Bharat Swati

The Bharat Swati (or sometimes BHEL Swati) is an Indian two-seat training monoplane designed by the Technical Centre of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and built by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited.^[1]

Swati
Role	Two-seat training monoplane
National origin	India
Manufacturer	Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited
Designer	Directorate General of Civil Aviation
First flight	17 November 1990
Number built	~20

Design and development

The Swati is a low-wing cantilever monoplane with a steel tube fuselage covered in fabric at the rear and composite material at the front.^[1] It has metal tail surfaces and wooden wings and a fixed landing gear with a steerable nosewheel.^[1] The Swati has a 116 hp (87 kW) Lycoming O-235 piston engine at the front driving a two-bladed propeller.^[1] Directorate General of Civil Aviation ordered 40 to be distributed to civil flying clubs in India.

Variants

• LT-1M Swati
• LT-2M Swati

Specifications

Data from Brassey's World Aircraft & Systems Directory 1996^[1]

General characteristics

• Crew: 2
• Length: 7.21 m (23 ft 8 in)
• Wingspan: 9.2 m (30 ft 3 in)
• Height: 2.78 m (9 ft 1.5 in)
• Wing area: 11.96 m² (128.74 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 530 kg (1,168 lb)
• Gross weight: 770 kg (1,698 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Lycoming O-235-N2C piston engine , 87 kW (116 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 268 km/h (167 mph, 145 kn)
• Cruise speed: 195 km/h (121 mph, 105 kn)
• Range: 453 km (282 mi, 245 nmi)
• Endurance: 2 hours 45 minutes
• Service ceiling: 3,050 m (10,000 ft)

Incidents and Accidents

On 3 June 1993, a Swati (VT-STC) being test flown at Haridwar crashed when its starboard wing broke off after coming out of a loop, killing the test pilot.^[2]

On 29 November 2001, a Swati LT II (VT-STO) of the Kerala Aviation Training Centre on a training flight at Thiruvananthapuram crashed due to pilot error, destroying the aircraft.^[3]