Last weekend me saw some of the most spectacular things me has seen in me life.....way up there with sunset from the mountain top at Panchmarhi (bet a few remember that) and the boat ride thru Sognefjord in norway......
I have a friend from back home who lives just of the edge of the runaway at HAL.
Manmohan Singh was in town to inaugrate something at infy mysore, but tht is a different story...So since he is in town IAF decided to give a free show.....somehow me friend found out....called me over
So i went...this being bangalore takes forever to get from one place to another....reached his place......just as the three LCA's were taxiing on the runaway.....now thts wat i call timing
Anyway the AJT was first on show did some stunts in the air .... trying to impress ppl abt its worthiness for IAF....good...but better was still to come......the three LCA's took off in formation....this seen from a distance of some 200m....man....i'm not n aircraft freak like some ....but still, i tell you tht was just awesome.....the roar of the engines as they be going down the runaway.....now tht was something.....anyway they got in the air, showed off their stuff and flew offf into the distance....
Next up was the Sarang helicopter team.......I never knew that helicopters could do some of the stuff i saw tht day.....u need balls to do some of the stuff they do.....end of show.....got to see the traffic jam on the runaway for all the flights which were grounded during the air show
Went home to me aunt's and was told tht she has complimentary tickets to Aero India.
Next afternoon we leave for yelahanka.....which be somewhere in the wilderness.....got stuck in traffic....missed the first half hour of the thing......got in just as a black aircraft with red wing tips (i think it was a jag or the yank F16) doing some pretty showy flying.....the twists and turns,the vertical 360 etc...next up some tp by a helicopters.....while they b doing this the Su-30 is rolled out.....crowd roars......chap just idling abt on the runaway......could just imagine his boredom looking at the choppers....This fat ugly chopper with twin rotors no tail rotor....kamov-32, i think, was flying abt...seemed to have a radar stuck to its belly. flys past us......this is when you here this massive roar from behind us.....turn and its the sukhoi powering for takeoff.......chaps off and in the air in some 300m maybe......god knows.....was short i'll tell you...seen from just beyond the runaway...was amazing.......once in the air he did his stunts.....involved some major thrust vectoring i think....seemed to be making turns which should not have been possible.....i don't know, at the top of his vertical, the chap just seemed to stop and rotate in his position....this not once, but twice, so don't think it was some error. does a slow speed flyover at some 100m height and dissappeared......some more chopper stunts....dropping of commados and a jeep etc......
next suryakirans were in the air....took off in groups off three groups of three......just as the third batch were up in the air spewing blue smoke, one hears jet noise(I know....) behind me and heres the sukhoi flying at 100m full throttle......eating up the distance between it and the last of the suryakirans.......something like a cheetah after game.....brilliant....chap brakes left just as it seemed he was going to run down the poor things and then landed leaving the skies to the suryakirans.....they did their usual stuff and exited. End of show was with these paratroopers jumping from some 7000 feet. Its one of the things you need to do....when you have the balls to do it. Step out of the safety of a plane and plunge down to your fate....the air rushing past you....the rush must b worth the scare
Was stuck with me cousins or me would have gone to see the static displays. anyway got out satisfied....
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Can't keep my eyes from the circling skies
Tongue-tied and twisted Just an earth-bound misfit, I
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