BENGALURU: Badminton star P V Sindhu will be read in history books as the first woman to get onboard the Light Combat Aircraft, Tejas. She boarded the aircarft at noon during the Aero Show, at the Airforce station in Yelahanka. She was even allowed by the pilot to operate the flight for a short duration.
Earlier, when Sindhu arrived at the ground near the Air Traffic Control Centre in a golf cart, accompanied by her mother, she was accorded rockstar treatment by the huge media contingent, waiting to capture the historic moment.
The cart took her to the Tejas flight waiting to take her on board. As scheduled, the flight took off at noon with Wing Commander Sidharth Singh steering it and the athlete seated in the rear. Around 12.40 pm, the duo landed and then went on to address waiting media persons. There were anxious moments in between as smoke from the fire that occurred at Parking lot 5 started billowing big.
Asked about her experience, Sindhu said, “It is a great feeling. I even experienced the 5G (acceleration caused due to gravity).” She also thanked the DRDO and the IAF for giving her the opportunity.
Explaining the 40-minute trip, Singh said, “I started with the basic turns. The hard turns were done next, and we even carried out attacks near a dam.”