The Air Show Experience !

"Why are you here at office today??" , " Will it be good this time?" , "Are you attending the air show?" , "Where is it? update me with the details?" , "I may not attend. I'm not as enthusiastic as you are!" ,"I'm sure you're not going to miss it" These are the reactions that i got from people around me about the Aero India 2011 which was held at Yelahanka Air Force Base in Bangalore.

On the inagural day, my cousin kept pinging me about what was going on at the Air Force Base(AFB).I was at office and couldn't stop thinking about how much fun it'll be tomorrow seeing the flying birds. I barely slept that night. I was so excited about attending my FIRST ! Air show tomorrow.

The D-day came and there we were, me, my brothers and a few friends. While driving to the AFB, we were greeted by the LCA doing some manoeuvres, a few kilometres from where we were parking the vehicle. Had to take a bus from the parking lot to the base and the F 16 and F 18s that flew during that time made the structure of the whole bus vibrate !!

We enter the gates and there's a long queue to put me into a sad state. Luckily, we got in soon.The first plane i saw from a very close distance was the GA8-TC Airvan from Mahindra Aerospace. It was quite good, but my eyes were searching for a special one ! I was looking for the Sukhoi Su 30 MKI. I've always been awe struck by the amazing manoeuvres it can do. I couldn't find it ! But there were all the planes that i wanted to see though. A whole bunch of private jets, heavy lift transport aircrafts, mid-air refuell tankers, attack helicopters,fighter jets, turbines and a lot more !! I then decided to take it slowly and see all of them one by one.Luckily, got a chance to talk to a french guy from Eurocopter who was kind enough to let me into their Fennec helicopter and feel the controls of the machine. Loved the whole experience with the helicopter. Asked a few questions about it and then took a few pics and headed into the business stalls at the large hangars.

I'd say i have a small collection of tiny model planes and its definitely hard to find good ones here. But, as soon as i entered the hangars, i was overwhelmed to see a lot of detailed large scale models. I have no idea if such big models are available for purchase; but,if it is, I so badly want a lot of them! Went through most of the stalls staring at all those pretty models and saw some cool hardware and test equipments used in the field of Avionics. It was lunch time by then and the weather was hot as hell, added to that was the open areas at the base,and we all were totally exhausted and needed some energy to keep going for the whole noon.

The first display again after lunch was by the Light Combat Aircraft and yes it did fly well, but wasn't that impressive when compared to other jets. I think the test pilots did not want to push the aircraft to its limits as the testing of that aircraft has just begun.And then there was the Intermediate Jet Trainer, it didn't fly fast or do any stunts in the air, but then its a trainer aircraft right?

The next display was by the Russian made Sukhoi Su 30 MKI of the Indian Air Force. Needless to say, its the emperor of the skies and it flew like one. Didn't do the breath taking stunts like the Cobra or the Kulbit, but that was the first aircraft on which i saw the afterburners on. The light blue colored flame from the exhaust nozzles looked great while the whole base was vibrating with its noise. I must say, roaring jet engines is an understatement !

Then was the display by the Eurofighter Typhoon. It's a very small aircraft designed for medium range operations but the capabilities it has are many.I had under estimated that its flying would be not that great and the typhoon took me by surprise.Then came the famous F 16 Falcon and the F 18 Super Hornets. Both the planes performed well and the F 16 pilot did a continuous vertical climb for more than 1500 feet over us and it was a delight to watch it. Low Fly-by, steep turnings, low fly-by with afterburners, steep vertical climbs and a whole lot of other manoeuvres kept the audience wanting to see more.The Sukhoi Superjet and a Saab private jet also did some stunts in the air and we simply hadn't expected such manoeuvres from them.

The red bull aerobatics team were really amazing. They were led by a lady ! Not many women pilots get to lead a stunt team and the stunts which the team performed were wonderful.Then was the turn of the MI 26 choppers and the Saarang team. They did quite well.At last was that of the Suryakirans, our aerobatics stunt team from the Indian Air Force. Used the tricolor of our flag for the trail on their flight path, flew overhead at high speeds, made some close encounter stunts and at last drew a heart with a pierced arrow in the air !

All those planes did so many stunts that are simply hard to explain. Added to that, in between those flight displays, the test pilots who flew the jets used to walk around and make the crowd envy them ! I'm not sure of the crowd, bit i did envy those pilots for sure.

It was just me and the planes all through the day. I realised that day how much more there is to learn about these machines.They still continue to impress me ! I have no clue how time flew so fast that day and towards the end of it, i had about 5 kilos of brochures, around 800 pictures of planes and helicopters, atleast 15,000 crores worth of planes behind me,a tired body but a very happy and satisfied me.