Raj Hamsa Ultralights is an Indian private limited company and
ultralight aircraft manufacturer, founded in 1980 at
Pondicherry,
India by Joel Koechlin (of the
Koechlin family) of
France. The company is one of India's largest aircraft manufacturers and is the only producer of commercial
microlight aircraft. It started in 1980 producing
hang gliders, introduced
powered hang gliders in 1983 and the X-Air line of microlights in 1993. By 2007, the company had produced over 1,000 aircraft.[1][2]
The company's headquarters and sole manufacturing facility is located at
Bangalore,
India.[1][3] The company employs 30-35 people and produces about 100 aircraft kits annually.
The company's X-Air 'S' and 'F' models have been successful in the market and are exported widely.[4] The new Hawk model, known as Hanuman in India, is currently awaiting Indian and UK certification.[5] The ultralights manufactured by Raj Hamsa are some of the least expensive available in
India and many parts of the world.[6]
The X-Air was the first aircraft produced by the company. A total of 1300 X-Air F and S have been exported by the company.[1] Standard equipment is a
Rotax 582 and basic instruments. The XAir is certified to UK BCAR Section "S".[4][8]
This model is based upon the
X-Air "F" Gumnam, with a more conventional nose-mounted engine configuration. Designed for leisure flying and
flight training the
Jabiru 2200 and Rotax 582 engines are optional. This aircraft is . The aircraft is known in North America as the X-AIR "H"[5][9]