An Organizing Committee, under the chairmanship of T. S. Vijayaraghavan, Secretary, Defence Production and Supplies, Ministry of Defence has been formed. A number of sub-committees are also in the pipeline, which will be exclusively deal with the subjects allotted to it to ensure smooth running of the show.

Work on hosting Aero India 98 on a much larger scale has started well in advance. Planning is being done in a scientific manner. The organisers are providing additional infrastructure by constructing a new hangar measuring 2,400 sq. m. for accommodating more exhibitors, two new annexes to house modern restaurants, business centre, convention centre, etc.

In addition, the organisers are adding 9,500 sq. m. of outdoor area and propose to add 6,000 sq. m. for static display and dispersal area.

Based on past experience the organisers have decided to enhance the basic facilities to the exhibitors and visitors alike which include, power and water supply, better communication, banks, post office, telephones/fax, larger car parking area, etc.

A new reception/facilitation centre for VIPs, exhibitors and trade visitors is being created at the entrance of the Air Force Station to streamline the flow of participants to the show.Like at the last show, there will be a flying display for two hours every day during Aero India '98, which will be supervised by experienced personnel of Indian Air Force.

The pilots taking part in the flying display will be briefed every morning by the authorities concerned on the various parameters at the Flight Operations Centre, which was constructed just before the last show. The static aircraft display area and the parking area for aircraft taking part in flying display are also being enlarged to accommodate more aircraft.

As part of the liberalization and globalization process,

India is now on the road to rapid economic growth. India has a well developed aeronautical industry and also a sizeable ancillary industry that can be a good source of components.

Many foreign aeronautical organizations are dealing with Indian industry and have established collaborations and tie-ups.The civil aviation sector is witnessing a rapid growth.

Programme of modernization of Indian airports is in full swing to meet the growing challenges.

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Indian Air Force, Defence Research and Development Organisation, various defence organizations, ancillary industry in the civil aviation sector and the Karnataka State Government is actively supporting the show.Since the last show lot of developments have taken place. The fifth prototype of Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) in its civil version will be taking part in a significant way. The PTC2-ALH civil variant is scheduled to fly in October/December this year.The Government's thrust is on marketing of the show by entering into agreements with other aerospace exhibitors at Lima '97 in Malaysia, Helitech '97 in the UK, Defence Asia '97 in Thailand, Dubai 97, ILA '98 in Germany, ending up with Farnborough Air Show to promote Aero India '98 worldwide. The organisers were earlier in Paris, London, Dubai, etc to promote the show.On requests from participants for planning calendar year 1997, the organisers have decided to extend the early bird discount of 15 per cent to participants up to December this year. Also a 15 per cent concession is being extended to foreign participants wishing to put up National Pavilions exceeding 200 sq. m. of indoor area.Indian Aviation Civil & Military, the only weekly aerospace magazine, published from Bombay, will be bringing out a Show Daily on all five days of the event. In Aero India 96 too, Indian Aviation had published Show Dailies, which were a runaway success. Meanwhile, the Government is also organizing a land and maritime system exhibition in New Delhi in September 1999.The endeavour of the Government of India and the organisers of Aero India 98 will be to host the show in a better fashion and give every exhibitor facilities and services to his money's worth and to make this show a success.CCCCommemorative flight to celebrate Golden Jubilee of Indian independence AS part of the celebrations of the 50th year of independence, the Aeronautical Society of India (AeSI) is organising a 14-day `freedom flight' from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and back. The flight will, however, start from Bangalore. All aviation-related organisations, including Hindustan Aeronautics Limited are associated with this flight.

To be flagged off from Bangalore on November 1, a Pushpak aircraft will be flown by a two-member team comprising Air Vice Marshal A. S. Lamba of Indian Avitronics and A. Ramanathan of Centre for Air Borne Surveillance (CABS). The aircraft is scheduled to return to Bangalore on November 13.The aim of the `freedom flight' is to instill the air mindedness among youths of the country; spread message of freedom and integration during the Golden Jubilee Year of Independence; to make public aware of the growth of aviation in India, especially from the Pushpak, a light two-seat aircraft, to HF-24 Marut, the first transonic fighter produced in the country, to latest state-of-the-art Light Combat Aircraft that will enter service with Indian Air Force by the turn of the Century, and futuristic plans for producing medium transport aircraft.The aircraft, on its trans-India flight, will pass through Bangalore, Coimbatore, Trivandrum, Kanyakumari, Cochin, Coimbatore, Bangalore, Bellary, Hyderabad, Nanded, Akola, Bhopal, Kota, Jaipur, Delhi (Safdarjung), Chandigarh, Pathankot, Udhampur, Srinagar, and Jammu. At each stops, local dignitaries will receive the `freedom flight' and the functions will be open to the public. Major functions are planned at Bangalore, Delhi and Srinagar.All the State Governments, whose territory, the aircraft will pass through, will be actively involved.An advance party providing ground support to the aircraft and technical assistance will be travelling by road.The Pushpak will be painted in the newly-developed colour scheme, marking 50 years of Independence of the country.AeSI forms international chapter in Washington THE Aeronautical Society of India (AeSI) has recently formed an international chapter in Washington, as part of its efforts to go global, and immensely benefit the members in India to keep abreast of the activities in the United States. The chapter plans various activities in Washington, which will act as a window for what the aeronautic community has done and achieved in India and interact with fellow members.

