Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Indian skies, foreign thrills at Aero India


Bengaluru: For the first time since the beginning of the bi-annual Aero India, the Indian Air Force’s daredevil Surya Kirans will be sorely missed over Bengaluru’s skies. This February, when the ninth edition of India’s aviation  show gets off the ground at the Yelahanka Air Force Station, it won’t be the now-familiar red-painted Kiran Mk II trainers that will perform the show’s most scintillating manouvres, but the little-known Russian Knights.
Almost exactly four years ago, on January 21, 2009, a key member of the Surya Kiran team, Wg. Cdr. R.S. Dhaliwal died in a crash during a training sortie. In March 2006, Wg. Cdr. Dheeraj Bhatia and Sqn. Ldr. Shailender Singh died in another crash during training at the Air Force Station, Bidar. The aerobatics team has not recovered from these shocks. Still, a proud six-aircraft team did perform the last Surya Kiran show at Aero India 2011.
Former IAF pilots and aviation experts are asking why the world’s fourth largest Air Force failed to maintain its own aerobatic team. The IAF retired the Kirans soon after the 2011 display and announced that the Indian aerobatics team would regroup on the BAE Systems’ Hawk trainer aircraft, but that probably won’t happen until Aero India 2015.
23/01/13 Amit S. Upadhye/Deccan Chronicle
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