HAL HA-31 Basant

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HA-31 Basant
General information
TypeAgricultural/utility aircraft
ManufacturerHindustan Aeronautics
Number built39
History
Manufactured1972-1980
First flight1972 (Mark II)

The Hindustan Aeronautics HA-31 Basant (lit. 'Spring') is a 1970s Indian agricultural monoplane built by Hindustan Aeronautics.

Hindustan Aeronautics started to design an agricultural aircraft in 1968 designated the HAL-31 Mk 1 with a cockpit directly over the wing leading edge. It was re-designed as the HA-31 Mk II Basant and first flew on 30 March 1972. The Basant is a conventional braced low-wing monoplane with a fixed tailwheel landing gear and powered by a 400 hp (298 kW) Avco Lycoming IO-720 piston engine. It had a raised cockpit to give the pilot a good all-round view during spraying operations. Production ended in 1980 after 39 aircraft had been built.

Specifications (Mk II)

Data from The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982–1985), 1985, Orbis Publishing, Page 2160

General characteristics

  • Crew: One
  • Length: 29 ft 6.25 in (9.0 m)
  • Wingspan: 39 ft 4.5 in (12 m)
  • Height: 8 ft 4.5 in (2.55 m)
  • Wing area: 251.23 sq ft (23.34 m2)
  • Empty weight: 2,645 lb (1,200 kg)
  • Gross weight: 5,000 lb (2,270 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Avco Lycoming IO-720-C1B flat-eight piston engine , 400 hp (298 kW)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 140 mph (225 km/h, 120 kn) [1]
  • Cruise speed: 115 mph (185 km/h, 100 kn)
  • Range: 400 mi (645 km, 350 nmi) [1]
  • Service ceiling: 12,500 ft (3,800 m) [1]
  • Rate of climb: 750 ft/min (3.8 m/s) [1]

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 Taylor 1981, pp. 90–91

Bibliography

  • Taylor, J. W. R. (ed.). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1980–81. London: Jane's, 1981. ISBN 0-531-03953-6.
  • The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982–1985), 1985, Orbis Publishing, Page 2160
Category:1970s Indian agricultural aircraft Category:HAL aircraft#Basant Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft Category:Low-wing aircraft Category:Aircraft first flown in 1972
Category:1970s Indian agricultural aircraft Category:Aircraft first flown in 1972 Category:All Wikipedia articles written in Indian English Category:Articles with short description Category:Commons category link from Wikidata Category:HAL aircraft Category:Low-wing aircraft Category:Short description matches Wikidata Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft Category:Use Indian English from May 2025 Category:Use dmy dates from May 2025