The thrust is to bring people of Indian origin, who are specialists, particularly in software under one umbrella to explore the possibilities of how the knowledge can be shared with their Indian counterparts.The chapter will also recognise people from India by giving special awards, although they get many awards from their respective organisations in the United States. It will be a matter of pride that their own country recognises their services in the fields of expertise. As of now already 30 members have been enrolled and the Washington Chapter has an aim of enrolling around 200 members within the next two/three years.M. R. Sivaraman, Director of International Monetary Fund is the Chairman of the international chapter, with Dr K. S. Nagraj, Hon. Treasurer, John Augustus, Jt. Hon. Secretary, who arflying displays every day for five days -- December 8-12. Show Dailies will be published on all five days giving exiting news and photographs from the show site.HECTIC preparations are afoot for the Aero India 98 show at the Yelahanka Air Force Station, Bangalore, scheduled for December 8-12.With the resounding success of the first international aerospace exposition organised by the Department of Defence Production and Supplies, in association with the Department of Civil Aviation and Department of Space, last year, the Government of India has decided to continue hosting this important biennial event on a much bigger scale.

With over 100 international companies from 13 countries and 50 Indian participants, Aero India '96 was acclaimed as one of the most successful in Asia, providing an important forum for industry-customer interaction and one which generated considerable business possibilities in the region. Impartial industry observers and professional aerospace media commented that `for news and new aircraft, Aero India 96 probably emerged top amongst the Asian air shows last year.' The organisers own market survey has resulted in 40 to 50 per cent increase in participation over last show. The organisers are confident that this time there will be increased participation from both Indian and international aerospace companies.ternational seminar on Futuristic Aircraft Technologies, jointly organised by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Aeronautical Society of India (AeSI) was held at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. The presentation of papers by leading scientists and top management from the aeronautical industry was a tribute to the scientific talent and many decades of R&D and production activities in India. An international seminar is also proposed to be conducted as part of the show where topics of immense interest for the aeronautical community will be discussed by top level scientists, industrialists, engineers, aviators and academicians from India and abroad. The theme of the seminar will focus attention on a wide a range of matters that concern aerospace industry and equipment users and the participants will include eminent personalities from India and abroad, whose valuable experience will be shared on the occasion. The proceedings of this seminar are expected to have a great impact on the trends in aviation, as the world enters the 21st century.A committee, under the chairmanship of Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister and Secretary, Defence Research and Development Organisation has been formed. Dr K. Ramchand, Director of Centre for Air Borne Studies (CABS) is the coordinator.

The seminar is scheduled to be held on December 8, 9 and 10 at J. N. Tata Memorial Auditorium of Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.The show will give a first-hand idea of the liberalization programme underway in India, which presents participation in the expanding civil aviation sector. This can be a showcase foe based in Washington and K. Srinivasa, Hon. Secretary, based in Bangalore. The Aeronautical Society of India plans to have chapters in Australia, Singapore and France and countries where a number of aeronautic engineers of Indian origin are settled.AeSI was formed in 1948 with the then Prime Minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru as the Patron-in-Chief. The Society has come a long way since then and today has it has 13 Chapters spread over the country, which include Agra, Bangalore, Bombay, Calcutta, Chandigarh, Cochin, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kanpur, Koraput, Madras, Nasik and TrivandrumInterestingly, The Royal Aeronautical Society, the oldest aeronautical society in the world, founded in 1866 has more than 40 branches worldwide with five divisions in Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The divisions in Australia has four branches and the one in New Zealand has seven.Seminar on Helicopter operationsA two-day seminar on Helicopter For Decelopment is being organised by Genser_Aviation of Bangalore, with the endorsement of the Aeronautical Society of India (AeSI) and the Society for Indian Aerospace Technologies and Industries (SIATI) in Bangalore, October 31-November 1.Ranjan Chatterjee, Chairman of Airports Authority of India and a former chairman of Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd, will inaugurate the seminar and deliver the keynote address.

