Srinagar, September 21, 2005 (PTI)

The Suryakiran Formation Aerobatic Team of Indian Air Force today set ablaze the skies of Srinagar with their various acts of dare devilry spanning from inverted runs to the 'heart loop' and wingovers.

During the 20 minute show which left the audience spell bound, the pilots flew the machines at a relative speed of 1000 kmph and performed the 'heart' manouvre.

The first half of the show saw the pilots indulging in turns, wingovers, loops and barrel rolls in various nine aircraft formations while in the second half, the formation split in two groups to carry out a variety of manouvres like splits, level and rolling crosses and inverted runs.

A defence spokemsan said the display team normally operates between the speeds of 200-600 kmph and flies within the height band of 30 to 1500 metres. "There is no room for error or doubt and such split second precision demands peak performance from both the man and the machine he is flying," he said.

"The display of precision flying and finesse of manouvres is the result of intense training, critical examination of each practices sorties and the result of timeless endeavour to achieve the best," the defence spokesman said.

As the youngest nine aircraft aerobatic team in the world, the Suryakiran team has completed nine years of displaying aerobatics and in appreciation for its consistent performance since 1996, the Chief of Air Staff awarded the 'unit citation' to the team in October, 2004.

The Suryakiran team is the first unit to receive the award. The SKAT team has participated five times at the Bangalore Aero-India international air show besides displaying its skills at Colombo and flew the tricolour at Myanmar, Thailand and Singapore, where impressive display generated tremendous amount of goodwill for India and the IAF, the spokesman said.

Unlike most of the teams, which fly either frontline fighter aircraft or advanced trainer jets, SKAT flies an indigenous basic trainer jet, the Kiran MK II, he added.