The four-seater model “Sling TSI” has been named “G-Diya”
London:
At a time when the aviation industry is recovering from the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, a man from Kerala, Ashok Aliseril Thamarakshan, is traveling through Europe with his family on a homemade plane. .
The plane was built by Ashok Aliseril Thamarakshan, currently based in London, during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Thamarakshan, a native of Alappuzha in Kerala, took nearly 18 months to build the four-seater.
The four-seater aircraft model “Sling TSI” is named “G-Diya”, with Diya being the name of his young daughter, India’s period reported. Mr Thamarakshan moved to the UK in 2006 to pursue a Master’s degree and he currently works for Ford Motor Company.
Ashok Aliseril Thamarakshan is the son of former MLA AV Thamarakshan.
Mr Thamarakshan – who holds a pilot’s license – has visited Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic so far in a four-seater with his family.
Talking about how he started the idea of building a plane, Mr. Thamarakshan said, “Initially, I used to rent small two-seater aircraft for trips after getting my pilot’s license in 2018. But because of family My family only has a wife and two daughters. , I request four-seater aircraft. But they are very rare and even if I could get one, they are very old. “
This difficulty in finding a suitable four-seater aircraft led him to research the subject during the lockdown and learn about homemade aircraft.
To build his own plane, the 38-year-old visited Johannesburg-based company Sling Aircraft’s factory when he learned that it would launch a new plane, the Sling TSI, in 2018. After a visit to the factory, Mr. Thamarakshan ordered a kit to build his own plane.
With plenty of time on his hands due to the shutdown caused by the pandemic and the money saved during this time, he has the opportunity to take on the ambitious project. The total cost to build the aircraft is estimated at Rs 1.8 crore.
