Safety review of LCA next week

bangalore: a safety review of thelight combat aircraft will be conducted next week as a run-up to the beginningof test flights of the aircraft''s second prototype, technology demonstrator-2(td-2), lca programme director kota harinarayana said on sunday. lca''s secondprototype had already undergone successful taxi trials and the aircraft isbehaving well, he said. though kota did not disclose the date on which the td-2test flights would begin, he explained that it would be fit with a new head-updisplay and communication system, in addition to a new software enabling flyingat supersonic speeds in the range of 1,500 km/hour. "the td-2 will not instantlytouch supersonic speeds as it will be a gradual process of touching thosespeeds," he said. initially, the td-2 will partially repeat some tests that werecarried in-flight on the td-1 and then go on to test newer capabilitiesincluding speeds attained. "touching and crossing supersonic speed is not a bigissue," he said indicating that the aircraft performance, endurance andflexibility at such speeds would be the crucial factors.