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karatecatman · Guest

www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200901191531.htm
Indian Air Force gets its first woman navigator
New Delhi (IANS): Seventy-five years after its formation, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has finally broken the gender barrier with a young woman reaching out to the skies as its first woman flying officer. Kavita Barala logs in another first this Jan 26 when, in a moment for posterity, she salutes India's first woman president Pratibha Patil.

Barala, who is from Jaipur, is determined to add more firsts to her career. The determined young officer has her sights set on learning to navigate the frontline fighter jet Sukhoi-30 and becoming the first female co-pilot of a multi-role aircraft.

Barala's story is one of grit and determination. Though the choice of becoming a navigator in the IAF was open to women since they were inducted into the force a decade-and-a-half ago, no one had opted for the branch till now.

"When I joined the Air Force Academy at Dundigal (Andhra Pradesh), I came to know that no woman has opted to become a navigator, so I decided to take the plunge. I completed my training successfully and became a navigator," Barala told IANS.

The navigator's job is challenging. The navigator has to be aware of the aircraft's position at all times. The responsibilities include planning the journey, advising the pilot of the estimated timing to destinations while en route, and ensuring that hazards are avoided.

Standing at a mere 5.3 feet, Barala personifies the generation of Indian women who want to fly high in the sky.

She completed her training as navigator in 2008 for AN-32 transport aircraft and is currently undergoing training for navigating during bombing and relief operations at the Agra air base.

"Once my training is over I would like to get training for navigating Sukhoi-30," said Barala, who is in her early 20s.

After she trains to navigate Sukhoi multi-role fighter aircraft, she will become the first Indian woman to sit as co-pilot in the cockpit of the fighter jet.

Barala's decision has inspired other women to follow suit. Two women in her batch have opted for navigation.

"After me, two more women have opted to be navigators," Barala said.

The IAF currently has 784 women officers who work in all branches, barring the fighter stream.

vivekman · Member Joined: 26 Dec 2006 Posts: 1897 Location: BOM

Kavita Barala is NOT a Su-30 navigator YET. She has just completed her training as a navigator on the AN-32.

karatecatman · Guest

Corrected!!
(and also after verification with the IAF.)

stealthpilot · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 2325 Location: BLR, DXB

Our latest fighters still needs a navigator Sad

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shivendrashukla · Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2009 10:34 pm Post subject:

stealthpilot · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 2325 Location: BLR, DXB

O ok thanks for clarifying. I figured their job would be multi-role and definitely entail some sort of weapons officer role.

.. I guess I worded my reply confusingly, what I meant was (and the larger point still remains) it's a 2 person cockpit Confused

Not like that's news to any of us we all knew that, but it still seems like old school thinking to me..
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ssbmat · Member Joined: 20 Dec 2006 Posts: 1710

2-seater or 1-seater has nothing to do with obsolescence of design.

texdravid · Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 11:07 pm Post subject:

Congratulations to her. Hope many follow in her footsteps.

Hope she makes the chauvinistic men in the Air Force nervous....
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stealthpilot · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 2325 Location: BLR, DXB

HamiltonAir · Member Joined: 25 Dec 2006 Posts: 937 Location: Bangalore

Hi Nikhil,

I think, fighter jets like SU-30MKI requires a navigator or should we call him/her WSO? I am not sure if the term navigator is suitable for the Su-30MKI. I guess, in a two seat version like the su30s, the pilot can concentrate on his flying whereas the wso can concentrate on locking the target on the ground or in BVR since its a multirole aircraft. For fighters like, Mirage, Mig-29 and other air to air fighter planes, WSOs are not required since they are more of air to air.

Just my thoughts, anyone please correct me if I am wrong.

Regards,
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stealthpilot · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 2325 Location: BLR, DXB

Ahh I didn’t think of that, multirole vs. air-air- but im still not convinced,

Our SU30s require a navigator. (or WSO or whatever, lets not focus on their designation they do x job) IMO, gone are the days when we required 2 pilots so that one could concentrate on flying while the other handled something else. All new fighter aircrafts are single seater- they are smaller/weigh less/more manoeuvrable etc. if two pilots did a better job im sure the F18, F22, + Europeans would stick with a 2 man cockpit. In that context then yes, a bulky 2 seater seems like an obsolete design.
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HamiltonAir · Member Joined: 25 Dec 2006 Posts: 937 Location: Bangalore

I get your point, however, my thinking is that the planes you have mentioned, F-22 and F-18SH and now the Eurofighter have more advanced avionics and pilot interface in the cockpit. I am not sure how advanced our Sukhoi-30MKIs cockpit are. Maybe shivendra can give us some insight.
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