Here’s a great shot Captain Surendra Ahuja, the officer I referred to in my last post on Indian Navy pilots being trained in conventional carrier ops at the US Navy. Captain Ahuja, a seasoned Sea Harrier fighter pilot, is the first Indian pilot in the “new mould” to be carrier qualified to fly CTOL jets. He got his wings of gold in May last year. He flawlessly trapped his jet ten times on the USS Enterprise to achieve that. May his tribe increase!
Top stuff. Interesting that the USA is doing the training. Nice slap in the face of the Russians, who are actually selling us the hardware.
Dont get too excited ankur….
There is another batch of pilots getting trained in Russia too.. for Mig29ks onboard Vikramadithya.. This shows we are going diplomatic with both rivalries (US and Russia)
Aren’t we a great country to do something like that
Mr White, let me know through Shiv where you want those models. Dhruv coming in a few days, and right now I have Tejas and HAL-Hawk.
So you(Mr. White) say, elementary, basic and carrier operation qualification training in USA and operational conversion training in Russia? If true then its great. These pilots will be able to write a perfect syllabus for the training of future Indian Navel fighter pilots in India.
White write the address where you want the models, on your mail to Shiv.
Shiv take and confirm here that you’ve got it.
Ankurji,
The Russians, at that time did not have the facilities to train. Even now, Mr. White, what ship would Indian pilots use to train?
Captain Ahuja, a seasoned Sea Harrier fighter pilot, is the first Indian pilot to be carrier qualified to fly CTOL jets.
what are you smoking shiv ?
what about the pilots aboard vikrant flying sea hawks ?
bloody bullock carts were they ?
@anon above:
Yes, everybody who flown the sea hawks in a similar fashion of current US carrier fighters did the same job of captain ahuja. But nobody was trained aboard an US carrier. Ahuja is the first among the other 32 pilots of Indian Navy who were trained aboard an US Navy carrier and got the CQ from them. There is no big difference between our old sea hawk pilots and capt ahuja. CQ is the grade given to US Navy pilots on completing the carrier based fighter pilot training. He is the one who got that grade from US, first among other Indians. I think you go it!!
@anon at 11.52pm:
Indian navy pilots in Russia are not getting trained aboard any of its aircraft carrier. They are just getting themselves comfortable with the New Mig29Ks flying from an airfield and with some simulation softwares of carrier deck landing and Take-offs. Sources say that Indian Navy is building a mock-up platform similar to the deck of vikramadithya to train the pilots. I dont know whether the construction is over or not. But its sure it is going to be happen in home land after the arrival of Mig29ks.
@anon at 10:35 pm:
Poor guy shiv doesn’t even know you. He replied me that he was puzzled about your identity. He wanted you to identify yourself.
please make it fast. Am very eager to feel those models physically in my hands. 🙂
[email protected]: CTOL aviation “in the new mould” for godsake, like i’ve said in the previous post on the subject.
mr white: quite right. a shore based ski-jump and arrester platform is being constructed under the aegis of goa shipyards.
shiv, can u writ an article about on CAG report on IAFs faulty training and it asking NAL to abandon saras project.
What’s going to be announced tomorrow for pay commission, any idea?
Actually it doesn’t really matter to anyone. I don’t want to rake up another debate here and ask everyone to put their views but let me atleast put across my observations and opinion.
The 3-member panel was waiting for the PM to return from Japan, but they would’ve already finalised as to what to tell him. Pranab Mukherjee and Manmohan are looking at the nuclear deal and the next elections in India and what are Congress’ chances. Chidambaram is worried about the crashed economy and therefore will not part with an extra penny, while Antony is just not bothered. He wanted all the credit before the Government dissolved, but the Chiefs made a fool of him and instead tried to become heroes.
Both Antony and the Chiefs tried to go down in history by making the soldiers in far-flung areas feel that they were thinking of them, but were they actually thinking?
Meanwhile the media got its share of its stories and played them big time. Ex-army guys turned correspondents like Ajai Shukla who cried loud and hoarse when the Eurocopter deal was cancelled, saying that the soldier in Siachen was dying as the procurement was pushed back by another 3 years and the modernisation process was delayed further, did he cry out this time for the soldiers this time also.
Did he write how it would actually affect the soldier on ground, though he may not get anything in hand, or even if he got would not be able to spend on the Glacier, but he would be happy, and his morale would be boosted.
Does the soldier bother about the Eurocopter deal, and when the copters would come etc, but he is bothered about the money and the Commission giving him a fair deal.
All channels, including Headlines Today, played up the story to get the TRPs, but did they go to villages from where the jawans come to find out how they live, and what their families face?
Its all very convenient for us to come here, and say whatever, show whatever on TV, run blogs, increase TRPs for channels, but has anyone of us tried understanding the basic statistics of this increased pay and how will it affect our jawans and what is being done and who really is bothered and what difference does it make for our soldiers, etc?
Sorry guys, I got carried away. I know this topic is getting boring and irritating and everyone wants to finish it off, but this will only increase the disgruntlement. It wont end but increase and let me tell you MS-PMR has already got a lot of applications for release and this time no one can stop anyone. Young officers have found their way out. I have spoken to so many, and they JUST WANT TO QUIT, BY HOOK OR BY CROOK!!
oops! sorry .
it was CAG telling the NAL to abandon the 70 seater transport project, because of its inability to capitalise on the Saras and Hansa project. and on CAG’s report on IAFs faulty short term pilot training program.
And also shiv can you tell where one can find these CAG reports on the net.
Thanks in advance!!
Perhaps the Oct 30,2008 Photo caption, INDIAS FIRST NEW MOULD TAIL HOOK FIGHTER PILOT should change to
INDIAS FIRST NEW RE-MOULD TAIL HOOK FIGHTER PILOT!
As tail hook landing is really not something new to the IN. INS Vikrant was a tail hook landing carrier before the induction of Sea Harriers. I have seen it first hand as a little kid on the Vikrant, in the 1970’s.