Sitting inside the cockpit of the two-seater microlite aircraft, Raban Singh was both excited and nervous to feel the aircraft controls. He had never imagined sitting in the co-pilot’s seat some day. “It felt like sitting inside a giant wheel. Every time the plane climbed up or went down, I felt butterflies in my stomach,” he exclaimed after his sortie.
Similarly, Agni Kumar Sethi, a student of a GCD School, Rayagada was more than happy with the camp accommodation. The big school with large classrooms, clean toilets and beautiful gardens was a rare treat for him. Like the two cadets, the ten -day annual training camp of NCC Air Wing was like a dreamland for most of the 500 cadets who participated in it. ‘’The camp has given me a chance to visit Bhubaneswar. I had never seen such a big city earlier,’’ said Jyotirmaya, a student of a government school from Haridaspur area.
While cadets from both private and government schools participated in the camp, most of them came from remote areas of the state.
‘’We train cadets based on their comprehensive qualities. It has nothing to do with a cadet’s background. Every participant is given equal opportunity to hone their skill,’’ said Wing Commander Bikash Kanungo, Commanding Officer of 1 Odisha Air Squdron, NCC.
In the camp, the cadets were imparted training in .22 rifle firing, microlite aircraft flying, aeromodelling besides learning drill. ‘’I used to think firing as a child’s play whenever I would watch an action movie. But, once I handled the rifle in the camp, I realised how difficult it was. I could barely handle its weight,’’ said Ashutosh Tripathy of Harihar High School, Aska.
Various competitions including debate, essay, rangoli-making were also organised in the camp and evenings booked for cultural performances by the cadets. ‘’We try to give maximum exposure to the cadets in the camp. They are not just trained technically but also given a platform to exhibit their talents in various aspects,’’ added Kanungo.
The cadets were also taken on a tour of the city to get a glimpse of the planetarium and the museum.