Kalam ducks query on second term

Chandigarh, Mar 7 (UNI) ''Ask me which aircraft I would fly now.'' That's how President A P J Abdul Kalam responded today to a media query on whether he would like to be considered for a second term now.

Dr Kalam's reply, however, did not sound out of context as it came on the sidelines of the Presidential review of the Indian Air Force fleet here.

In his Presidential address earlier, Dr Kalam recalled his experience of flying in a Sukhoi-30 fighter plane last year.

He said on June 8, 2006, he flew in a Sukhoi-30 fighter plane to make a sortie. ''The previous night, Wing Commander Ajay Rathore briefed me on how to fly....Wing Commander Ajay taught me how to pilot the plane as well as handle warfare control successfully of Su-30. It was a dream for me since 1958, when I became an engineer, to fly a fighter aircraft.'' The flight, he said, lasted for over 36 minutes. ''I felt the fulfillment of a great aim and long cherished dream of my life.'' UNI