Airliners-India

vivekman · Member Joined: 26 Dec 2006 Posts: 1268 Location: BOM

OMG!!!!

Get ready to hunt for a new President....

NEW DELHI: President Pratibha Patil now wants to do an A P J Abdul Kalam. That is, fly in IAF's most potent supersonic fighter jet, the
Sukhoi-30MKI. There is, however, no word yet whether she, much like the former President, will also sail underwater in a submarine and visit the world's highest battlefield at Siachen.

More details at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/President-to-fly-in-supersonic-Sukhoi/articleshow/5177500.cms
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Boeing makes planes. Airbus makes videogames!

Manish Soni · Member Joined: 09 Sep 2009 Posts: 71

Seriously but what are these extravagant stunts for ?
What a waste of taxpayer money Evil or Very Mad

Kabir · Member Joined: 24 Oct 2008 Posts: 345 Location: DEL

why does she feel the need to fly in a Sukhoi? Confused

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Kabir
India Correspondent
Airliner World

karatecatman · Guest

Scheduled for Nov. 25.

May be a signal for the induction of women fighter pilots.

karatecatman · Guest

President gets special briefing for her Sukhoi flight
STAFF WRITER

New Delhi, Nov 11 (PTI) President Partibha Patil, who plans to create history by becoming the first woman to fly in an Indian Air Force fighter jet on November 25, is looking forward to the "experience of an air combat aircraft" and has already undergone a special briefing on it.

Official sources said a special audio-visual briefing was held for the President at the Rashtrapati Bhavan recently in which she was told how to get into the SU-30 MKI air superiority fighter jet, how to alight and what instruments to touch.

They said 74-year-old Patil will wear a special anti-gravity suit called G-Suit, which helps in withstanding high gravitational pressure during such flights.

The President was briefed by four Air Force officers, including the pilot and the back up pilot for the aircraft, on which Patil will take a sortie from the Lohegaon air base at Pune.

HamiltonAir · Member Joined: 25 Dec 2006 Posts: 829 Location: Bangalore

Hope the ambulance is ready Laughing

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HamiltonAir

iflytb20 · Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2009 9:06 pm Post subject:

karatecatman · Guest

President fit to fly in Sukhoi: IAF
November 13th, 2009
New Delhi, Nov 13 (IANS)

President Pratibha Patil has been undergoing a fitness regime for the past two-three months for her maiden flight in Indian Air Force’s (IAF) frontline fighter jet Sukhoi Su-30MKI on Nov 25.
The IAF is leaving nothing to chance in the the run up to the flight from Lohegaon air base in Pune.

“The process (for her fitness) has been going on for the last two-three months. The president has been examined by her physicians and doctors from CME (Centre for Medical Examination, IAF). At present all the parameters are normal,” IAF Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik told reporters here.

A final fitness test will be done on 74-year-old Patil before the scheduled flight as well.

“Before she gets into the aircraft an examination will be done and if she is fit then only will she fly,” said Naik.

Patil, who is the supreme commander of the Indian armed forces, will make history by becoming the first woman to fly in an IAF fighter plane.

“My president, who happens to be my supreme commander, is flying in an IAF plane, it is a matter of pride for us. It is a way of showing solidarity with the IAF,” Naik added.

The IAF is hunting for a G-suit (anti-gravity suit) for Patil. The G-suit helps the pilot withstand high gravitational pressure during the flight as it prevents excessive blood from flowing to the brain.

Patil is following in the footsteps of her predecessor A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

Patil, who is India’s first female president, will also become the first woman to fly in an IAF fighter plane. The air force currently has 784 women officers working in different branches, but presently they are barred from the fighter stream.

“We have lady pilots in the IAF. I think it will take some time before they (females) are taken in the fighter stream,” added Naik.

Earlier Kalam, the father of the Indian missile programme, had taken a ride in a submarine in 2006 and followed it up with a sortie in a Sukhoi the same year. He too made his debut flight on a fighter from Lohegaon air base in Pune.

iah87 · Member Joined: 17 Apr 2007 Posts: 719

What is the maximum speed of the Sukhoi ?

ssbmat · Member Joined: 20 Dec 2006 Posts: 762

ssbmat · Member Joined: 20 Dec 2006 Posts: 762

karatecatman · Guest

The President is expected to be in the air for 30 minutes.

karatecatman · Guest

Took off!!!!

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TIMES OF INDIA
The man who will fly the President
Vishwas Kothari & Prasad Kulkarni
TNN
25 November 2009
PUNE: The Indian Air Force (IAF) has chosen its best fighter pilot for President Pratibha Patil’s historic flight in a Sukhoi-30 MKI. A glance at
the career graph of Wing Commander S Sajan provides enough reasons to see why he was picked for the rare honour of flying the country’s first woman president as well as the world’s first woman president ever in the twin-seater supersonic fighter jet.

Sajan, commanding officer (CO) of the No 30 Squadron (the Rhinos), is an ace at flying Sukhoi-30 variants and also a fully operational pilot on the MiG-21 aircraft. He has over 3,200 hours of flying experience on various aircraft. Of this, 1,500 hours are on the Sukhoi variants.

