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All set for Prez’s Sukhoi sortie

sudhir007

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All set for Prez?s Sukhoi sortie - Pune - City - The Times of India

PUNE: President Pratibha Patil is all set to fly into the record books on Wednesday by becoming the world’s first woman president ever to take to the skies in a fighter aircraft. She will fly in the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) most potent multi-role combat aircraft, the Sukhoi-30 MKI, from the Lohegaon air base here.

This is the second time in the last four years that the Lohegaon base will see the commander-in-chief of the Indian armed forces flying in a Su-30 MKI aircraft. On June 8, 2006, then President A P J Abdul Kalam had taken a 30-minute sortie in the Su-30 MKI, an exercise that was positioned as a familiarisation flight as well as an act of motivating youngsters to join the armed forces.

The IAF has chalked out a special rectangular pattern of navigation route for Patil’s maiden sortie that will last 30 minutes. The aircraft will touch a maximum speed of 0.9 Mach (700 to 900 kmph).

"She (Patil) is doing it to inspire the whole country and underline women’s empowerment — a subject which is close to her heart," Patil’s daughter Jyoti Rathore had told TOI last week. The sortie is also being seen as making a case for the induction of women fighter pilots in the air force.

Incidentally, Kalam, like Patil now, was 74 when he took the flight. The flying experience for both would also be
"more or less" the same, said IAF spokesperson Wg Cdr Tarun Kumar Singha. "It is basically a familiarisation sortie where the emphasis would be on making the President comfortable with the experience of flying in the frontline fighter aircraft and appreciate the flight. There will be no harsh manoeuvers," he added.

Before Kalam, then defence minister George Fernandes had undertaken a similar sortie in May 2004, clocking 1.15 Mach (about 1,500 kmph). Fernandes, who was also in his early 70s, was exposed to a gravitational force of up to level 3G.

‘G’ is the gravitational force that acts against the body weight and density while flying at supersonic speed. Fighter pilots are specially trained to take a maximum of 9G.

Patil, like Kalam, is set to experience a gravitational force of up to 2G. "It also depends on factors like the rate of onset of G-force," said Singha. "Depending on the weather factor, the aircraft is intended to fly at a height of two km or 7,500 ft above the airfield."

This is much less than the 7.5 km (24,600 ft) height attained by Kalam. Usually, the IAF’s fighter pilots in the Sukhoi are trained to fly at heights of 30,000 ft to 40,000 ft and even more.

Patil landed at the Lohegaon airport on Monday afternoon amid hectic last-minute preparations and rehearsals of various activities at the air base.

Referring to the sortie plan for Tuesday, Singha said, "The President will arrive at the air base around 9.30 am and will soon receive a guard of honour from the 150-member contingent of IAF officers and personnel." She will then proceed to the No 30 Squadron base for a refresher briefing and a mandatory fitness check before changing to the fire-resistant flying overalls — the G-suit, integrated helmet, gloves, visor etc. She will then move to the flight dispersal point for a photo-op before entering the twin seater Su-30 MKI cockpit for a strap-up and take-off.

Apart from the presidential flight, which would be flown by Wg Cdr S Sajan, the chief of the Rhinos Squadron, another two Su-30 MKIs will fly on either side of the main aircraft in a formation, said Singha. "The flight has been planned in such a way that the President would be able to fairly appreciate the surroundings and key sites around the airfield," he added.

Unlike in 2006, when Kalam’s sortie was followed by a spectacular display of aerobatics, the IAF has planned no such display this time.

---------- Post added at 10:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:56 AM ----------

All set for President Sukhoi sortie-News-Videos-The Times of India
 
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All set for Prez?s Sukhoi sortie - Pune - City - The Times of India

PUNE: President Pratibha Patil is all set to fly into the record books on Wednesday by becoming the world’s first woman president ever to take to the skies in a fighter aircraft. She will fly in the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) most potent multi-role combat aircraft, the Sukhoi-30 MKI, from the Lohegaon air base here.

This is the second time in the last four years that the Lohegaon base will see the commander-in-chief of the Indian armed forces flying in a Su-30 MKI aircraft. On June 8, 2006, then President A P J Abdul Kalam had taken a 30-minute sortie in the Su-30 MKI, an exercise that was positioned as a familiarisation flight as well as an act of motivating youngsters to join the armed forces.

The IAF has chalked out a special rectangular pattern of navigation route for Patil’s maiden sortie that will last 30 minutes. The aircraft will touch a maximum speed of 0.9 Mach (700 to 900 kmph).

