA-001’ 	Kanpur I ? Replica

Flightline (* = flying 11th):
IN240 		Do228-201
10+27 		A310-304MRTT 	FBS BMvg
30+23, 30+25 	EF2000 		JG73
FAE602 		Dhruv 		Esc2211 	c/n DS87
FAE604 		Dhruv 		Esc2211 	c/n DS88
569 		G550 Nachson Aitam IsraelAF
154 		MiG-35 		RSK MiG
3009* 		F-16F 		Shaheen 1sq 	UAE AF
3015* 		F-16F 		Shaheen 3sq 	UAE AF
00-0174/AK* 	C-17A 		517th AS 	USAF
07-4637 	C-130J-30 	463rd AW 	USAF
58-0046/ZZ 	KC-135T 	909th ARS 	USAF
90-0812/WW 	F-16CJ 		"14th FS" 	USAF
92-3886/WW* 	F-16CJ 		14th FS 	USAF
90-0834/WW* 	F-16DJ 		14th FS 	USAF
166675/NJ-134 	F/A-18F 	VFA-122 	USN
166790/NJ-135* 	F/A-18F 	VFA-122 	USN
A6-NLA 		ERJ135 		Prestige Jet 
HB-JSZ          Falcon 7X 	Dasnair SA
N974VV          DC-10-40 	Omega Air  
(RA-)11529 	An-12B 		RSK MiG
VT-BRT 		Ce525A CJ2+ 	TAAL            
VT-HOA          NAL Hansa 3 	NAL             
VT-XRM          NAL Saras 	NAL               
N351CB          Beech B200                  
N390EU          Premier IA 	Hawker Beechcraft
N563XL          Ce560XLS+ 	Cessna            
FAE602 was moved to the static and was joined by FAE605 that
was present 14 February.

Other side (* = flew 11th):
K2740, K2684 	An-32
K2695 		An-32
H1178/B 	BAe748-218 	FWTF 		wh c/s
H1182 		BAe748-220
H1515, H1518 	BAe748-247
H2377 		BAe748-247
Z1414 		Chetak
J4041*, J4042* 	Dhruv 		151 HU Sarangs
J4043*, J4045 	Dhruv 		151 HU Sarangs
J4046, J4049 	Dhruv 		151 HU Sarangs
J4050* 		Dhruv 		151 HU Sarangs
J4063, J4065 	Dhruv 		151 HU Sarangs [H]
Z3268 		Dhruv 		HAL 		spec c/s
HM673, HM674 	Do228-201 	FWTF
HM680, HM683 	Do228-201 	FWTF
HM687, HM688 	Do228-201 	FWTF
HM695 		Do228-201 	FWTF
A3621* 		Hawk Mk132 	FTS
U2466*, U2471*	HJT-16 Kiran II 52sq Suryakirans
U2480*, U2482* 	HJT-16 Kiran II 52sq Suryakirans
U2487*, U2491* 	HJT-16 Kiran II 52sq Suryakirans
U2507, U2510* 	HJT-16 Kiran II 52sq Suryakirans
U2520*, U____ 	HJT-16 Kiran II 52sq Suryakirans
Z2342 		Mi-8T 		Stored 		hulk
Z2364 		Mi-8T 		112 HU
Z2369		Mi-8T 		112 HU [H]
Z2384*, Z2391 	Mi-8T 		112 HU
Z2388* 		Mi-8T 		112 HU [H]
Z2398*, Z2404* 	Mi-8T 		112 HU
Z2837 		Mi-8T 		112 HU
SB050* 		Su-30MKI 			special c/s
SB112 		Su-30MKI-3 			special c/s
KH2012* 	Tejas 		HAL
VT-HAM 		Dhruv 				red c/s

Flying only:
Z1924/4 	Cheetah 			11th
Z3476/V 	Cheetah 			11th
IA1105 		Dhruv 				sand c/s, 11th
IA1114          Dhruv 				11th         
IA1123          Dhruv 				11th         
IA1130          Dhruv 				11th         
IA1139          Dhruv 				12th         
The army contingent arrives each day from an airfi eld near
Bangalore. This might be the heliport of HAL’s helicopter division,
north of HAL airport and the HAL heritage museum. But
that is only used for trials and acceptation fl ights, the army airfi
eld should be somewhere in the south eastern part of greater
Bangalore.

Inaugural fly by 11th:
Group 1:
J40__ 		Dhruv
U674/74 	HJT-16 Kiran I 	FTS
U836/36 	HJT-16 Kiran I 	FTS
SB042, SB132 	Su-30MKI-3 	20sq

Group 2:
K2744 		An-32
HM671 		Do228-201 	FWTF
HM690 		Do228-201 	FWTF

Group 3:
RK3449 		Il-78MKI 	78sq
KF143		Mirage 2000H
KF144 		Mirage 2000H

Group 4:
A3481, A3493 	Hawk Mk132 	FTS
A3494, A3495 	Hawk Mk132 	FTS
A3500 		Hawk Mk132 	FTS

Group 5:
JS171, JS173	Jaguar IS
JS178, JS187 	Jaguar IS
JT063 		Jaguar IT

Group 6:
KH2002, KH2003 	Tejas 		HAL
KH2004, KH2005 	Tejas 		HAL
The fly-by featured nearly the same types and formations as
two years ago, only the navy did not participate this year. Most
flew from Bangalore HAL airport, the old international airport in
town. Tejas KH2002 landed at Yelahanka, as did the Dorniers.
Some spares were present at Bangalore:
A3503 		Hawk Mk132 			12th
U696 		HJT-16 Kiran I 			7th
Practises for the fly by were performed on Sunday and Monday.
So this merits a visit to HAL airport. The actual defile only takes
place on the opening day, usually Wednesday and usually late
in the morning. Make sure your are present well before 10
o’clock.

Elsewhere:
VTCYX 		Dakota III 	pres. BSF area
W1759 		TS-11 Iskra 	pres. Inside gate

Visit:
9.  K2662/B 	Il-76MD
10. K2662/B 	Il-76MD
11. H2376 	BAe748
    K3603 	ERJ135BJ
    K2662/B 	Il-76MD
12. K2691 	An-32
    K2726 	An-32
    K3603 	ERJ135BJ
    K2662/B 	Il-76MD
13. K2742 	An-32

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