Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is India’s largest aeronautical firm. It has several facilities throughout the country, with the largest being its headquarters at Bangalore. HAL is a huge employer in the area with most of its premises at an airfield just to the east of the city, known as the HAL Airport. HAL Airport was Bangalore’s main international airport until 2008 when a new airport was built from scratch at Devenahalli, to the north of the city.
Bangalore is one of the most economically important cities in India, with considerable growth in the last couple of years, especially in high tech industries such as computer programming. HAL Airport was struggling to cope with that growth - the opening of the new airport not only gave the city a much needed modern airport but also freed up capacity at the old airport to allow HAL to continue its work there with less restrictions.
Currently, important projects include upgrades to the Indian Air Force Jaguar and MiG-27 fleet along with development and manufacture of advanced indigenous designs such as the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA, now known as Tejas) and the Light Observation Helicopter (LOH) which recently entered service with the Indian Army as the Dhruv.
In a bid to preserve the history of the company, HAL has founded a small museum on the perimeter of the airport. The museum has a collection of aircraft that are either products of HAL or saw service with the Indian forces. The museum is housed in two purpose built halls, with a collection of aircraft being displayed outside in a well tended garden area. The building offers views over part of the airport itself, although photography from there is forbidden.
The aircraft displayed outside are now equipped with sun shades to protect them from the high temperatures experienced during much of the year. No doubt this is good for the airframes, but certainly makes photography tricky. The aircraft are displayed in groups according to their role. The first group is a selection of HAL designed and built training aircraft, including the piston-engined HT-2 and the Kiran jet trainer. The Kiran bears a resemblance to the Jet Provost and, having entered service in 1968, remains the IAF’s main intermediate jet trainer.
Close by is a de Havilland Dove twin engine light transport. Some twenty of these British built aircraft were acquired by the IAF as VIP transports and they served for nearly three decades, up until the early 1980s. Further British designs on display include a Canberra B(I)58, the export version of the RAF’s B(I)8 featuring the offset “fighter” canopy. The IAF had a long relationship with the Canberra, with the aircraft being operated in its various marks up until 2007.
More British influence can be seen in one of the two helicopters in the museum – a rather surprising exhibit is a Westland Sea King in the colours of the Indian Navy. The aircraft is one of the first batch which was delivered to the Indian Navy in 1970 and is preserved in the smart original white and blue colour scheme. The other helicopter on display is a much more modern design, albeit a replica.
The HAL Light Observation Helicopter (LOH) program has recently entered full service with the Indian Army and during my visit to the museum several examples were being test flown just over the fence, tantalisingly out of reach! The museum has a pre-production full size mock-up on display, one of several aircraft replicas inherited from the Bangalore plant.
Perhaps the most interesting line up of aircraft is a group of jet fighters and trainers. First in line is a HAL HF-24 Marut, the first Indian designed and built jet fighter. This aircraft was designed by the famous German aircraft designer Kurt Tank, who was previously responsible the Focke Wulf Fw190 flown by the Luftwaffe during WWII. The Marut was a fairly successful design - 147 were built and they served the IAF mainly as ground attack aircraft with the last of the type being retired in 1990. The aircraft on display is a rare two-seat trainer featuring a camouflage paint scheme apparently never applied to Maruts in service.
Alongside the Marut is an example of the ubiquitous MiG-21, in this case a MiG-21U tandem seat trainer. The IAF (and indeed HAL) had a long association with the MiG-21 and it still serves in substantial numbers in upgraded form.
The line up is completed by two full size wooden replicas of aircraft currently under development by HAL. These are the HJT-36 Sitara jet trainer and the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA). The LCA is similar in size and configuration to the Saab Gripen and is currently being test flown from Bangalore. The first production aircraft flew in 2008 and the IAF hope to eventually operate over 200 of the aircraft. HAL is also developing a version for the Indian Navy, capable of carrier operations.
As an indication of India’s current and future ambitions for space flight, a heat shield from an PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) Rocket is also part of the museum’s collection. The PSLV is India’s primary satellite launch system, capable of placing satellites earth orbit, and Bangalore is one of the primary research and control centres for the ambitious Indian space program.
Inside the main museum building are a pair of piston-engined aircraft, both of which are HAL products. The Basant is an agricultural aircraft designed for crop spraying and the like. Also displayed inside is the Puskpak light aircraft, along with a collection of engines and memorabilia relevant to the history of HAL.
The HAL Heritage Centre is a small, but clearly interesting collection of aircraft, displayed in pleasant, well tended grounds. There appears to be an area behind the current collection which could allow future expansion if desired – it certainly helps having India’s largest aeronautical company’s research and development facility on your doorstep!
One of my colleagues commented (rather unkindly I hasten to add) that they seem to spend more time and effort looking after the grass lawns than the aircraft! Certainly the lawns are immaculate, the aircraft slightly less so! Still, the collection is in good condition for future restoration – most of the aircraft are just a little shabby and faded from being exhibited outside in the sunshine.
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2010-03-05 - Will
I first went here in 2006. I'd been seconded out there for 18 months, working with HAL on licence-build of Mk132 Hawk and was living a short walk away. Me and a colleague managed to convince the guards to let us in despite arriving 5 minutes before they were due to close. We then spent the best part of another 30-45 minutes walking around the exhibits.
They were less well protected then, and i'm glad to see that most of the aircraft seem to be under cover from the sun. Maybe one day there'll be a BAe Hawk retired there.
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