CHENNAI:In what could be a rare occasion in the history of the Flying Instructor’s School (FIS) here, a son got a chance of being groomed by none other than his father while flying IAF’s Chetak chopper during a Qualified Flying Instructor’s (QFI) course.
Lt Commander Abhijeet Garud, a naval aviator, had the chance of rubbing shoulders with his father Air Marshal Arun Purushottam Garud, Air Officer Commanding in Chief, Southern Air Command.
Air Marshal Garud, a category A Qualified Flying Instructor, may be bidding adieu to IAF on May 31, 2015, after 39 years of service. But, he will be cherishing the moment of having trained his son on the finer nuances of instructional flying while undertaking the flight from Tambaram Air Force station.
Earlier, Air Marshal Garud has been a directing staff at FIS. A defence spokesperson said Garud, a senior Qualified Flying Instructor, has flown in excess of 6300 hours on various helicopters and training aircraft in his career.
Interestingly, former Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne, had made his last sortie with his son Squadron Leader Omar Browne in Pune on the day of his retirement on November 2013. The duo flew in Su-30 or Sukhoi-30 at the Lohegaon Airbase in Pune.
A defence spokesperson said the Air Marshal Garud later reviewed arrangements for setting up of facilitation cum publicity pavilion at Chennai airport and efforts made for land acquisition for operational use by Southern Air Command. He visited 4-Air Force Movement Liaison Unit located at Air Force Station, Tambaram and was briefed about Sector Disaster Management set up for six northern districts of TN and Pondicherry.