Peshawar brothers make Pakistan's 'first' ultralight helicopter

PESHAWAR: In what is being billed an unprecedented feat in the country’s aviation history, two brothers from Peshawar have built an ultralight helicopter.

Qazi Sajjad Ahmed and Qazi Tufail Ahmed, belonging to Landhi Arbab village at the outskirts of the provincial capital, made the aircraft, which has demonstrated its viability through a successful lift-off.

“I had watched a James Bond film in 1978, which became the source of my inspiration to develop and design an ultralight aircraft,” Qazi Sajjad said while speaking during ARY News morning programme Bakhabar Savera.

“In 2005, I had submitted a request to the [then] prime minister for financial assistance for accomplishing the feat, which was forwarded to the Pakistan Army. I received a letter from the ministry of defence production and was subsequently interviewed by a major.”

Sajjad said the helicopter that can fly at 6,000 ft has been built at a cost of over Rs 1.5 million.

Speaking about the usefulness of the helicopter, he said it can also be utilised for aerial spraying. While the government procured special aircraft from Turkey to spray pesticides on locust-infested areas, his helicopter has the capability to do so at a far cheaper cost, he added.

Qazi Sajjad offered to demonstrate his aircraft’s spraying capability if he is approached by the government. Moreover, he said, the duo has the capacity to build as many aircraft as they are asked to, for which he has gotten approval from the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCCA) that has also registered his aircraft.

Tufail, who is a professional pilot, called for government assistance to bring further improvements to their flying machine.