The 14th edition of AeroIndia, AeroIndia 2023 recently concluded in Yelahanka Air Force Station, Bengaluru.
This time, I had the opportunity to visit the air show, which I grabbed wholeheartedly. It was the first air show that I had ever visited, so I was quite excited. This is a must visit for both avgeeks and companies in this field. It gives many opportunities for companies to showcase their products and make business deals. There were companies ranging from MSME's making components, subsytems to conglomerates such as Dassault.
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I bought tickets for both public days of the show (16th and 17th February). Right off the bat, I encountered a lot of confusion as there was insufficient information available on the official website. (www.aeroindia.gov.in)
Not only that, I felt that the tickets were a bit expensive (Rs.2500 per day per person). I managed to get information from other sources and proceeded to book tickets. The ticket booking process in itself was quite time consuming, with me being required to submit multiple documents and fill in all the information for the 2 days separately. It did not help that the website crashed at times. 

All these problems notwithstanding, I went to Yelahanka on the 16th. Due to my travel arrangements, I was able to reach the base only at 10.30 (the airshow begins at 9.30AM). Upon arrival, due to the lack of clarity on the maps given on the official website, I turned up at Gate no. 3. There I was promptly made to go from pillar to post, to Gate no.2 then to Gate 1 and finally to Gate 5. I finally reached the viewing area at 12.30PM   

On day 2, I had quite a different issue. Despite leaving quite early (8.20am), I was able to reach the viewing area at only 10.45. Traffic was certainly much worse because of the large number of spectators on the last day. I ended up having to watch the morning air show from the car.

I was quite overjoyed to see my favourite helicopters from HAL in the static display areas. Seeing these in person is always quite a different feeling compared to seeing pictures of the same. The same applies for the flying displays as well. The sounds of the screaming low bypass turbofan engines felt more like thunder. It was very very different from videos of the same.

However, I felt that the people at the stalls were not so enthusiastic to interact with the general public like me. Maybe they wanted to focus on business or they were tired due to the large number of people.

I was able to learn from a VP at Lockheed Martin that there was a serious inquiry by an European customer, expressing interest in buying C-5M's that were in storage. This is probably because the production of the Boeing 747 and the C 17 has come to a halt. An 124's are also not an option right now due to the geopolitics.

I had the opportunity to speak in some detail with eplane.co, a IIT Madras funded startup. They had a very unique take on eVTOLs and urban mobility. Instead of going for a pure multirotor setup, they wish to take off vertically like a multirotor and cruise like an aeroplane. They are also targeting a range of 200km on a single charge, which by itself seems quite ambitious/borderline impossible to me with current technology. However, if they can manage to make this work, it will be quite advantageous for them. They said that the long range means fewer charge discharge cycles, resulting in longer battery life (but the larger battery costs more?  ). They also mentioned the operational advantages of having such a long range. They plan to operate these air taxis themselves on short 5-10km hops. The long range means that the taxi can spend more time in the air generating money and less time on the ground recharging. This according to me is their biggest USP.

Drone adda (https://www.thedroneadda.com/) is an Indian startup incubated at IIT Delhi. They have taken a different route to the drone market, focusing on providing components, where there is much less competition and high demand. I believe this business plan combined with the PLI scheme will ensure their success.

The performances by the Suryakiran and Saarang teams were the best by far. I also liked the Su 30 of the IAF which performed the falling leaf maneuver. Maybe next time they will attempt a Pugachev's cobra? 

Here are some of the pictures I was able to take while I was there:

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Recommendations for visiting:
1. An ADVA ticket allows you to visit only the air show section of the complete show. It does not allow you to access the multitude of stalls put up by various companies. ADVA tickets for the morning and afternoon sessions have to be purchased separately. It costs 1000Rs per person per session.
General tickets, which include both sessions and access to the stalls cost 2500Rs per person per day
Business tickets give you the same privileges as the general ticket, except that you can visit on business days when the crowds are far fewer. This costs 5000Rs per person per day.
2. Carry sunglasses, a hat and an umbrella. The viewing area is quite hot and without any shade for relief. Wear light clothing.
3. Take binoculars if possible, would make the viewing experience better
4. Stay hydrated, the heat is quite high 
5. Wear comfortable shoes, as you will have to walk and stand a lot.
6. There are multiple air conditioned bus services running from Kempegowda bus station (Majestic) to Yelahanka Air Force Station. Taking the bus costs only 160Rs compared to an Uber which costs 350Rs or more. Use public transport, decrease traffic 
7. Leave well in advance, as Bengaluru traffic is always high and the route to Yelahanka air base is even more crowded than usual during the airshow. (this situation can improve when the metro route to Yelahanka is completed)

Things to lookout for:
1. There might be surprise visits by aircrafts, which can happen at any time during the show. I was lucky enough to see the B 1 bomber in the few moments it spent flying overhead.
2. There are multiple stalls selling merch and memorabilia/souvenirs. These include the various veterans welfare stalls, the Suryakiran team stall and the Saarang team stall.
3. AeroIndia is a great opportunity to meet your favourite aviation photographers of India. Watch their social media pages for meetup oppotunities. (this is something I missed)

Things I liked:
1. Scintillating performances by the Indian air force
2. The opportunity to see the F-35 up close
3. The opportunity to interact with senior members of established as well as startup companies
4. Separate India pavilion and iDEX pavilion showcasing history of aviation in India and startups funded by Ministry of Defence respectively.
5. The washrooms were quite clean despite the large crowds and all areas were being cleaned continuously by staff.
6. Air conditioned exhibition areas, which were the only respite from the heat there
7. Food and water were being sold at nominal rates from a variety of providers.

Things I did not like/could have been better:
1. The exhibition area and the food court are separated by a security checkpoint. This is very unnecessary and adds an unnecessary waiting time of 30 mins.
2. All the halls were powered with large diesel generators. In this era where everyone talks about sustainability, would it really have been that difficult to run a dedicated 440V line from the grid? The diesel generators also add to the noise and pollution in the region.
3. Complete lack of clarity and information on schedules from official sources.
4. Lack of variety in the aerial displays. There were no major aerial exhibitors apart from the IAF and the USAF. This pales in comparison to Paris or Farnborough. I wished there were shows from dedicated aerobatic teams such as Redbull air racing or the Blue Angels.
5. Too many families of Defence personnel and other dignitaries compounding the crowd situation. They could have been asked to come on the business days (13th to 15th) and leave the public days (16th and 17th) open.
6. Seating arrangements could have been made for the Aerial Display Viewing Area (ADVA). For the price we pay, there could atleast be plastic chairs in the viewing area. Standing on the hot concrete for hours at a time does take a toll 
7. Given the large number of companies showcasing their drones, there could have been airshows displaying the capabilities of these drones.