IAF cadets ready to take to the skies

187 flight cadets enter IAF as officers after presenting a colourful Combined Graduation Parade at the Air Force Academy

June 23, 2013 01:36 am | Updated November 16, 2021 10:12 pm IST - HYDERABAD:

IAF's 'air warriors' perform rifle moments during the passing out parade at the Air Force Academy in Dundigal on Saturday. — Photo: G. Ramakrishna

IAF's 'air warriors' perform rifle moments during the passing out parade at the Air Force Academy in Dundigal on Saturday. — Photo: G. Ramakrishna

Marching in step and taking a pledge to serve the nation in one voice, as many as 187 flight cadets entered the Indian Air Force (IAF) as officers in different branches after presenting a colourful Combined Graduation Parade at the Air Force Academy (AFA) here on Saturday.

Army Chief General Bikram Singh presided over the parade and gave away ranks to the cadets who had finished their training courses.

After presenting ranks and ‘wings’ to those graduating as pilots, Gen. Singh advised the cadets on the practical aspects of their career.

“Today’s parade marks the culmination of your training, but you should never forget that learning is an endless process. Continue to work hard and create your own professional future. As you progress in service, you must strive to build better leadership qualities,” he said.

After completing a gruelling training course of more than one-and-a-half years, the cadets took to the advice readily.

“I am eager to take my training as a fighter pilot. The training session that we go through at AFA makes us ready for any type of tough task,” a cadet said.

The event was also marked by a scintillating performance by the Air Warrior Drill team that drew applause from the audience with its synchronised parade. And, with a mega-event being held in the Air Force, aerial acrobatics cannot be behind. The show was graced by a host of flying machines that kept the audience enthralled.

While aircraft like AN-32, Dornier, Pilatus PC-7 and fighter trainer jets Hawk and Kiran made their appearance at the event, the display by multi-role fighter aircraft SU-30 stole the show.

Showing off its agility, the aircraft, captained by Wing Commander Ashish Sharma, performed different drills, from slow glides to high-speed vertical ascends. Another star attraction at the event was the show put up by the Air Force’s parachute team ‘Akash Ganga’.

Braving the dense cloud cover and heavy winds, a team of 10 precipitated out of the clouds much to the amusement of the audience. “The team was dropped at an altitude of 6,000 feet, but it was difficult for us to see anything due to the dense cloud cover that enveloped the venue and winds too did not make the job easy as they were blowing at a speed of 40 knots, way faster than what a parachute can cope,” a team member said.

Of the 187 cadets, 21 were women, four were from the Navy and one from the Coast Guard. Senior officials from the Army and the Air Force attended the event.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.