One of the very interesting showcases at the Australian stall at the ongoing Aero India 2025 at Bengaluru is the Hummerchute -- an intriguing flying machine. The interesting part is that it has been time and tested in Australia and has not met with a single accident Down Under ever since its inception more than three decades back.
In 2022 the Australian company Aerochute Industries Pvt Ltd decided to enter the Indian market and joined hands with Pune-based Max Link Adventure Sports Club Limited. The company has already had customers in India in the form of adventure clubs and is now trying for defence applications especially for rescue operations and for surveillance and border patrol.
The interesting part is that it can run on petrol and has a fuel tank capacity of 46 litres which makes it capable of flying non-stop for three hours in one go. It does not require any airstrip to take off and can field take off and land in less than 30 metres of runway. It also has a high payload capacity and can lift up to 250 kgs including the pilot.
Anyone can learn and fly the Hummerchute within 10 to 12 hours and can reach a height of around 5000 feet.
The company Max Link Adventure Sports Club Limited has already done field trials in the hilly terrains of Uttarakhand. “The machine can be very helpful in cross-country sorties and can travel up to 120 kms in one go. It is also helpful for crowd monitoring and the like. The cost per machine is around Rs 25 lakhs plus GST in India,” remarked Saurabh Joshi, General Manager of Max Link Group of Companies.
"It usually travels in the direction of the wind. We are looking forward to cracking a deal with the defence forces for this in India soon. We are currently also providing service to any of the machines within two days anywhere in the country. Also, the advantage is that the machine cannot be detected by radars, " he added.
The manufacturing of the Hummerchute machine is now been completely done in India. Aerochute Industries Pty Ltd was founded in 1989 by Stephen Conte, who identified a need in Australia for a safe, low-cost mode of air travel. In 1992 in conjunction with his brother John, he developed the Aerochute Dual Seater which was specifically designed for customer satisfaction and safety. The company first introduced the concept of the powered parachute in Australia in early 1989 as a single-seat model. Since then development and design changes have led to the current model Aerochute Dual Seater.
The company is engaged in the design, manufacture and construction of the Aerochute which it fabricates from raw materials into the parts needed to manufacture the finished product.
The Aerochute machines have been approved by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority of Australia. The company is an accredited training organisation for powered parachutes in Australia. The efficient backup of spare parts and extensive knowledge of the product provide the customer with a reliable company which provides excellent customer service and backup.
