The Hindu : Front Page : Flawless dress rehearsal for air show Aero India-2009

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Tuesday, Feb 10, 2009
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Flawless dress rehearsal for air show Aero India-2009

Ravi Sharma

— Photo: PTI

On show: Sarang helicopters at the rehearsal in Bangalore on Monday.

BANGALORE: Those magnificent men in their flying machines kicked off their final dress rehearsal at Air Force Station, Yelahanka, on Monday morning in preparation for Wednesday’s Aero India 2009 air show.

Aircraft from overseas and from India scotched the skies as fighter, transport and helicopter pilots rehearsed, with pin-point accuracy, the manoeuvres that they will perform during the inauguration. Hogging the limelight were Boeing Integrated Defence System’s twin engine F/A-18F Super Hornet, Mikoyan’s MiG-35D, Lockheed Martin’s F-16 Falcon, the Indian Air Force’s famed Sarang helicopter and Surya Kiran fixed-wing aerobatic teams, the Advanced Light Helicopter Dhruv, the Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer and the Embraer 135 BJ Legacy 600. But for the assembled aviation aficionados, the piece de resistance was the flypast and performance of the Light Combat Aircraft Tejas and the IAF’s latest and most powerful airborne platform, the twin-engine fighter, Su-30MKI. Air Officer Commanding AFS Yelahanka, Air Commodore Ravi Dhar, told The Hindu that the full dress rehearsal went off without a hitch. “All the aircraft performed and practised as was expected of them and as per the time slots allotted. We are ready for D-day. The countdown has begun.”

As far as crowd control and security measures at the base were concerned, Air Commodore Dhar said: “We have also put in place a few contingency plans for effective crowd control and to make the visit to AFS Yelahanka a pleasurable and worthwhile experience.”

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