The discussions, spread over seven sessions will cover various aspects of: 1. Perspective; 2. Applications; 3. Enhancing role; 4. Product presentation; 5. Helicopter economics; 6. Defence experiences -- Civil Applications; and 7. Emerging technologies and future applications. The last session will be devoted to panel discussions, headed by Wing Commander I M Chopra (Retd), former chairman of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). The seminar will dwell on some of the key issues facing the helicopter industry and evolve directions and roles for manufacturers and users, both in India and abroad. HAL, the Indian armed forces including Indian Air Force, Indian Navy, Army Aviation Corps of Indian Army, Indian Coast Guard, Border Security Force, are expected to send their senior officers to attend the seminar. edy for five days -- December 8-12. Show Dailies will be published on all five days giving exiting news and photographs from the show site.HECTIC preparations are afoot for the Aero India 98 show at the Yelahanka Air Force Station, Bangalore, scheduled for December 8-12.With the resounding success of the first international aerospace exposition organised by the Department of Defence Production and Supplies, in association with the Department of Civil Aviation and Department of Space, last year, the Government of India has decided to continue hosting this important biennial event on a much bigger scale.

With over 100 international companies from 13 countries and 50 Indian participants, Aero India '96 was acclaimed as one of the most successful in Asia, providing an important forum for industry-customer interaction and one which generated considerable business possibilities in the region. Impartial industry observers and professional aerospace media commented that `for news and new aircraft, Aero India 96 probably emerged top amongst the Asian air shows last year.'

The organisers own market survey has resulted in 40 to 50 per cent increase in participation over last show. The organisers are confident that this time there will be increased participation from both Indian and international aerospace companies.ternational seminar on Futuristic Aircraft Technologies, jointly organised by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Aeronautical Society of India (AeSI) was held at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. The presentation of papers by leading scientists and top management from the aeronautical industry was a tribute to the scientific talent and many decades of R&D and production activities in India. An international seminar is also proposed to be conducted as part of the show where topics of immense interest for the aeronautical community will be discussed by top level scientists, industrialists, engineers, aviators and academicians from India and abroad. The theme of the seminar will focus attention on a wide a range of matters that concern aerospace industry and equipment users and the participants will include eminent personalities from India and abroad, whose valuable experience will be shared on the occasion. The proceedings of this seminar are expected to have a great impact on the trends in aviation, as the world enters the 21st century.A committee, under the chairmanship of Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister and Secretary, Defence Research and Development Organisation has been formed. Dr K. Ramchand, Director of Centre for Air Borne Studies (CABS) is the coordinator.The seminar is scheduled to be held on December 8, 9 and 10 at J. N. Tata Memorial Auditorium of Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.The show will give a first-hand idea of the liberalization programme underway in India, which presents participation in the expanding civil aviation sector. This can be a showcase foe based in Washington and K. Srinivasa, Hon. Secretary, based in Bangalore. The Aeronautical Society of India plans to have chapters in Australia, Singapore and France and countries where a number of aeronautic engineers of Indian origin are settled.AeSI was formed in 1948 with the then Prime Minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru as the Patron-in-Chief. The Society has come a long way since then and today has it has 13 Chapters spread over the country, which include Agra, Bangalore, Bombay, Calcutta, Chandigarh, Cochin, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kanpur, Koraput, Madras, Nasik and Trivandrum.

Interestingly, The Royal Aeronautical Society, the oldest aeronautical society in the world, founded in 1866 has more than 40 branches worldwide with five divisions in Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The divisions in Australia has four branches and the one in New Zealand has seven.Seminar on Helicopter operationsA two-day seminar on Helicopter For Decelopment is being organised by Genser_Aviation of Bangalore, with the endorsement of the Aeronautical Society of India (AeSI) and the Society for Indian Aerospace Technologies and Industries (SIATI) in Bangalore, October 31-November 1.Ranjan Chatterjee, Chairman of Airports Authority of India and a former chairman of Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd, will inaugurate the seminar and deliver the keynote address.The discussions, spread over seven sessions will cover various aspects of: 1. Perspective; 2. Applications; 3. Enhancing role; 4. Product presentation; 5. Helicopter economics; 6. Defence experiences -- Civil Applications; and &.EmEmerging technologies and future applications. The last session will be devoted to panel discussions, headed by Wing Commander I M Chopra (Retd), former chairman of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). The seminar will dwell on some of the key issues facing the helicopter industry and evolve directions and roles for manufacturers and users, both in India and abroad. HAL, the Indian armed forces including Indian Air Force, Indian Navy, Army Aviation Corps of Indian Army, Indian Coast Guard, Border Security Force, are expected to send their senior officers to attend the seminar.