APJ Abdul Kalam on Thursday became the first President to make a sortie in a supersonic fighter jet, fulfilling a childhood dream when he made a flight in a Su-30MKI multi-role combat aircraft from an airbase here.
"It was a dream of mine since 1958, when I became an engineer, to fly in a fighter aircraft," Kalam said after the 36-minute flight during which the frontline jet soared to a height of 25,000 feet, or about 7.5 km above the earth.
Clad in a G-suit to protect him from the intense gravitational forces experienced during supersonic flights, the beaming 75-year-old President alighted from the jet and shook hands with senior IAF officers at the Lohegaon airbase.
"It was a beautiful experience ...There was no time to be afraid," he said. Asked if he was nervous, prompt came the reply, "No, not at all because I had a good captain with me."
