September 25, 2006 (India Daily)

Asserting that the Mega Air Show was organized here to motivate the youth of the state to join the Indian Air Force (IAF), the Station Commander Group Captain JS Kler said that the aim was to target the youth by showcasing the skills and professionalism of the Force. Talking to the media persons here today, Group Captain Kler said that there is vast scope for the youth in the IAF as there are so many sections in the force.

"We have directed our publicity cell here to passon information of recruitment in IAF and the publicity materials like hoardings and charts are placed to make aware the youth of several recruitment procedures", he said, adding that the publicity material has been sent to atleast fifty colleges of the region through Jammu University. Station Commander regretted that the local administration here denied permission to perform the Grand Air Show at Maulana Azad Stadium.

The administration was approached in advance but due to the security concerns it denied the permission. Atleast two lakh gathering was to be expected at MA Stadium but the police authorities expressed their helplessness in providing the security to the people, he stated. The concerned police officials, Group Captain Kler said, informed that atleast 15 to 16 additional companies of police and para-military force were required for the security of the public which was not possible due to Navratra festival.

"We were shocked over the decision of the local administration and decided to shift it to the Air Force station which had short air space for such aerobatic shows due to location in close proximity of border. Our aim of targeting the local population was shattered and finally the show was organized at the Air Force station," he said.

Showering his praise for the dare devils, who performed the show, the Station Commander said that despite being a difficult job due to the limited space they performed excellently and displayed a variety of maneuvers in a highly professional way. He specially had high praise for the Suryakiran, Sarang and Akash Ganga teams. Interacting with the media persons the Commanding Officer and team leader of Suryakiran Wing Commander Sandeep Bansal also regretted over the shifting of the venue from MA Stadium to Air Force station. He said that the show was for the people and should have been witnessed by them in full strength.

The Air Force station had its own restrictions so maximum of the public could not have access to this mega event. The aim of organizing such show, he said is to motivate the youth to join the defence forces. He however expressed his satisfaction over the air space. "The border is atleast 14 Km from the here and our radius of flying was around 7 Km", he added. Earlier, for the first time, Jammu had witnessed a world-class aerobatics show performed by three teams of the Indian Air Force - with aircraft whizzing past at speeds of up to 600 km per hour and helicopters swaying to the music of Mozart. In the first ever tri-aerobatics display of the world-famous Suryakiran, Sarang and Akashganga formations at Air Force Station, the Suryakiran used nine Kiran Mark-II planes, Sarang employed four advanced light helicopters and Aakash Ganga had eight paratroopers para-diving and showing hang-gliding displays.

The show started with a variety of maneuvers like saluting the audience, reverse take off, somersault, double crossing displaying arrow and dancing peacock by four Sarang helicopters. The team was led by Wing Commander Sushank Mishra and it comprises Squadron Leader Tiwari, Vikas Singh, Wing Commander Pathak. Duration of the displays of Suryakiran which followed the Sarangs vary between 10 to 20 minutes depending on location, with the first half of the routine including turns, wingovers, loops and barrel rolls in various nine-aircraft formations. The Suryakiran team operated between speeds of 200 to 600 km per hour and flew in a height band of 30 to 1,500 meters. The dare devil show of flying with split second precision demands peak performance from both man and machine with no room for error or doubt. Suryakiran Formation Aerobatics Team (SKAT) flew its first six aircraft for a nation sortie on May 27, 1996 at air force station at Bidar in Karnataka.

It rapidly evolved and became one of the nine renowned aircraft formation aerobatic teams of the world. The Suryakiran formation was led by Wing Commander Sandeep Bansal. The other team members included Sqn Ldr Rahul Lilani, Sqn Ldr Sharad Pasricha, Wg Cdr Sunil Sadashivpeth, Sqn Ldr Abhijit Tokekar, Sqn Ldr Sandeep Singh, Wg Cdr Mohit Shisodia, Sqn Ldr Ashok Raj Thakur, Sqn Ldr John Cruz. The standby aircrew members included Wg Cdr K Ramesh (Flight Commander), Wg Cdr Prajual Singh (Standby Syncro), Sqn Ldr VP Singh (Trainee), Sqn Ldr S Malhotra (Trainee), Sqn Ldr A Nandy (Trainee), Sqn Ldr P Vig (Trainee).

The team administrator was Flt Lt Jiji Simon Subi and engineering officers Flt Lt V Magesh. The Suryakiran display was followed by Paramotor Air Display, in which CPL Preet Pal Singh performed Power Para-gliding with 250CC engine on his back. This was the latest admission in Indian Air Force. Finally, eight Paratroopers of Akash Ganga JW Ravi Yadav, Sqn Ldr PK Gupta, Sqn Ldr AK Patakh, Sqn Ldr Mohopatra, Sqn Ldr S Yadav, Sqn Ldr R Malik, Team Ldr Jai Kishen and Wing Officer AK Vyas jumped from the height of 8000ft.