Scaled Aviation Industries is Pakistan’s first airplane manufacturing company that makes cost-effective airplanes for local transportation and pilot training programs. It started in 2002 with the mission to be independent in airplane manufacturing industry by giving Pakistan a feasible and stable solution. Dr. Faisal Naveed Asif, Founder and CEO of Scaled Aviation, has certainly innovated and changed the way airplanes are being used locally.
Scaled Aviation Industries is making cost-effective and fuel-economical aircrafts in Pakistan which are significantly cheaper than the imported airplanes flying in Pakistan. It has made a small aircraft with the name of Storm Rally that can be used for commercial pilot training programs, surveillance of borders as well as an ambulance for evacuation in emergency situations. It is composite material aircraft with 100hh engine. The material is strong as steel but very light with a long-life cycle, as it is rust-free – and this is what brings affordability to this aircraft.
Before Faisal started this project, he observed capabilities and the price of available airplanes in the market, keeping in view the essential need constraints that are hindering the growth of the aviation industry and eventually resulting in lower number of trained pilots. “For this matter, we observed that fuel is very much expensive here. Secondly, aircrafts were being purchased from the foreign countries only because they were not being manufactured in Pakistan. It also happens that if governments of both the countries have some political issues then they apply sanctions, leading to the probability that we wouldn’t be able to find required parts in Pakistan,” said Faisal.
The aviation club initially faced several difficulties. The documentation process was hectic in order to import parts; and it created problems for the schools because there were hardly any planes to fleet but a huge number of students to be reprioritized. Faisal explains, “The number of aviation students was quite high as compared to the number of available imported airplanes in Pakistan. It was troubling for aviation schools but the biggest challenge faced was high-costs and maintenance. All the planes being used in aviation were operating on 100LL fuel, which is very expensive alternative and majorly the cost of the training is dependent on it.”
Storm Rally, manufactured by Scaled Aviation, consumes regular petrol, which is used in the cars and it’s almost 1/3rd the cost of the other aircrafts using 100LL. It gives this aircraft an edge to come around and for being used in fight training programs in Pakistan which is extremely expensive otherwise. This aircraft will be able to bring down the costs. “It’s a two-seat aircraft which can carry 130 liters and cover 1600 Kilometers. It has the capability of going from any edge of Pakistan to the other with a speed of 100 or 120 Knot, which is almost 200KM plus. It’s cheap and half the cost in comparison to other aircrafts,” said Air (CDR) Khalid.
This is the first aircraft designed to aid general aviation in Pakistan, as the rate of general aviation is quite low in comparison with a population of 180 million people. It can land or take off from raw land, grassy field, road or flat ground from 600 feet instead of 900 plus feet runways. It is a two seater with all the features which a student can practice in a commercial aircraft or commuter, but SA is planning new models with up to ten seater for local commuting, as there are several remote areas in Pakistan where it is very hard to travel. By road, it takes long spans of time and it is not safe either, especially if you look at Baluchistan.
At West Coast, all the way from Gawadar to Pasni, these areas are totally deserted. Travelling by air has been so expensive that it has not occurred to masses that how aviation is being used only with limited options. Scaled aviation empowers the idea of cost-effective air travelling which is possible because now 23% of the aircraft is made in Pakistan. Gradually, it will lead to the possibility of manufacturing the major structural components locally, making it even more affordable. “Even now it is very low in cost which equals to the cost of a Land Cruiser. It is maintained like an ordinary car. You have to change its oil, spark plugs, and tires. Since it’s rare that anyone would want to fly everyday, the maintenance cost of this aircraft is very low,” adds Khalid.
Manufacturing aircrafts is not an easy job. It implicates that the manufactured planes have their efficacy. “It has a lot to do with reliability. We have to know each and every possibility of any issue; we have to know where the material is coming from that we are using in our manufacturing, working skills of our labor and those who are counter checking these planes. This process involves a whole team to work together to produce an airworthy aircraft,” Faisal elaborates.
It not only has numerous technical aspects related to reliability and stable functioning but also there is so much to deal with in terms of legislations and technology. Fortunately, the local government has been very supportive by setting rules and regulations for Civil Aviation Authority. Technological advancements that are essential for facilitating the manufacturing process are not present in Pakistan. Therefore, these services are imported from an established world renowned company ATR. Scaled Aviation started its production under the license of ATR but now it is steadily trying to replace the parts of planes that are manufactured locally. It’s called the deletion process and the company has already achieved 23 percent.
