THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: An ‘air ballet’ by the Sarang helicopters, flypasts by Sukhoi Su-30 MKIs and Jaguars and a breathtaking jump by the Akash Ganga skydiving team were among the big attractions at a two-day air show which began on Tuesday at Shangumugham to mark the 30th anniversary of the Air Force’s Southern Air Command (SAC).
The event began with a performance by the Air Warriors Drill Team. Marching in different formations, 18 hand-picked men twirled and spun the 5.5 kg .303 rifles with consummate ease, drawing cheers from the crowd.
It was followed by the much-awaited entry of four Sarang helicopters, sporting peacock designs on their flanks. They came in from the north in a ‘wineglass’ formation, three spewing smoke. Changing formations, they performed a series of dangerous-looking manoeuvres designed to thrill. Soon, three of them rose as if on the crest of a wave and then ‘fell’ in synchronised precision.
The commentator reminded the audience that the Sarang Display Team, famed as they were for their aerobatics, had also been a part of Operation Raahat, the tough rescue operation undertaken by the Indian Air Force in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand. They helped save nearly a 1000 lives. The Dhruv helicopters wound up their show with the ‘Sarang Split.’
Soon, the sky trembled with the drone of fighters, as three Jaguars, the strike aircraft of the IAF, came into view from the north-west. ‘’They belong to the No: 6 Squadron, the ‘Dragons,’ based at Jamnagar,’’ an Air Force official said. As the Jaguars whizzed past, the commentator announced the arrival of the Sukhoi Su-30 MKIs, which too were welcomed with cheers by the crowd assembled inside the Air Foirce Technical Area and the beach.
The last event of Tuesday’s show was by the Akash Ganga skydiving team, formed in 1987. The team, consist of some of the finest parachutists of the Air Force attached to the Paratroopers Training School, Agra. Among their exploits include skydiving over the north and south poles and Mt Everest. On Tuesday, they jumped from an Mi-8 helicopter and soon everybody’s eyes were glued to the sky as the tri-colour parachutes unfurled. All 11 paratroopers landed safely inside the Technical Area. Tuesday’s in fact was a ‘full dress rehearsal.’ Governor P Sathasivam will be the chief guest at the show on Wednesday, a defence spokesperson said.
