Ageing of the wings

Welcome to the 81-year-old Delhi Flying Club. A group of young boys dressed in white shirts and gray trousers are having an animated conversation on the club’s second floor corridor, reports Manoj Sharma.

Welcome to the 81-year-old Delhi Flying Club. A group of young boys dressed in white shirts and gray trousers are having an animated conversation on the club’s second floor corridor.

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Situated on the edge of Safdarjung airport, the second floor offers a neat view of the runway. The boys who have a strong desire to romance the skies get excited as they see two helicopters flying into the airport. “I wish I could fly here,” says one of the boys. “The club lacks the energy; absence of flying activity has taken the soul out of it.”

Delhi Flying Club, once the preferred training ground for pilots and engineers from across the globe, is tottering on the ground today. In 2002, the government put an end to flying activities at Safdarjunj Airport because of security considerations. The club that helped the likes of Rajiv Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi and former Orissa chief minister Biju Patnaik become pilots has been feeling grounded ever since.

“Ours was the most prestigious flying club in India and we trained some of the first pilots in the country. We also initiated the first airmail service in the country,” says A.K. Gupta, the club’s secretary.

“The first five Presidents of the country were our patrons. We’ve still got the original certificates they gave to the club.”

The certificates adorn the walls of the club’s lobby. Also evoking nostalgia are rare black and white pictures of flying events from the early 30s and 40s, the framed photocopies of first Indian pilot licences, a propeller of the Pushpak aircraft and a bust of Prabhu Datt Sharma, considered the pioneer of civil aviation in India.

The club has a huge hall, a bar and lush green lawns. When this reporter paid a visit on a Tuesday afternoon, a kitty party was in progress in the lounge.

The club has about 800 members. Only about 200 of them are pilots. It generates funds by playing host to marriage parties and other private parties.

“The focus was on flying activities earlier. But after the flying activities stopped, the focus shifted to social activities,” says D.V. Sharma, 69, a member of the governing body of the club, who trained as a pilot at the club in the mid-60s.

Sharma talks about “the good old days” when the club was the favourite haunt of many dignitaries, including prime ministers and diplomats, many of whom would also indulge in hobby flying.

The club still runs aircraft maintenance and engineering courses. It undertakes ground classes for pilot’s licences like PPL ( Private Pilot license) , and CPL (Commercial pilot license) and has 125 students on its rolls.

Besides, it also undertakes maintenance of VIP aircraft of some state governments.

“Flying is raison d’être of a flying club. The government should have provided us an alternate site for flying around Delhi,” Gupta says.

Gupta knows flying activity to resume at the Safdarjung airport is improbable. So, the club, which has two serviceable Cessna 152 aircraft, has recently tied up with Chimes Aviation Academy at Dhana Airfield, Sagar to resume flying training.

“One of our aircraft is airworthy. The other’s under check for airworthiness. We plan to fly them to Sagar soon,” he says.

Gupta says Municipal Corporation of Delhi plans to use the airport as a temporary parking lot during the Commonwealth Games in 2010. “It still has great infrastructure to train aviators. I also trained here as a pilot. I have recently applied for its membership,” says captain Kapil Raina, President, Indian Commercial Pilots Association.

The planes at Delhi Flying Club may not take off any time soon but the wings of hope need no permit. “I am sure we will survive; that we need is a small governmental push,” Gupta smiles.