"She (Patil) is doing it to inspire the whole country and underline women’s empowerment — a subject which is close to her heart," Patil’s daughter Jyoti Rathore had told TOI last week. The sortie is also being seen as making a case for the induction of women fighter pilots in the air force.

Incidentally, Kalam, like Patil now, was 74 when he took the flight. The flying experience for both would also be
"more or less" the same, said IAF spokesperson Wg Cdr Tarun Kumar Singha. "It is basically a familiarisation sortie where the emphasis would be on making the President comfortable with the experience of flying in the frontline fighter aircraft and appreciate the flight. There will be no harsh manoeuvers," he added.

Before Kalam, then defence minister George Fernandes had undertaken a similar sortie in May 2004, clocking 1.15 Mach (about 1,500 kmph). Fernandes, who was also in his early 70s, was exposed to a gravitational force of up to level 3G.

‘G’ is the gravitational force that acts against the body weight and density while flying at supersonic speed. Fighter pilots are specially trained to take a maximum of 9G.

Patil, like Kalam, is set to experience a gravitational force of up to 2G. "It also depends on factors like the rate of onset of G-force," said Singha. "Depending on the weather factor, the aircraft is intended to fly at a height of two km or 7,500 ft above the airfield."

This is much less than the 7.5 km (24,600 ft) height attained by Kalam. Usually, the IAF’s fighter pilots in the Sukhoi are trained to fly at heights of 30,000 ft to 40,000 ft and even more.

Patil landed at the Lohegaon airport on Monday afternoon amid hectic last-minute preparations and rehearsals of various activities at the air base.

Referring to the sortie plan for Tuesday, Singha said, "The President will arrive at the air base around 9.30 am and will soon receive a guard of honour from the 150-member contingent of IAF officers and personnel." She will then proceed to the No 30 Squadron base for a refresher briefing and a mandatory fitness check before changing to the fire-resistant flying overalls — the G-suit, integrated helmet, gloves, visor etc. She will then move to the flight dispersal point for a photo-op before entering the twin seater Su-30 MKI cockpit for a strap-up and take-off.

Apart from the presidential flight, which would be flown by Wg Cdr S Sajan, the chief of the Rhinos Squadron, another two Su-30 MKIs will fly on either side of the main aircraft in a formation, said Singha. "The flight has been planned in such a way that the President would be able to fairly appreciate the surroundings and key sites around the airfield," he added.

Unlike in 2006, when Kalam’s sortie was followed by a spectacular display of aerobatics, the IAF has planned no such display this time.

---------- Post added at 10:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:56 AM ----------

All set for President Sukhoi sortie-News-Videos-The Times of India

Morale boosts aside...I dont think this was necessary. She seems a frail woman.
 
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Morale boosts aside...I dont think this was necessary. She seems a frail woman.

The call sign for the 20 minute familiarisation mission is 'Rhino 1', to be undertaken by Wing Commander S Sajan, CO of 30 Sqn, 'Rhinos',Lohegaon, on Nov 25, 2009, who has already met the Supreme Commander of the armed forces and the First citizen, Mrs Pratibha Devisingh Patil.

The President has undergone a preliminary medical test, lasting 2 hours, in Rashtrapati Bhawan, and was given a thumbs-up for the sortie. She'll undergo a customary pre-flight medical check-up in Lohegaon on the D-Day, before embarking the mighty fighter, said the IAF Vice Chief, here today. Air Marshal P K Barbora said that the maximum age of active fighter flying was 45 years, but this was not a combat mission, plus the President was fit enough.

It is just a familiarisation mission and not a combat mission, to enable Patil to see up close the expertise and professionalism of the defence forces. Speed was indicated at being .9 mach and height anything between 10,000 to 20,000 feet, but no difficult manouvers, and nothing beyond between 3-4 G.

Calling it non-political, it was the President's own desire, signed off the Vice Chief.
 
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The man who will fly the President


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).
 
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:partay: so who got the credit :) your city pilot or the president who is being airborn on the jet.

Good luck.

Its good to be on jet.

Credit goes to the president of course.:partay:

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has chosen its best fighter pilot for President Pratibha Patil’s historic flight in a Sukhoi-30 MKI

my :cheers: for this
:D
 
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Pratibha Patil creates history by flying in fighter jet

from the look of it , she handled it pretty well for her age........
wish i was the prez for one day:D
 
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