rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!
That's how the jet engines sounded the whole day at the Air Show in Bangalore!! This is my second air show, and far better than the last one!
The Su-30 is an amazing fighter plane. Strong, sturdy and Russian made!! No wonder the IAF is so proud to show off these fighters. There were two Sukhoi's on show and both were taken out for a spin...a thrilling spin it was!!! The cobra stunt (Pugachev's cobra) was the most abused stunt this time. With almost all fighters trying it. Nobody got it better than the Sukhoi's. The US for the first time participated in the show and showed off two of it's fighters, the F-16 and the F-18 Hornet. The F-16 is Super fast!! The fastest fighter in this years air show. Almost cut the sky into two during it's amazing fly-past. The fighter goes so fast that one blink, and you will miss it fly wide in front of you!!! Looks like a silver arrow, traveling like light, leaving a puff of white smoke behind it, that fast!!! The F-18 Hornet, same as F-16, in terms of acrobatics, but looks more sturdy and heavy. The US also had one of it's transport planes on show. The C-17 its called. A huge plane, weighs around 300,000 kg, can take off at a 45 degree angle, and needs just 500 meters for a clean take off. The plane looks like a huge...huge blue whale..with wings. If you'd seen the movie 'The Aviator', the plane is the size of the 'Hercules' which Howard Hughes flies in it's climax, so huge, but beautiful at the same time. The C-17 was parked right in front of us. This plane has four huge engines, and it was thrilling to see the propeller blades turning on one by one. There was so much breeze getting pulled towards these powerful rotating blades that at one moment we forgot the hot afternoon sun!!
'Gripen' another fighter plane from Sweden, was stylish, and probably the smartest fighter aircraft I saw today!! No big deal about the looks but flies like a fighter plane that means business. Clean as that. The most awaited fighter was the Mig-35. I was lucky enough to attend the Air Show last sunday (yes, I saw it twice). The Air Show was screened only for Air Force families and one of my teammates has an officer uncle in the IAF. Cannot get better than this. The uncle is a wing-commander, and explained us how sophisticated the Mig-35 was. Incidentally, Russia is unveiling the plane in Aero India, for the first time. The fighter was flown by Pavel Vlasov, supposedly one of the best fighter pilot in the world. Apparently this guy flew the Mig-35 from Moscow to Bangalore in flat 3 hours. Yes 3 hours!!!! The Mig-35 was the best in acrobatics. The pilot does almost everything we could imagine in our wildest dreams. I just cannot find the right words to write about this plane. An engineering marvel. I hope the IAF buy out a huge squadron of Mig-35's. They are AWESOME!!
The Indian LCA (Light Combat Aircraft) too was in the show. Felt really proud to see an indigenous fighter roar in the sky. Last but not the least, the IAF's acrobatic team, the 'Suryakiran's' finished off the days show in great style. Imagine 9 planes flying in synchrony letting out National colors in their wake, looked amazing!!
The Su-30 is an amazing fighter plane. Strong, sturdy and Russian made!! No wonder the IAF is so proud to show off these fighters. There were two Sukhoi's on show and both were taken out for a spin...a thrilling spin it was!!! The cobra stunt (Pugachev's cobra) was the most abused stunt this time. With almost all fighters trying it. Nobody got it better than the Sukhoi's. The US for the first time participated in the show and showed off two of it's fighters, the F-16 and the F-18 Hornet. The F-16 is Super fast!! The fastest fighter in this years air show. Almost cut the sky into two during it's amazing fly-past. The fighter goes so fast that one blink, and you will miss it fly wide in front of you!!! Looks like a silver arrow, traveling like light, leaving a puff of white smoke behind it, that fast!!! The F-18 Hornet, same as F-16, in terms of acrobatics, but looks more sturdy and heavy. The US also had one of it's transport planes on show. The C-17 its called. A huge plane, weighs around 300,000 kg, can take off at a 45 degree angle, and needs just 500 meters for a clean take off. The plane looks like a huge...huge blue whale..with wings. If you'd seen the movie 'The Aviator', the plane is the size of the 'Hercules' which Howard Hughes flies in it's climax, so huge, but beautiful at the same time. The C-17 was parked right in front of us. This plane has four huge engines, and it was thrilling to see the propeller blades turning on one by one. There was so much breeze getting pulled towards these powerful rotating blades that at one moment we forgot the hot afternoon sun!!
'Gripen' another fighter plane from Sweden, was stylish, and probably the smartest fighter aircraft I saw today!! No big deal about the looks but flies like a fighter plane that means business. Clean as that. The most awaited fighter was the Mig-35. I was lucky enough to attend the Air Show last sunday (yes, I saw it twice). The Air Show was screened only for Air Force families and one of my teammates has an officer uncle in the IAF. Cannot get better than this. The uncle is a wing-commander, and explained us how sophisticated the Mig-35 was. Incidentally, Russia is unveiling the plane in Aero India, for the first time. The fighter was flown by Pavel Vlasov, supposedly one of the best fighter pilot in the world. Apparently this guy flew the Mig-35 from Moscow to Bangalore in flat 3 hours. Yes 3 hours!!!! The Mig-35 was the best in acrobatics. The pilot does almost everything we could imagine in our wildest dreams. I just cannot find the right words to write about this plane. An engineering marvel. I hope the IAF buy out a huge squadron of Mig-35's. They are AWESOME!!
The Indian LCA (Light Combat Aircraft) too was in the show. Felt really proud to see an indigenous fighter roar in the sky. Last but not the least, the IAF's acrobatic team, the 'Suryakiran's' finished off the days show in great style. Imagine 9 planes flying in synchrony letting out National colors in their wake, looked amazing!!