Mumbai, July 6 -- Sarla Aviation, backed by Accel and entrepreneur Nikhil Kamath, has completed the flight test campaign of its demonstration electric aircraft, the company said on Tuesday. The milestone follows a development programme aimed at validating the design, propulsion and control systems of a low-emission regional aircraft. The campaign involved progressive envelope expansion and systems verification.
The tests included taxi, take off, climb and stall recovery phases to assess performance and handling across expected flight regimes, the statement added. Ground and flight data were used to refine control laws and to validate battery management and thermal systems. Engineers conducted repeated cycles to confirm reliability and to collect endurance metrics.
Sarla Aviation said the aircraft demonstrated satisfactory margins for certification envelope expansion and met key safety milestones during the campaign. The firm indicated that lessons from the campaign would inform production intent variants and support regulatory engagement. Investors including Accel and other backers were reported to have supported the programme through successive funding rounds.
Company engineers and external flight test pilots completed mission profiles that simulated commercial operations and contingency scenarios, enabling an assessment of operational readiness. Data acquisition and post flight analysis were used to iterate software updates and to validate redundant architecture. The firm said maintenance procedures and ground support requirements were also refined during the campaign.
The completion of the demonstration campaign is expected to accelerate the timeline for certification and for initial customer trials, the company noted. Sarla Aviation plans to enter discussions with regional operators and with regulators to define routes to service and to align infrastructure needs. The firm signalled that next steps would focus on scaling manufacturing readiness and on longer duration endurance testing.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Construction World.