For Quick Alerts
ALLOW NOTIFICATIONS  
For Daily Alerts
Oneindia App Download

The champions of the sky at Aero India: Surya Kiran Aerobatics Team

A lot may have changed for the team since their last performance including the aircraft, what has not changed, however, is their love for Aero India and the audience's craze for the team.

By Anusha Ravi
|
Google Oneindia News

After a six-year hiatus, IAF's aerobatic display team Surya Kiran made a comeback at the Aero India show and how. 'Back with a bang' may just be an understatement for the show that these men in uniform displayed with their all new aircraft, the Hawk Mk 132 trainers. The 6-aircraft team left the audience in awe, gaping at the manoeuvres and formations. A lot may have changed for the team since their last performance including the aircraft, what has not changed, however, is their love for Aero India and the audience's craze for the team.

The champions of the sky at Aero India

"We love this place and I was part of the team that participated previously. Aero India is the Mecca of the aviation sector. The who's who of international aviation come and watch us and it is a competitive thing. A military Aerobatic team pitted against other teams that entertain is a different challenge altogether," said Wing Commander Ajit Kulkarni. The team is all set to upgrade to its original 9-aircraft team and have a display as early as October 2017. Wg Cdr Kulkarni says that apart from the flying environment, time sharing due to increase in the number of aircrafts participating and the complexity of planning a particular display, nothing much has changed.

What goes into the making of an aerobatic display

These men make aerobatics seem like a piece of cake but leave alone the display, even team composition is a task in itself. Currently, they are at the fag end of their display schedule which extends from September to March, the team will return to their base in Bidar to begin their a rigorous training season. "Two rookies pilots need to be trained to achieve standards required for display flying. We also have the arduous task of sifting through 40 applicants who have volunteered to join the Surya Kiran team and that is a real task," said Wing Commander Venu Nambisan. It takes a lot to be a pilot for the Surya Kiran team; 1500 hours of flying, being a qualified flying instructor as well as having the will and passion. The all men's team hopes that someday soon, women pilots will be part of the team and fly the hawk Mk 132. As of now, three women pilots have been inducted into the air force and are currently undergoing fighter conversion training. It will be a while before they reach these qualificational requirements to join the team.

Surya Kiran Aerobatics Team

The team practically runs through a mental sortie before taking off into the skies. "A pilot training to fly for displays needs to undergo an extensive and exhaustive syllabus. They have to achieve specific standard before they are qualified to fly in a display environment. For a specific display requirement, we practice at our base. We have a brief on the ground where we cover the profile that we are planning to follow, environmental conditions, display site, challenges of each place are discussed along with a set of contingencies and emergencies that we may face while flying. We mentally fly the sortie on the ground before we go to the aircraft. After the sorties, we go cover the debrief on what went wrong if any pilot was out of position etc. We tally our opinions with the recorded footage and correct mistakes for the next sortie," Wg Cdr Kulkarni said.

The relatively new aircraft is yet to be explored to its full potential, feels the team. "There is a platform change from the Kiran Mk II, an indigenous aircraft manufactured by HAL, to the Hawk Mk 132, which is a British designed but made in India aircraft. The changes include engine power, speed, cockpit layout and in terms of performance it is definitely much more advanced," Wg Cdr Nambisan added.

The solid technical team

In just about 10 days the team has another display scheduled for the President of India at Airforce station Tambaram and a huge team ensures that all of the 8 aircrafts are in perfect flying condition. Day after day, these 60 odd men ensure that the aircrafts are prepped and ready to take off and land safely. "We care for the machines like one would care for a child. We love them and ensure that they remain in a serviceable condition.

The champions of the sky at Aero India

Challenges are not new but speed with efficiency matters," said Flight lieutenant Sandeep. His technical team including Flt/Lt Roy say that techno-management is a skill indeed. "Multiple team coordination, evaluation of ground realities, preparedness, anticipation and logistics, everything matters for a show like Aero India. We lose our sleep ahead of such shows simply because so much work goes into keeping these machines in the air," Flt/Lt Roy said. The new machine is exciting for the tech team, its serviceability is good but challenges are many. "Since it is a new aircraft, we come across new glitches and snags as well. The true challenge lies in rectifying the glitches before the next display," the technical team added.

Challenges that the team faces

The Hawk Mk 132 is a brilliant aircraft but comes with its set of challenges. For the display pilots, its speed makes manoeuvres challenging. "The aircraft is fast and that means it goes in and out of visual bubble swiftly. For the display, we need to continuously manoeuvre it within the visual bubble while taking positions for the next one. The aircraft is also prone to turbulence in comparison to the Kiran which was more stable," said Wg Cdr Kulkarni. What sets their job apart is the trust factor that keeps the team together. Display pilots are expected to have basic situational awareness simply because their focus should lie only on the aircraft they are flying. Their reference is the lead pilot. "It takes a lot of anticipation and complete concentration because the other pilots are only looking at their reference, which is me. They have no clue what is happening in the environment and at any given point in time, they need to separate out, their situational awareness should be such that they are immediately aware of their environment," he added.

The champions of the sky at Aero India

They are a military team and the basic professionalism, discipline, maturity is taken for granted. The team, however, claims that at times, some find it difficult to settle down in a new place and adapting to the administrative arrangements etc but the basic premise of doing their job and representing the best values of the Indian Air Force keeps them going. And then, there are the cheering crowds that pump them up for every formation and manoeuvre. They say that they are the best in this business today and we can't agree more. So the next time you watch them work their magic in mid-air, don't forget to cheer and wave because they can see you, the height, no matter.

OneIndia News

For Daily Alerts
Get Instant News Updates
Enable
x
Notification Settings X
Time Settings
Done
Clear Notification X
Do you want to clear all the notifications from your inbox?
Settings X
X