It was a breathtaking experience for physically challenged C.S. Niranjan, a third-year aero space engineering student of IIT-Madras (IIT-M).
One of the 52 students of IIT-M at the Air Force station, Tambaram, on Monday morning, Niranjan got an idea of just what a career with the Indian Air Force (IAF) would be like, through ‘Guardians of the Sky’, an interactive programme initiated by the IAF. Air Marshal S. Sukumar, air officer-in-charge personnel, IAF, flagged off a rally from the station.
After experiencing parasailing, Niranjan said he was amazed at the experience that was “different from anything we learn in the classroom.”
Similar views were expressed by Jadhav Dattatreya, a fifth-year student of the department at IIT-M, who was excited to be part of the learning team. His first flight had strengthened his ambition to become a pilot, he said.
An IAF adventure team, comprising parasailing instructors, guided the students, some of whom had a opportunity to participate in a parasailing experience, while others got to handle hang gliders.
For the IAF, a release said, the novel effort is a way of reaching out to the youth by offering opportunities in aero sports and of making them more ‘air-minded’. The team visited the campus of IIT-M, where the students were given a presentation about career prospects in the IAF. They are expected to visit Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science in Padur on Tuesday.
Young IAF officers in rally vehicles, along with support staff, will cover Chennai and seven other cities — Tiruchi, Madurai, Thiruvanathapuram, Kochi, Kozhikode, Mangalore and Bengaluru — before September 27. The drive will target 16 premier educational institutes of these cities, with a multidisciplinary group of IAF officers interacting with students and providing them with details on career opportunities in the IAF.
