Light Combat Aircraft Tejas clears last hurdle

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The Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)Tejas on Thursday cleared its last hurdle before attaining the January 10-scheduled Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) with the aircraft’s integrated flight control system receiving the necessary documentation from the certifying authorities.

The Regional Centre for Military Airworthiness (RCMA) handed over the certification for the LCA’s integrated flight control system (IFCS) – the pilot-friendly flight controls.

The three teams involved in the LCA programme responsible for the IFCS were Control Law (CLAW), Flight Simulation team and the Parameter Identification team. “Over the years we have developed flight controls that have made the aircraft user-friendly for the pilots to do up to 8 or 9 G’s (eight to nine times the gravitation force). All the 14 test pilots who have flown the LCA over the last 10 years have said we have done a great job and there is nothing more satisfying than this,” Shyam Chetty, project director, CLAW, and the overall head of the three teams, said.

The three groups were formed separately in 1992 by former President APJ Abdul Kalam when he was the scientific advisor to the defence minister, and have been working closely since then.
Team members recalled the negative publicity the programme received in the initial years and the demands to wind it down as it was considered “more trouble than its worth”.