What is HTT-40?

About HTT-40:

• The Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40) is a basic trainer aircraft (BTA).
• Manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), the aircraft has been indigenously designed and developed by the Aircraft Research & Design Centre of HAL, and is based on the training requirements of the Indian Armed Force (IAF).
• The aircraft will meet the shortage of BTAs for the training of newly inducted pilots of the Indian Air Force (IAF).
• It will be used for basic flight training, aerobatics, instrument flying, and close formation flights, in addition to undertaking secondary missions such as navigation and night flying flights.
• Features: 
  • It is a turboprop aircraft designed to have good low-speed handling for better training effectiveness.
  • It is a fixed-wing aircraft incorporating an all-metal airframe design. 
  • It has a maximum take-off weight of 2.8 tonnes. 
  • It can achieve a top speed of 450 Km/hr and a maximum range of 1,000km. 
  • The fully aerobatic tandem seat HTT-40 has an air-conditioned cockpit, modern avionics with multifunction displays, hot refueling, and zero-zero (zero speed and zero altitude) ejection seats.

What is a Turboprop aircraft?

• A turboprop aircraft uses a turbo-prop engine rather than a piston-powered engine or a jet engine.
• They have one or more gas-turbine engines connected to a gearbox that turns the propeller(s) to move the aircraft on the ground and through the air.
• They have lower operating costs than jets because they burn less fuel, but they are also slower than jets.

Q1) What is Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)?

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) is an aerospace and defense company, owned by the government of India. The company develops, designs, manufactures, and supplies aircraft, helicopters, avionics, and communications equipment for military and civil markets.

Source: IAF deputy chief flies HTT-40 trainer aircraft in Bengaluru