IndUS Aviation Announces A Partnership With Chinese To Provide
Aircraft For China and Other Countries
Geoff Sobering
Dallas-based IndUS Aviation has signed an agreement with Chinese
investors and officials to move production of the Thorpedo LSA from
the current plant in Dallas, Texas to the new LuYangHu General
Aviation Development in Weinan Municipality, Shaanxi Provence,
China. Dr. Ram Pattisapu, CEO of IndUS, introduced Mr. Ning An of
IPI Information Technology, one of the private investors, and Dr.
Yuanyang Gao, the Assistant Mayor of Weinan, also part of the
partnership. Assisting IndUS with he project is Francis Chao, an
expert in establishing international companies in China. Dr.
Pattisapu emphasized the importance of having someone like Mr. Chao
involved with a joint venture like this one.
Dr. Ram Pattisapu
China has put considerable resources
into the development of civil aviation in the past decade, and is
currently in the number-two spot internationally. However the
emphasis has been on commercial aviation, with almost no
development in GA. Currently there are less than 1000 GA aircraft
in China, a microscopic number compared to the 2.5 billion
population. The number of GA airports is also small. The situation
in India is similar, so the expansion possibilities in the area are
quite considerable. However, Mr. Chao and others talked about the
challenges to increasing GA in China. In addition to the
obvious construction of infrastructure like airports, a loosening
of the currently quite restrictive aviation regulations is also
required. Both aspects will take some time to implement in a
controlled way.
Francis Chao
The City of Weinan is taking steps to become a national leader
for Chinese GA development. Part of this effort is the creation of
the LuYangHu General Aviation Development Zone, a 48 square-mile
area designed to foster new GA enterprise, like the IndUS
collaboration. The facility includes a large GA airport and other
amenities, including a lake and golf course.
Dr. Yuanyang Gao
Dr. Pattisapu talked about how the simple construction of the
Thorpedo is almost perfectly suited to developing a new production
facility. Very few jigs and other tools are required, so the plant
can be quite quickly initially constructed, and reconfigured or
expanded very easily to accommodate future production of the
Thorpedo or other aircraft. The initial plan for the facility in
Weinan is a 20,000 square-foot plant. Production is planned
for 8-10 aircraft a month. Final assembly and flight testing
will occur in each destination country. Engines and Avionics will
also be variously sourced, depending on the aircraft's final
destination. China, India, and the US are the initial target
countries. IndUS currently has no distributors or partners in
Europe, although they are looking in that direction.
(L-R) Gao, Ning An
Dr. Gao extended an invitation to everyone to attend an
inaugural GA convention in Weinan this October.
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