In a historical first, naval air squadron no. 550, called the ‘Flying Fish’— the fountainhead of naval aviation in India — has taken on the task of training naval pilots.
The first batch of three pilots who underwent their basic conversion course on the Dornier maritime reconnaissance aircraft at the squadron, based under the Southern Naval Command in Kochi, will receive the ‘wings’ at a passing-out ceremony at the command on Wednesday.
“The Indian naval aviation inventory, which boasts 223 aircraft, is bigger than that of some air forces in the world. We are set to make a fresh cycle of inductions, which requires us to augment our crew strength as well,” said Commodore G. Prakash, director of Maritime Warfare Centre (Kochi).
Until now, basic flying training of naval pilots was done by the Air Force at its academy at Dundigul, where 17 seats are earmarked for naval flyers. “But with the IAF also growing rapidly, it is unable to cater to our increased demand for training. Then the Navy decided to send its officers opting for the flying stream to train at the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA) at Rae Bareli,” Cmde Prakash said.
Thus, Lieutenants D.S. Koshyari, Harshwardhan, and Vivek Mishra had their six-month basic flying training at IGRUA. “They arrived here for their six-month conversion course on maritime reconnaissance aircraft in January this year and have logged 65 hours on the Dorniers,” said Commander Anubhav Kumar, commanding officer of ‘Flying Fish.’ Training at ‘Flying Fish’ gave Lt. Koshyari the thrill of flying a multiengine plane for the first time. “As IGRUA training comprised flying in a civil environment, we now know the rules of both civil and military aviation,” said Lt. Harshwardhan. Lt. Mishra thought ground sessions at IGRUA handled by ex-Navy and Air Force officers were helpful.
The trio will now be attached to various naval schools for a month to help them understand the surface and subsurface elements of the Navy. This will be followed by Dornier Operational Flying Training at the squadron for six months before being given independent assignments.
