Indian firm delivers aero-structures to Bell Helicopter

Bengaluru, Feb 20 (IANS) Leading high-tech engineering firm Dynamatic Technologies Ltd has delivered major aero-structures, including the fuselage subsystem, to US-based Bell Helicopter at the air show here, a company official said Friday.

The city-based Dynamatic has a seven-year global pact with Bell and Textron Systems to make in India major airframe assemblies for the latter's new choppers - Bell 407GX and 407GT - four-blade, single engined civil utility machines.

Bulkhead assembly is the other aerospace component the company delivered to Bell at the Aero India 2015 trade expo at the Yelahanka base of the Indian Air Force (IAF) on the city's outskirts.

"We have developed a robust process of converting Bell's legacy engineering data from Bell's 2D paper drawings into digital files for digital manufacturing technologies to modify its 407 products," Dynamatic chief executive Udayant Malhoutra said on the occasion.

Dynamatic has been working with the US-based partners (Bell and Textron) since 2012 to build aeronautic capacity as part of their global sourcing strategy and develop about 200 aero parts to export them.

The development involves manufacturing subsystems and components from raw material and indigenising their assemblies in collaboration with Bell.

As a sole source supplier of airframe assemblies for Bell's new models, the company invested an unspecified amount to set up advanced engineering and manufacturing plant in the city.

"We have also contributed to develop an ecosystem of certified suppliers in the country in consonance with the 'Make in India' programme of the central government," Malhoutra asserted.

Bell's light commercial aircraft director Van Wilson said his aerospace major was committed to the 'Make in India' campaign by setting up its own production facility in the country.