I had been to Aero India 2007 yesterday with friends. A friend of mine got 4 free VIP passes as her uncle was one of the organisers.
We reached the venue at 10:30. Everywhere, we read that the acrobatic display will be starting at 11:00 in the morning and at 3:00 in the afternoon. Unfortunately for us, the Suryakirans performed before 11:00. We missed the performance of the suryakirans which was very disappointing especially for two of my friends as they had never seen the Indian acrobatic team perform.
Another friend and me had seen them perform previously, but we were still eager to seem them again. When the display ended at 1:00, and there were still no sign of the Suryakirans, we asked a person and he said that they performed much earlier.
I would blame the organisers for this. We read in all the papers that flying time is only at 11:00. We planned accordingly and reached the venue at 10:30. One of us had some work in the afternoon and so, we had to leave by 1:00.
But still, on the whole, it was a good day and it was really awesome to see the F-16, F/A-18, Sukhoi 30 MK-1 and the MiG-35 perform.
We first walked around the open area clicking pics of the static displays.
We later realised that not all the aircrafts were "static". When the American Air Force displayed the Boeing C-17 cargo plane, it was the same aircraft which we thought is just for static display.
There was the Indian Air Force's parachuting regiment freefalling at that time. We couldnt see a damn thing though. Only when the chutes opened up, we could make out the soldiers in the air.
The aircrafts we saw flying were the Su-30 MK-1, Mig-35, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F/A-18 Hornet, Gripen JAS-39, Boeing C-17, Sarang Helicopters (3 of them), the Falcon private luxury jet, the LCA (Tejas) and the IJT (Intermediate Jet Trainer).
The pilots of the jet aircraft enthralled the crowd with death-defying manoeuvres like the Cobra, etc... Some of the more popular moves by the pilots of the F-16, F/A-18, LCA, Su-30, Mig-35, Gripen JAS-39 were the rolls and flying upside down.
The Su-30 and the Mig-35 also performed the cobra which was moving horizontally at speed but while the aircraft was perpendicular to the surface !! This showed the extreme manoeuverability of the aircraft.
The Su-30 and the MIG-35 also went into a flat spin and fell thousands of feet before pulling up at the last minute. This also elicited a lot of oohs and aahs from the crowd. The Mig-35 also plummeted towards the earth like a dart. With the nose pointing down and then pulled up as late as possible.
The LCA performed for a very short time compared to the other aircrafts and didnt really do anything spectacular. IT performed a couple of rolls and gained altitude very quickly, but that was about it.
The F/A-18 and the F-16 were really good. The F-16 in particular wowed the crowd during one particular feat where it went vertically upwards like a rocket. According to the commentator (who was from the US air force), it went from 150 feet to 5000 metres high.
It went so high that we couldnt see it anymore. A few secs later, it surprised everyone by coming in from the left at a pretty low altitude !!
The F/A-18 also was spectacular. It did the usual rolls, high speed climbs, demonstrated it's awesome manoeuverability, etc.
Same for the Gripen. Basically, all the aircrafts performed basically the same stuff.
The team of 3 Sarang helicopters also wowed the crowd with their stunts. Basically, flying very close and in formation and a few feats where one helicopter squeezed in between two others with no margin for error.
The Boeing C-17 just showed off how silently it could operate and how manoeuverable it was at low altitudes and low speeds. It is also claimed that just 3 people could fly the plane.
PICS:
A MODEL of the LCA also known as the Tejas. We initially thought it was the real deal, but when we went closer, realised it was just a model.
Truck based launcher for the Brahmos missile.
Another model. This time of the Brahmos missile.
Truck based missile launcher for the Akash missile
A hummer !! A real one. Not the sissy ones made for civilians. This was made for the army. Check out the "luxurious" interiors
Hawk AJT (Advanced Jet Trainer) which will be supplied to the Indian Air Force soon from British Aerospace (BAe)
The Parachutists
The Hansa. A light trainer aircraft made by India.
The Boeing C-17 transport plane, another USAF cargo plane and a helicopter
A Cessna Citation XLS private jet. The Poonawallas of Pune own one of these
CH-47 Chinook Helicopter
The Gripen JAS 39. The one which is competing with the F-16s for the $6.5 billion deal. And another unknown aircraft. I think the other aeroplane is a pirvate plane.
The IJT(Intermediate Jet Trainer made by India)
The LCA (this one is a proper flying aircraft. Not like the model we saw earlier)
The Mirage 2000 made by France. Check out the name written in front of the aircraft in bullets
The Sukhoi 30-MK-1. One of the most advanced fighters in the world.
The Sarang helicopter made by India
The US Air Force's F/A-18 Super Hornet
The US Air Force's F-16 Fighting Falcon
An LCA simulator inside one of the hangars
The Boeing C-17 cargo aircraft.
