The Mahindra group aims to replicate the success of Brazilian aero major ‘Embraer’. The first step towards this end will be the manufacture of the NM-5 general aviation aircraft being developed jointly with National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) and Mahindra Aerospace. Director NAL, A.R. Upadhya said that he expects the first flight of the NM-5 in September 2011 and that there were no plans to display the aircraft at ‘Aero India 2011’, as it would delay work. Once the maiden flight is completed and certification obtained, manufacture will shift to Mahindra facilities. Overseas certification and manufacture will be handled by Australian subsidiary Gippsland Aerospace.

The seven billion dollar Mahindra group signaled their entry into the aerospace sector by acquiring Australian company Gippsland Aeronautics (GA) and Aerostaff Australia in December last year. GA has delivered more than 200, FAR 23-certified planes in 34 countries while Aerostaff Australia (AA) manufactures high-precision close-tolerance aircraft components and assemblies for large aerospace OEMs. Speaking at the press conference Anand Mahindra, vice chairman and managing director, Mahindra Group, stated that the acquisitions would allow Mahindra to combine “Indian frugality and high quality with Australian technological knowledge.” The group is already transferring customer and domain knowledge to its facilities in Bangalore and the subsidiaries will offer access to proven and established procedures and manufacturing techniques in the aviation sector. Mahindra is looking at investing USD 50 million in its aerospace business over the next few years and their partner, a leading tier one supplier, has already asked Mahindra to quadruple their existing facility in Bangalore. Hemanth Luthra, president, Mahindra Systech mentioned that the Indian offset and general aviation market represented a five billion dollar market over the coming years.

The NM-5 is a 5-seat aircraft which is an extension of the Hansa developed by NAL. The NM-5 will be certified for Day, Night Visual Flight Rules (VFR) and Instrument Flight Rules (IFR). The standard version will be equipped with conventional instruments and stand alone avionics with limited environment control. The more comprehensive deluxe version will offer glass cockpit with Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS) and auto-pilot integrated with GPS-enabled navigation and communication systems along with air conditioning. A useful load of 580kg is projected and the NM-5 will have the Lycoming IO-540 engine delivering 300hp with an expected top speed of 296 kmph. Mahindra will undertake marketing and sales in India while Gippsland Aeronautics will handle overseas markets.