Chimes Aviation Academy Aircraft Now Equipped With ATF Engines

GURGAON, India, April 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Retrofit on CAA Fleet of Aircraft With ATF Engine 

Chimes Aviation Academy (CAA) has upgraded its training fleet of Cessna 172-R aircraft, equipped with Garmin-1000 glass cockpit to Continental CD-135 engine, which operates with Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF).

For a number of years, pilot training in India had no choice but to operate with AVGAS fuel for the engines that came fitted on the aircraft. AVGAS fuel is costly and is at times not readily available in India. This caused pilot training facilities to stock up on large quantities, or to be non-operational at times due to non-availability of fuel. However, around two years back, Chimes Aviation identified the Centurion, Germany manufactured alternate engines for retrofit of the Cessna 172 aircraft, allowing the aircraft to run on Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF).

After an in-depth study, Chimes Aviation decided to retrofit its fleet of Cessna 172-R aircraft with the CD-135 engine. After obtaining the required approvals from DGCA and undertaking conversion training in Germany, CAA team has successfully carried out the engine retrofit program at CAA. By the end of 2015, the entire Cessna 172-R fleet of Chimes Aviation Academy would be equipped with the ATF run engines.

Unlike AVGAS, ATF is readily available and is produced in India. Since all the commercial airliners operate with the same fuel, its availability at all airports would never be a challenge. Over the past few years, there have been occasions when flying had to be curtailed due to short supply of AVGAS. With the conversion now to CD-135 engines, ready availability of ATF will ensure that the fleet is always available for flying. Also, this retrofit program has resulted in some reduction in cost of training and would encourage more students to undertake flying training in India.

The retrofit program also carries immense environmental benefits. AVGAS, sold in India as 100LL fuel, has a high lead content. By operating with ATF now instead of AVGAS, CAA is contributing toward environmental improvement on its part towards the initiatives for reduction in carbon footprint in India.

Chimes Aviation Pvt. Ltd., the company that operates Chimes Aviation Academy, is the Authorized Master Installation Center and Service Center for retrofit of the Continental engines for India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Paradigm shift in ab-initio pilot training in India

Mr. Y.N. Sharma, Chief Operating Officer, Chimes Aviation Pvt. Ltd. stated:

"Chimes Aviation has been on the forefront from its inception in April 2008 in providing the highest quality of pilot training in India. Retrofit of the CD-135 engines on Cessna 172 and Diamond DA-42 aircraft is yet another leading initiative by Chimes Aviation which would result in advantages of reliable training facilities to students, and a paradigm shift in ab-initio pilot training in India."

About Chimes Aviation Academy 

Chimes Aviation Academy (CAA), www.caaindia.com, is a division of Chimes Aviation Private Limited, which is part of the Chimes Group of companies (www.chimesgroup.in).

CAA is India's premier and largest private sector aviation training academy based at Sagar, Madhya Pradesh. Launched in June 2008, Chimes Aviation Academy offers DGCA approved Commercial Pilot License (CPL) & Private Pilot License (PPL) fully integrated pilot training courses, supported with single and multi-engine aircraft and in-house maintenance services. CAA is an ISO 9001:2008 certified pilot training institute with over 30,000 hours of flying training experience.

Media Contact:
Y.N. Sharma,
E-mail: [email protected],
Tel: +91-124-458-3833, +91-9810299233,
Chief Operating Officer,
Chimes Aviation Pvt. Ltd.