Sajan has several firsts to his name. He was adjudged best in flying, best in instructional technique and best in aerobatics. He is set to join the select band of IAF pilots who have flown the Indian armed forces’ commander-in-chief in a fighter aircraft.
Sajan was commissioned into the fighter stream of the IAF in June 1992. He took to flying as a private pilot licence holder even before joining the IAF. Sajan graduated in mathematics from the Loyola College, Chennai.

While graduating from the Air Force Academy, he excelled in his performance as a cadet and was the recipient of the Sword of Honour for standing first in overall performance in the course. He was also awarded the President’s Plaque by then President R Venkataraman for standing first in the order of merit. He also bagged the Chief of Air Staff trophy for best performance in flying.

The Rhinos Squadron chief is a qualified flying instructor, having excelled in the instructor’s course.
He is also a qualified display pilot, having performed aerobatic displays at various venues, including the Aero India 2009.

Sajan hails from the coastal city of Alleppey in Kerala and studied in various schools in Kanyakumari and Chennai. He is a good basketball player and also enjoys painting during his spare time.

An alumnus of the Defence Service Command and Staff College of Bangladesh, Sajan holds a first division masters in defence studies from the National University, Dhaka. He was commended by the Chief of Air Staff as well as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief for his commendable performance as a pilot.

On June 8, 2006, former president Kalam was taken up in a Sukhoi from the Lohegaon air base by Wg Cdr Ajay Rathore of the No 20 Squadron (the Lightnings).

karatecatman · Guest

TIMES OF INDIA
'What kind of view will I get from the cockpit?'
Vishwas Kothari
TNN 25 November 2009

PUNE: "What kind of view will I get from the rear seat in the cockpit?" That was one of the queries a curious President Pratibha Patil raised when she was briefed on details about her impending flight in the multi-role combat aircraft Sukhoi-30 MKI, by a team of top-notch officials from the Indian Air Force (IAF).

While much of the briefing so far, vis-a-vis her approach to the twin-seater fighter aircraft, how to enter and step out of the cockpit etc, was based on audio-video presentations, on Wednesday it will be the first time ever that Patil gets to see the aircraft up close and experience the thrill of flying in it.

Commanding officer of IAF’s No 30 Squadron, Wg Cdr S Sajan, who will fly the aircraft, led the briefing that was held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi two weeks ago in the presence of other top IAF officials.

The rear seat in the Su-30 MKI cockpit is positioned at a slightly higher level than the front seat and is usually occupied by the weapons system operator, who may not necessarily be a pilot. "The rear seat occupant could be a pilot or a navigator, depending on the flight requirement," said IAF spokesperson Wg Cdr T K Singha.

With the aircraft canopy hinged at the rear, the position can get slightly tricky, at times, for someone not used to flying fighter planes. "The President was wondering what kind of view she would get from the cockpit. She also queried about the switches in the rear of the cockpit that she will have to operate and the switches she won’t have to. She will be communicating with the front pilot through the intercom," he said.

According to Singha, the President has been adequately briefed and advised not to touch anything painted red inside the cockpit unless asked to do so. "The President is fairly aware of what she will be experiencing and has got quite familiar by now with the cockpit layout," Singha said. A final refresher briefing will also take place moments before the flight, he added.

Since it is a familiarisation flight, the pilot will make every attempt to get her all possible view of key sites on the ground within a specified angle of viewing, he said. "We have also shown her audio-video presentations of how it will look through the front canopy," said Singha, who is himself a MiG 21 fighter pilot.

Usually, pilots tend to feel motionless once the flight is in mid-air. The two additional Sukhoi-30 MKIs, which will fly alongside the President’s aircraft, will give a fair idea about the motions and allow her to appreciate the flight movement. There will be no harsh manoeuvres, he said.

The normal speed of the Sukhois at the take-off point is in the range of 280 to 300 kmph and the same applies for the landing too.

karatecatman · Guest

It was an honour flying the president in a Sukhoi: Pilot

President Patil makes history by flying in Sukhoi

President Pratibha Patil today made history by taking off in a frontline Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jet aircraft from the air force base in Pune, becoming the first woman head of state to fly in a warplane.

Indo-Asian News Service
Pune, November 25, 2009

Flying President Pratibha Patil in a Sukhoi-30MKI was an honour and a pleasure, Wing Commander S. Sajan said on Wednesday.

"I am honoured by the experience and it was a pleasure flying the president," said a beaming Sajan shortly after landing safely with his distinguished 'co-pilot' at the Lohegaon Air Base near Pune.

He gave full marks to Patil, who became the world's first woman president to fly in a fighter jet. She was "extremely confident and comfortable" right from the beginning and till the end of the 30-minute sortie, Sajan said.

"She was extremely comfortable from the minute she stepped inside the Sukhoi and during the take-off and in flight. Initially, we started at 600 km/h, then we were at 700 km/h and she wanted to go faster so we touched around 800 km/h plus," he said.