We reached the venue at 10:30. Everywhere, we read that the acrobatic display will be starting at 11:00 in the morning and at 3:00 in the afternoon. Unfortunately for us, the Suryakirans performed before 11:00. We missed the performance of the suryakirans which was very disappointing especially for two of my friends as they had never seen the Indian acrobatic team perform.
Another friend and me had seen them perform previously, but we were still eager to seem them again. When the display ended at 1:00, and there were still no sign of the Suryakirans, we asked a person and he said that they performed much earlier.
I would blame the organisers for this. We read in all the papers that flying time is only at 11:00. We planned accordingly and reached the venue at 10:30. One of us had some work in the afternoon and so, we had to leave by 1:00.
But still, on the whole, it was a good day and it was really awesome to see the F-16, F/A-18, Sukhoi 30 MK-1 and the MiG-35 perform.
We first walked around the open area clicking pics of the static displays.
We later realised that not all the aircrafts were "static". When the American Air Force displayed the Boeing C-17 cargo plane, it was the same aircraft which we thought is just for static display.
There was the Indian Air Force's parachuting regiment freefalling at that time. We couldnt see a damn thing though. Only when the chutes opened up, we could make out the soldiers in the air.
The aircrafts we saw flying were the Su-30 MK-1, Mig-35, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F/A-18 Hornet, Gripen JAS-39, Boeing C-17, Sarang Helicopters (3 of them), the Falcon private luxury jet, the LCA (Tejas) and the IJT (Intermediate Jet Trainer).
The pilots of the jet aircraft enthralled the crowd with death-defying manoeuvres like the Cobra, etc... Some of the more popular moves by the pilots of the F-16, F/A-18, LCA, Su-30, Mig-35, Gripen JAS-39 were the rolls and flying upside down.
The Su-30 and the Mig-35 also performed the cobra which was moving horizontally at speed but while the aircraft was perpendicular to the surface !! This showed the extreme manoeuverability of the aircraft.
The Su-30 and the MIG-35 also went into a flat spin and fell thousands of feet before pulling up at the last minute. This also elicited a lot of oohs and aahs from the crowd. The Mig-35 also plummeted towards the earth like a dart. With the nose pointing down and then pulled up as late as possible.
The LCA performed for a very short time compared to the other aircrafts and didnt really do anything spectacular. IT performed a couple of rolls and gained altitude very quickly, but that was about it.
The F/A-18 and the F-16 were really good. The F-16 in particular wowed the crowd during one particular feat where it went vertically upwards like a rocket. According to the commentator (who was from the US air force), it went from 150 feet to 5000 metres high.
It went so high that we couldnt see it anymore. A few secs later, it surprised everyone by coming in from the left at a pretty low altitude !!
The F/A-18 also was spectacular. It did the usual rolls, high speed climbs, demonstrated it's awesome manoeuverability, etc.
Same for the Gripen. Basically, all the aircrafts performed basically the same stuff.
The team of 3 Sarang helicopters also wowed the crowd with their stunts. Basically, flying very close and in formation and a few feats where one helicopter squeezed in between two others with no margin for error.
The Boeing C-17 just showed off how silently it could operate and how manoeuverable it was at low altitudes and low speeds. It is also claimed that just 3 people could fly the plane.
PICS:
A MODEL of the LCA also known as the Tejas. We initially thought it was the real deal, but when we went closer, realised it was just a model.
Truck based launcher for the Brahmos missile.
Another model. This time of the Brahmos missile.
Truck based missile launcher for the Akash missile
A hummer !! A real one. Not the sissy ones made for civilians. This was made for the army. Check out the "luxurious" interiors
Hawk AJT (Advanced Jet Trainer) which will be supplied to the Indian Air Force soon from British Aerospace (BAe)
The Parachutists
The Hansa. A light trainer aircraft made by India.
The Boeing C-17 transport plane, another USAF cargo plane and a helicopter
A Cessna Citation XLS private jet. The Poonawallas of Pune own one of these
CH-47 Chinook Helicopter
The Gripen JAS 39. The one which is competing with the F-16s for the $6.5 billion deal. And another unknown aircraft. I think the other aeroplane is a pirvate plane.
The IJT(Intermediate Jet Trainer made by India)
The LCA (this one is a proper flying aircraft
. Not like the model we saw earlier)
The Mirage 2000 made by France. Check out the name written in front of the aircraft in bullets
The Sukhoi 30-MK-1. One of the most advanced fighters in the world.
The Sarang helicopter made by India
The US Air Force's F/A-18 Super Hornet
The US Air Force's F-16 Fighting Falcon
An LCA simulator inside one of the hangars
The Boeing C-17 cargo aircraft.
