India's civil aviation authority has cleared the Bristell B23 for the country. Two versions, the B23-912iS and the B23-916iS, can now be registered and operated in India.
KUNOVICE, Czech Republic, 12 August 2026. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued two Letters of Type Acceptance on 31 July 2026. Both rest on the aircraft's EASA CS-23 type certificate, EASA.A.642 issue 8 of 17 December 2025, which the DGCA reviewed against its own airworthiness requirements and formally accepted for India. The letters are referenced IN26ATA055 for the B23-912iS and IN26ATA054 for the B23-916iS (the type certificate designates it B23-916). Further versions of the family are planned to follow through the same process.
The two approved versions cover both ends of a training fleet. The B23-912iS is powered by the fuel-injected Rotax 912 iS Sport (100 HP / 73.5 kW) with Single Lever Power Control and a 2,000-hour time between overhauls (TBO). The B23-916iS carries the turbocharged Rotax 916 iS (160 HP / 117.6 kW), also with a 2,000-hour TBO, and climbs at 1,320 fpm (6.7 m/s). Both share the same all-metal airframe with a 130 cm (51 in) wide cockpit, the widest in its class, Garmin glass cockpit avionics with autopilot, a three-blade MT constant-speed propeller and a BRS whole-aircraft parachute as standard.
Approved by seven authorities
The B23 now holds approvals from seven aviation authorities. EASA type-certified the aircraft under CS-23 in October 2020, and the FAA in the United States followed with a Part 23 type certificate for the B23 in September 2025. CAA UK issued a certificate of its own in September 2023. Australia, Bangladesh, South Africa and now India each recognise the European certificate for their own country. The full picture, authority by authority and version by version, is in the certification matrix.
A training market growing fast
The approval arrives as India expands its pilot training capacity. On 5 August 2026 the Ministry of Civil Aviation awarded letters of intent for eleven new flight schools at seven Airports Authority of India airports, adding room for 750 students a year, and a projected 110 to 120 training aircraft once all of them are running. India's 41 approved flight schools already operate 385 aircraft between them, and 1,652 commercial pilot licences were issued in 2025, the highest number in a decade. (Ministry of Civil Aviation figures, August 2026; the training-aircraft projection is from Indian press coverage of the announcement.)
The first Indian fleet is taking shape
The first operator has already chosen the type. In April 2026 Melstarr Aviation Learning Academy, which is building a new Flight Training Organisation in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, announced a planned order of 20 Bristell B23 aircraft as part of a EUR 20 million investment in the school. From 2027, the academy aims to train 200 pilots a year.
Built for training economics
Every B23 runs on automotive MOGAS (RON 95) as well as AVGAS, a practical advantage in markets where AVGAS is expensive or hard to source. The fuel-injected B23-912iS burns 16.3 L/h (4.3 US gal/h) at 75 % power, FL100, and both approved versions carry engines with a 2,000-hour TBO. Operators can calculate their own numbers with the operating cost calculator on the B23 page: set the annual flight hours, local fuel price and maintenance labour rate, and see the estimated cost per flight hour for each variant.
Our partner in India
Our partner in the country is Air Taxi (Aviation Connectivity & Infrastructure Developers Pvt. Ltd) of New Delhi. Air Taxi flies regional routes under UDAN, the Indian government's programme for connecting smaller airports, and is the Bristell dealer for India.
“Most cadets in India do their first hours on aircraft older than they are, and meet a glass cockpit for the first time in an airline simulator. With the B23, a student's first solo happens in the environment they will fly for the rest of their career, while the school runs the aircraft on automotive fuel with a 2,000-hour engine. Modern for the cadet, economical for the operator. Nothing to unlearn, nothing to import.”
Varun Suhag, Managing Director, Air Taxi
Operators in India can reach Air Taxi in New Delhi directly, or contact the factory about a B23 for a training fleet.