All through, Sajan said that she was extremely well-oriented at the height of around 2.5 km (around 10,000 feet) and she handled some of the controls of the aircraft.

"She had been preparing for the flight since quite some time and she took a keen interest in what was going on during the flight, the various controls, she kept asking me what was there on the right and left, the names of some of the towns over Maharashtra which we flew over," said Sajan.

She also handled a few simple manoeuvres like turns comfortably and Sajan kept explaining to her what he was doing during the flight to help her understand the experience.

"Except during take-off and landing, we were in the medium to higher speeds regime and the trip profile was planned out well in advance keeping in mind the president's comfort levels," he explained.

Maintaining that "every mission is challenging and different", Sajan said "Whether it is a routine flight, a training flight or flying the supreme commander of India's armed forces, it is always a challenge."

Sajan is an ace IAF pilot having flown several versions of the Sukhoi family of fighter jets with over 3,200 hours of flying experience.

Holding a private pilot's licence, he was commissioned into the IAF fighter stream in 1992 and assigned to the Rhino Squadron, which turned 40 this month.

He topped the IAF Academy for overall best performance and was awarded the Sword of Honour, the President's Plaque for standing first in the merit list and was also awarded the Chief of Air Staff Trophy.

karatecatman · Guest

Copyright
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karatecatman · Guest

Medvedev congratulates Patil for her 'heroic act'

STAFF WRITER
Vinay Shukla

Moscow, Nov 25 (PTI) Russian President Dmitry Medvedev today congratulated President Pratibha Patil for her 30-minute sortie on a Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jet, describing it as a 'heroic act' and a 'bright symbol' of bilateral relations .

"The Russian President, who has previously flown in Sukhoi Su-34 frontline bomber, is well aware of the gravity and strain endured in such flights, expressed his earnest admiration at, without exaggeration, the heroic act of Pratibha Patil," the Kremlin said in statement.

In his telephonic conversation with Patil, Medvedev underscored that her flight on the fighter assembled in India under the Russian license, has become yet another bright symbol of the development of friendly relations between the two countries and has demonstrated the widest opportunities of longterm Indo-Russian defence cooperation

Great way to plug for the 126-aircraft deal. Wink

karatecatman · Guest

Wing Commander S Sajan with his family members.

Expressbuzz
Sukhoi pilot’s career took off in Chennai

Mamta Todi
26 Nov 2009

CHENNAI: Even in his wildest flights of imagination, Wing Commander S Sajan had never seen his career in the Indian Air force bestowing such a privilege on him - commanding a plane with the First Woman to fly a fighter aircraft. While he agrees that flying the President of India would perhaps not figure on his career graph, it is an honour, he says even as he turns nostalgic about his days in Chennai.

“I owe it to my NCC training during my college days in Loyola in Chennai where I got fascinated about joining the armed forces,” he told Express. Sajan came to Chennai in 1984 and completed his secondary education at Doveton Corrie Anglo Indian School. He graduated from Loyola College in Mathematics. “While in college he was a cadet in the Air Wing of NCC and was selected for undergoing gliding training at the Air Force Station, Tambaram, he further got his private pilots licence (PPL) at the Madras Flying Club. Later, he was commissioned into the fighter stream of the Air Force in 1992,” Sajan’s older brother Capt Sabu told Express. Capt Sabu is a pilot with Air India and the regional secretary of their pilot’s union body.

Though both the brothers had similar aspirations of joining the Air Force someday, Capt Sabu didn’t get that lucky. “I was perhaps meant for fighting with the Air India management,” he joked. Though not from a family of pilots, the two brothers were drawn to the career from their days of gliding during their course of study at the Loyola college.

But the next generation sure looks like will be a family of pilots with Sajan’s wife Sujata also being a former helicopter pilot with the IAF. “She had joined the Air Force three years after I did. I think she was inspired by me and she also wanted to keep tabs on me which drove her to joining there,” Sajan said. Did flying the President come with a lot of pressure on the mind? “Not at all,” Sajan said. “In fact, the President was very cool and confident. Being a fighter pilot is sure a tough job but one needs to have a ‘situational awareness’ trait in them apart from quick thinking. I think I owe a lot to my alma matter in Chennai,” he said.

Sajan was awarded the Sword of Honour for being adjudged first in order of merit, the President’s Plaque for the ‘Best All Rounder’ and the Chief of Air Staff trophy for ‘Best in Flying’. Initially he was flying the MIG 21s.

karatecatman · Guest

President Patil to now travel on INS Viraat.

ssbmat · Member Joined: 20 Dec 2006 Posts: 762

Several other things left to do:

1) Operate MBT Arjun

2 Fly Sea Harrier jumpjets

3) Travel in Submarine

4) Sky jump in a parachute like Marine Commandos

5) Train on the INSAS.

6) Operate Bofors gun with live artillery in the direction of you-know-where Laughing

That would be a fitting finale dont you think?

con spirito · Member Joined: 07 Apr 2007 Posts: 459 Location: Inflight

HamiltonAir · Member Joined: 25 Dec 2006 Posts: 829 Location: Bangalore