Air India's Iconic Boeing 747s Find New Owners, Ending Hopes for Indian Testbed

An era of Indian aviation has drawn to a close as Air India sells its final four Boeing 747-400 jumbo jets. The "Queen of the Skies," once a hallmark of Air India's global presence, will depart for new lives with US-based AerSale.

The sale marks a bittersweet moment for aviation enthusiasts in India. The 747's luxurious cabins and iconic silhouette were synonymous with opulent air travel. However, many had hoped these aircraft could serve a final, critical purpose for the nation's aerospace ambitions.

India's Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) had expressed interest in acquiring the four-engine 747s. These aircraft are prized as flying testbeds for engine development programs, allowing engineers to evaluate engine performance under real-world conditions.

The 747's design allows for a test engine to be securely mounted on an external pylon. This configuration was seen as potentially vital for testing engines developed under India's Kaveri (fighter jet) and AMCA (Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft) programs.

However, with the aircraft now sold, the dream of a readily available testbed has faded. India's pursuit of self-reliance in engine development will continue, and opportunities to secure alternate test platforms may emerge.

 

[Deepak Hegde]

Wrong.
They have been vying for a flying test bed for years.

MOD and IAF simply refuse to help.
Are they supposed to beg or something?

They are supposed to budget for it and come up with a viable proposal. Are they even capable of doing this?

 

[Anant]

These planes are very old and to modify them to test engines it would be very expensive to modify the structure, air frame, technology, software, equipment and they are over 20 years old and close to retiring so these planes wouldn't be to our benefit. Also the large and heavy plane size requires a lot of fuel and the engines are older and not fuel efficient making it very expensive just to fly.

We already have a few flying test bed that's used by the DRDO called Anusandhan and we use the IL76 plane that we bought a while ago and use in Russia to certify the engine technology. What India now needs is a very modern flying test bed to test engines, sensors, instruments, equipment and future technology that can be done all in one.

A flying testbed should have more engines rather than less. There is a reason most nations use four-engined aircraft as testbed, you know.

As for airframe life, well, two of the 747s being sold will be converted to freighters, which shows they have atleast 10-15 years of commercial life left in them. Factor in for reduced usage as a flying laboratory, and these aircraft could easily fly for 25 years, if not more.

Coming to DRDO's flying testbed, you do realise that that particular A321 was essentially donated to DRDO by Air India at scrap value, right? DRDO only made a very nominal budget, and AI lost money on that sale. Obviously, a privatized Air India isn't an idiot to do the same, and GTRE has never prepared a formal budget for the same.

Oh, and as far as that Il-76 you referred to goes, we do not own it. No, it is simply one of Russia's testbed Il-76s that we contract every now and then. We don't actually own the aircraft.

Finally, if the cost of refitting an old aircraft as a flying testbed is seeming too steep for you, let me assure you a new-build jet being repurposed for that would be far, far more expensive.

 

[RG]

India should have made use to it, lack of foresight to use and repurpose for other developments, they could have turned then into transporters, engine test beds and other use cases.

 

[avinash]

They have been looking for a engine development partner since forever. Strange nothing has materialized till now. 🤔

who will be ready to give them their share of cut ?