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Half-a-million watch IAF show in Hyderabad

Syed Amin Jafri in Hyderabad

Around half-a-million Hyderabadis converged around the sprawling Hussain Sagar lake to witness the grandest-ever air show organised by the Indian Air Force on Saturday.

Reflecting the mood of the cheering crowd that lined up all the roads that run for 12 km across the lake, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said it looked as if the people of the entire city had turned up for the hour-long mega event, featuring breathtaking display by as many as 51 choppers and aircraft of the IAF.

"This is certainly an unprecedented display of public enthusiasm to witness the air show by the guardians of our skies. I see a lot of youth enthused to join the IAF to defend our motherland. We are grateful to the air force for arranging this exciting show."

In fact, the air display was planned because the chief minister wanted such a show to mark the AP Tourism Day. So, the tourism department took the lead to host the "live action" by the IAF. Schoolchildren, college students, men, women and the elderly were all there to lustily cheer whenever the IAF planes or choppers appeared on the horizon and performed aerobatic maneuvers.

It was a sea of humanity that seemed to occupy every bit of the area around the lake: Necklace Road, NTR Marg, Buddha Purnima site, Lumbini Park, Tank Bund, Sanjeevaiah Park et al.

Thousands of people were also perched at the multistoried buildings nearby to watch the grand display of fighter aircraft that included the ultra-modern, multi-role Russian Sukhoi-30s.

The spectacular sky-diving by the Akash Ganga team of paratroopers, flypast by fighter aircraft, transport planes and helicopters and the thrilling formation aerobatics by the Surya Kiran team kept the people spellbound. The show-piece of the event was Sukhoi-30 aircraft. Three Su-30s, which flew in from the Pune Air Force Station, conducted an impressive flypast. One of the Sukhois returned to perform breathtaking aerobatics to a thunderous applause from the crowds.

Taking a 360-degree turn, one of the aircraft pulled itself in the sky and carried out a loop. Flying at a speed of 650 km per hour, the SU-30 recovered to a height of 300 metres to perform another loop. After conducting the maneuvers, the aircraft reduced its speed to 200 km per hour and appeared as if it was hanging in the air. It went up again in the sky to do three turns.

The Surya Kiran aerobatic team enthralled the crowds for almost 15 minutes. The nine colorful aircraft from Air Force Station, Bidar, conducted vertical maneuvers. Making various formations including the Sukhoi formation, wine glass formation, Colombia formation, arrow and diamond formations, they dazzled the teeming spectators.

Flying close to each other, they formed loops and rolls. Two of the aircraft made a 12 o' clock formation to appear as a single aircraft. They then flew in two opposite directions leaving colorful fumes behind. Two aircraft formed a "heart" with the fumes while the third left the fumes resembling an arrow piercing through the heart.

The show began at 11 am with two Chetak helicopters showering petals on the crowds. Then, 10 paratroopers of the Akash Ganga team of the Paratrooping School at Agra jumped from an MI-8 helicopter from a height of 8,000 feet. The paratroopers with their colorful parachutes left the spectators wonderstruck.

They jumped from the helicopter and landed at the People's Plaza stand, where Naidu, chief of air staff Air Chief Marshal A Y Tipnis, air officer commanding-in-chief training command T J Master, other VIPs, dignitaries and serving and retired military officials had gathered to witness the show.

Thereafter, three Chetak helicopters in formation, trooping the air force flag, flew past. Nine HPT-32 propeller aircraft in three VICs (shape of a victory sign) of three aircraft each conducted a flypast. One AN-32 aircraft and two Dornier transport aircraft made a "small boy" formation and carried out flypast. The next flypast was by 12 Kiran aircraft in four formations of three VICs each. Similarly, nine Iskra aircraft conducted a flypast in three VICS of three aircraft each.

Speaking on the occasion, Air Chief Marshal Tipnis said the IAF owed tremendous gratitude to the citizens of Andhra Pradesh for extending facilities. He said that the foundations of flying training were laid in this state. He recalled that he was among the many to be commissioned in Hyderabad and hence had great affinity with the city.

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