Air Force Day celebrations at Air Force station Vadodara

Surya Kiran and Akash Ganga teams displayed heart stopping stunts in the sky

After almost a decade nine aircrafts of the daredevil Surya Kiran Aerobatics Team (SKAT) displayed heart stopping aerobatics with the newly indicted Hawk fighter aircrafts. The display by the team was part of the Air Force Day celebrations at the Vadodara Air Force Station. The Akash Ganga team performed aerobatic maneuvers in free fall from the height of 7000 to 8000 feet.

Led by Group Captain Prashant Grover the SKAT team displayed mesmerizing and heart stopping stunts before the gathering of people consists of officers, students, NCC cadets and others. The team is the youngest of the very few nine aircraft aerobatics in the world.

“It’s all about concentration and will power to perform the stunts with the powerful Hawk aircrafts. The Hawks are more powerful than the earlier Kirans and speed is more which force us to turn it from far away from the display area. For us the biggest happiness is when the audience click pictures and interacts with us. I we can inspire at least three youths then our mission is successful,” said Squadron Leader Satish Kartik 52Sqn Sharks.

The new aircrafts are more powerful and the team is the only one in Asia, Australia and Africa to have nine aircraft aerobatics team. “The air show is to spread awareness among people to join the Air Force and feel the thrill. The present Surya Kiran team is of nine aircrafts display aerobatics in the sky on new Hawk fighter aircrafts. The speed is doubled in compare to the earlier ones and we perform various manoeuvres which was not possible in Kiran aircrafts. We also introduce three to four new manoeuvres like Cork Screw, Star burst, Syncronus roll and one in pipeline is Syncronus Inversion,” said Group Captain Prashant Grover Commanding Officer 52Sqn Sharks.

He also added that the team comprises of highly qualified fighter pilots having more than 1500 hours of flying. The members practices daily sorties to perfect the skills and also keep a distance with the social media and other interaction to concentrate on the flying. The technical team led by Flight Lieutenant Sudarshan also make sure to check every technical detail before and after the flying of the aircraft. Flight Lieutenant Anjali Rai Commentator and Administrator take care of the daily discipline and life of the squadron.

The air show is the part of Indian Air Force Day celebrations under the aegis of South Western Air Command (SWAC) with the theme ‘Know Your Forces’ at Vadodara. A career corner was also set up for the visiting students to motivate them to choose Air Force as their career option. The air show will repeat on 27^thSeptember 2018.