NEW DELHI (PTI):  Hansa New Generation aircraft designed and developed by CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories, Bengaluru successfully made its maiden flight on Friday, a statement said.

The aircraft took off from HAL airport at 2.09 pm and flew at an altitude of 4,000 ft, and gained a speed of 80 knots before it made a successful landing after about 20 minutes, it said.

Test pilot Captain Amit Dahiya, who flew the aircraft, said all the flight parameters were found normal and it was a textbook flight .

The Hansa New Generation (NG) aircraft has a glass cockpit with cabin comfort, highly efficient digitally controlled engine, electrically operated flaps, long endurance, low acquisition and low operating cost.

CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) has already received 72 Letters of Intent from various flying clubs and the aircraft will be certified within the next four months before it gets inducted into service, the statement said.

The flight was monitored in telemetry by senior officers and scientists/engineers from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Centre for Military Airworthiness & Certification (CEMILAC) and CSIR-NAL.

Shekhar C Mande, Director General, CSIR said the milestone flight is the culmination of efforts of the CSIR-NAL design team, flight test crew and DGCA.

He further mentioned that CSIR-NAL has already identified a private partner and series production will start soon.

He applauded the efforts of Abbani Rinku, Project Director, HANSA and team NAL for their tireless efforts, the statement added.