Another father, son files together | I want my next 7 generations in armed force: Air Marshal Garud

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Bengaluru, April 06: Recording probably a rare flight history for the Indian Air Force's (IAF) Flying Instructor's School (FIS), a father and son flew a Chetak helicopter together at AFS in Tambaram.
Flying together was Air Marshal Arun Purushottam Garud, Air Officer Commanding in Chief, Southern Air Command and his son Lieutenant Commander Abhijeet Garud.
Lieutenant Commander Abhijeet is a naval aviator undergoing the Qualified Flying Instructor's (QFI).

Aviation historian Jagan Pillarisetti a.k.a. P V S Jagan Mohan, says that six father-son teams flew and demonstrated their aerobatic skills in various parts of the country on October 7,1992. Jagan says that this was part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of IAF and the only occasion when so many father-son teams took to the air.
In the mid-90s, at the Air Force Academy (AFA) in Dundigal, near Hyderabad, a father-daughter duo had flown together in the mid-90s as part of their training schedule.

Speaking to OneIndia, Air Marshal Garud said that it was priceless moment for him to fly with his son. "It was a God-given opportunity. For us to fly together, the time and space all came together. It's a dream come true for me. I want my next seven generation to be in the armed forces. My daughter is already married to a naval officer as well," said Air Marshal Garud.

Read the full report on OneIndia, here: http://bit.ly/1ICGnCD

Second LCH prototype completes successful sea-level trials

Photos: HAL HQ

 By Anantha Krishnan M

Express News Service

Bangalore: The second prototype (TD-2) of Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) successfully completed the sea-level trials at Air Force Station, Tambaram in Chennai, last month. A product of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), the LCH -- painted in camouflage colours -- had the trials from October 28 to November 23. The extensive trials were carried out to validate the design improvements implemented on the prototype based on the feedback from initial sea-level trials carried out during June 2012.
A company official told Express that a total of 32 flights were carried out covering helicopter performance, load measurement, handling qualities for various all-up weights (with external stores installed), bank turns and spot turns, low speed handling, single engine performance and auto-rotation. “Considerable improvements have been observed in the performance parameters in comparison with the earlier sea-level trials. All the test points planned were completed successfully with no major snags observed. Representatives of customers and certifying authorities were present during the trials,” the official said.
Based on the feedback on various tests done on LCH TD-1, the designers have gone for optimum transmission, modified rotor system and additional weight-reduction on TD-2. “The TD-1 had dummy weapons and sensors. Now, the TD-2 will prepare itself for hot weather trials and we will integrate mission sensors and weapons,” the official added.
Confirming the trials, HAL chairman R K Tyagi said that the LCH programme is steadily progressing as per the script. “One phase of trials got over in Chennai and now we are looking forward to other critical missions. The lessons learnt from the Dhruv experience is coming handy to our designers, engineers and Test pilots,” Tyagi said.
Since its first flight in June 2011, the LCH TD-2 has so for logged 96 flying hours (146 sorties). The LCH first prototype (TD1) had its maiden flight on March 29, 2010 and has to its credit over 140 sorties. HAL is in the process of accelerating the prototype development flight testing of LCH to achieve the proposed initial operational clearance (IOC) by December 2015. The company now plans to add another prototype (LCH TD-3) to the flight-line by next year.

Copyright@The New Indian Express