A series of activities were organised as part of the 81st anniversary celebrations of the Indian Air Force, which falls on October 8, at the 413 Tambaram Air Force Station.
A dozen journalists representing various media houses were called for a visit to the Station for a media interaction with Air Officer Commanding (AOC) of the station, Air Commodore Sreekumar Prabhakaran VM.
Speaking on the occasion, AOC noted that the Station is one of the premier bases in the country and the largest training establishment that is functioning under the Headquarters Training Command of the Force.
Presently, the base has a Flying Instructor School, wherein selected pilots undergo a 24-week training programme to earn a certificate of Qualified Flying Instructor.
A pilot from United States Air Force (USAF) is being trained in an exchange programme at this Institute. After graduation, the pilot will train the raw recruits for two years before returning to his country. Similarly, an Indian pilot will also undergo a training at USAF.
The certificate will be recognised and acknowledged by the Air Force wings of other countries across the globe. The base also has two other institutes — Mechanical Training Institute (MTI) and Workshop Training Institute (WTI).
As part of the visit, the journalists were walked through the MTI, where the basics were being taught to the raw recruits and to the hangar, a closed structure where the skinned models of aircrafts were kept for the recruits have a better understanding.
As part of the celebrations, various competitions for its personnel and family members were organised by the station. The celebrations will be on at the Station till October 8.