IT WAS civilians' day out at the Bamrauli airfield of the Indian Air Force on Tuesday afternoon. Hand picked locals got a rare opportunity to soar up in the air on a powered hand glider and feel the thrill of flying like a bird 600 feet up in the sky. The dream ride was made possible with the unique initiative of the IAF as part of its Platinum Jubilee celebrations nation-wide.
IT WAS civilians' day out at the Bamrauli airfield of the Indian Air Force on Tuesday afternoon. Hand picked locals got a rare opportunity to soar up in the air on a powered hand glider and feel the thrill of flying like a bird 600 feet up in the sky.
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The dream ride was made possible with the unique initiative of the IAF as part of its Platinum Jubilee celebrations nation-wide.
With a mission to spread the spirit of adventure among the youths and to motivate them to join the IAF, a Trans-India Powered Hang Glider Expedition, planned by Air Headquarters, is under way in the country. And it was this expedition that made the flight of the locals possible.
The expedition started from Air Force station Hindan to Udhampur and after passing through Allahabad and Gorakhpur would conclude at Chabua covering a distance of a whopping 3800 kms— which will be a new national record.
Captain of the expedition Squadron Leader Ramakant said, "This is for the first time that IAF's Directorate of Adventure has organised such event for the civilians as well as for members of the non-flying branch in the country."
Determined to accomplish the mission and create a new national record, we have already covered a distance of 2000 kms and remaining 1800 kms is to be covered now within the next nine days.
We plan to touch down at Chabua on November 17, said Ramakant, who holds a national record for flying 12000 feet up in the sky from Jammu to Udhampur without oxygen support.
He further said that free ride was given to school children, NCC cadets and mediapersons. The school children had to qualify the written examination and those who cleared the examination were selected for the expedition, he added.