An Indian man travelled to Europe on a plane he built during the Covid lockdown. The four-seat aircraft was constructed by Alappuzha, Kerala, resident Ashok Aliseril Thamarakshan over the course of over 18 months.
A guy from Kerala is flying his family across Europe in a home-built aircraft at a time when the aviation industry is still struggling to recuperate from the negative effects of the Covid-19 outbreak.
During the Covid-19 lockdown, the aircraft was constructed by Ashok Aliseril Thamarakshan, who is currently living in London.
The four-seater plane was built by Mr. Thamarakshan, a native of Alappuzha in Kerala, in just under 18 months.
According to The Times Of India, the four-seater “Sling TSI” aircraft has been given the moniker “G-Diya,” with Diya being the name of his younger daughter. In order to complete his master’s degree, Mr. Thamarakshan relocated to the UK in 2006. He is now employed at Ford Motor Company.
Ashok Aliseril Thamarakshan is the son of former MLA A V Thamarakshan.
The four-seater has already taken Mr. Thamarakshan and his family on trips to Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. He is a licensed pilot.
According to Mr. Thamarakshan, who was asked how he came up with the idea to build an airplane, “Initially, I used to rent small two-seater aircraft for trips after acquiring my pilot licence in 2018. But since my family comprises my wife and two daughters, I required four-seater aircraft. But they are rare and even if I could get one, they were very old.”
Since it was impossible to obtain a suitable four-seater aircraft, he decided to learn more about home-built aircraft during the lockdown.
The 38-year-old went to the Sling Aircraft plant in Johannesburg to construct his own aircraft after learning that they will be releasing a new model, the Sling TSI, in 2018. Mr. Thamarakshan placed an order for a kit to construct his own plane following the factory tour.
He had the chance to work on the big project because of the pandemic-induced lockdown, which gave him lots of time and allowed him to save money. The airplane is expected to cost a total of 1.8 crore to produce.
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