Naveen Jindal flies French Rafael at Bangalore’s Aero India show
By ANISaturday, February 12, 2011
BANGALORE - Lok Sabha MP Naveen Jindal took to the skies as he co-piloted Dassault’s Rafael fighter aircraft on the third day of the Aero India 2011 show here.
Jindal, who holds a commercial pilot’s license, said that the fighter plane went upto 50,000 feet high.
“It was an amazing experience for me and when the aircraft takes off the amount of thrust and speed that you feel its like you can not feel anywhere. It feels like a rocket or like a bullet that has been fired. So, that’s the most amazing feeling,” said Jindal.
He said he did not experience any difficulty or discomfort even during the manoeuvres as he has been on a fighter aircraft before.
Jindal is the third celebrity to fly a combat aircraft during the air show.
Indian ace shooter and Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra flew fighter jet F-16 Super Viper of the US aerospace major Lockheed Martin Thursday, while India’s only cosmonaut Wing Commander (retd) Rakesh Sharma co-piloted Super Hornet on Friday.
Ace Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid also visited the air show and was seen enjoying the fighter jets at the show.
The F/A-18 Super Hornet is in the race for supplying 126 Medium-MultiRole Combat Aircraft (M-MRCA) to the Indian Air Force under a 10.8 billion dollars deal expected to be signed in the next financial year.
The participants in the show represented the civil and military aerospace manufacturers from 40 countries including the US, Britain, Russia, France, Germany, Italy, Israel, Belgium, Brazil, Spain, Ukraine and the Netherlands.
The Air show kick started on February 9 and will end on February 13. (ANI)
