<p>The eight-seater GA8-TC Airvan, which took off from Bendigo in Victoria (Australia) on May 8 on a world tour, sponsored by the $6.3-billion Mahindra Group, was flown to Bangalore on Saturday, from Mahe in the Seychelles by Australian pilots Ken Evans, 33, and Tim Pryse, 51, after a 16-hour non-stop cruise over the Indian Ocean.<br /><br />With 'Millions against Malaria' slogan painted on its airframe, the aircraft is stationed for mandatory checks in the golden jubilee hangar of the state-run National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) adjacent to the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) airport, currently used for test flights of military aircraft.<br /><br />Propelled by a 320-horsepower Lycoming turbocharged fuel-injected engine, Airvan has a capacity to carry 1,332 litres of aviation turbine fuel to fly around 22 hours non-stop. “On our first lap, we flew from Bendigo over the Pacific Ocean to Arizona in the US, with stop-overs on way at Norfolk island, Pago Pago, Christmas Island, Hilo, Mojave, McNeal, Scottsdale and New Orleans, covering 9,012 nautical miles,” Evans said.<br /><br />The next port of call for the white-coloured aircraft is Phuket in Thailand, 1,282 nautical miles away. After transit halts at Zamboanga in Philippines, Wewak and Port Morseby in Papua New Guinea.</p>
<p>The eight-seater GA8-TC Airvan, which took off from Bendigo in Victoria (Australia) on May 8 on a world tour, sponsored by the $6.3-billion Mahindra Group, was flown to Bangalore on Saturday, from Mahe in the Seychelles by Australian pilots Ken Evans, 33, and Tim Pryse, 51, after a 16-hour non-stop cruise over the Indian Ocean.<br /><br />With 'Millions against Malaria' slogan painted on its airframe, the aircraft is stationed for mandatory checks in the golden jubilee hangar of the state-run National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) adjacent to the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) airport, currently used for test flights of military aircraft.<br /><br />Propelled by a 320-horsepower Lycoming turbocharged fuel-injected engine, Airvan has a capacity to carry 1,332 litres of aviation turbine fuel to fly around 22 hours non-stop. “On our first lap, we flew from Bendigo over the Pacific Ocean to Arizona in the US, with stop-overs on way at Norfolk island, Pago Pago, Christmas Island, Hilo, Mojave, McNeal, Scottsdale and New Orleans, covering 9,012 nautical miles,” Evans said.<br /><br />The next port of call for the white-coloured aircraft is Phuket in Thailand, 1,282 nautical miles away. After transit halts at Zamboanga in Philippines, Wewak and Port Morseby in Papua New Guinea.</p>