Iranian president presents light plane to Turkmen president
ASHGABAT. July 27. KAZINFORM Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad presented a small one-engine two-seat plane of Iranian production "Blue Bird" to Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov. Kazinform refers to Itar-Tass.
The plane was turned over as a gift to the Turkmen leader in March when he took part in Nowruz (New Year) celebrations in Teheran. On Wednesday the plane has been officially registered at Ashgabat airport.
The Iranian aircraft- building company Dorna began batch production of "Blue Birds" in 2011. The plane is to undergo test trials in Turkmenistan for purposes of patrolling motorways and border areas in Turkmenistan, a Turkmen source told Itar-Tass. After the test flights Turkmenistan might buy a whole batch of such planes.
The Iranian mass media put the cost of the plane at around 120, 000 dollars. Turkmenistan has no light planes in its aircraft fleet yet. Its passenger aircraft numbers around 30 Boeings, and its helicopter fleet consists mainly of Sikorsky and Eurocopter helicopters. Kazinform cites Itar-Tass. See www.itar-tass.com for full version