Preliminaries of the Aviation Scenario
God has set limits to the heights of the mountains and to the depths of the sea, but he has failed to set limit to learning. This is what I learnt at the Air Force Academy, the place where I always wanted to be. Everyone has an ambition in life as to what he wants to become. I too am ambitious and I have set my mind on being an Air Force Pilot. This dream was partially realized when I got the opportunity to visit the Air Force Attachment Camp conducted through NCC. It is a place which provides you with ample knowledge in almost al the fields. It is the place that adds meaning to your life.
It teaches you to be punctual, disciplined, regular, fit active, and a lot more. I was full of excitement and happiness when I heard that I had been selected for the most prestigious and knowledge camp by CO Wg Cdr Gurmail Singh & AO Sqn Ldr D S Chawla,CO & AO of my unit 3(UP) Air Sqn Knp. I am very thankful to us for providing me this wonderful opportunity to become a part of this great academy for few days. An experience which I shall cherish throught out my life.
AFA is situated 43 km from the twin cities Hyderabad & Secunderabad at Dundigal village, the Air Force Academy was established in the year 1971. The Air Force Academy is the cradle of training not only for the IAF pilots, but also for the ground duty and technical officers. The academy is spread over 6770 acres of land and houses both the airbase and the residential facilities of the Air Force personnel. The academy has numerous vintage aircraft on display inside its premises to provide motivation and insight into the flying machines of the Indian Air Force.
The collection ranges from the rare and vintage Tigermoth biplane and Harvard trainer to the more recent Mig-21 FL and Kiran.
When we reached to the academy then one of our staff has come and told about us the discipline of Academy then he start allotting the rooms to the cadtes each room is shared by two cadets boys cadets are allotted in J, F and H, J-12 room is allotted to me and Lucknow cadet is sharing room with me. In this block Naval Officer’s are living that’s why no flight cadets have permission to come there.
On the very first night, our encounter with the Squadron Leader made us realize that life will not be as easy as we had thought.
However, I was determined to face the challenge. It was the first night of the academy when all the boys including myself were just sitting in our rooms and chatting about each other’s journey. Suddenly, someone shouted and called us into the balcony. It was a Squadron Leader who was the disciplinary incharge of our mess, and since, the lights of our rooms were on even after 2200 hours he was funning with anger. It was then we had committed a blunder. Yes, it was a blunder, not a mistake. This was the very first night of the academy and all of us were punished like anything till 0130 hours. It was shocking but still a thrilling experience. From the next day, none of us were late anywhere. The last night’s punishment worked and I learnt something. There are things that can be done only through strictness.
From the very next day, our training session began which included drill, visits, swimming, sports, health run, etc. the day ended with the night roll call and lights out at 2200 hours. It was a hectic schedule for us and we had to learn and explore the academy accordingly. During our training programme, a special show of the movie “The Brave Heart” was also screened for us in order to boost our morale.
Of all the events which took place, the one that fascinated me the most was going to the HAKIMPET and viewing the flying of fighter trainer KIRAN MKII from near the runway. The visit of Air Traffic Control (ATC) is also fascinated and viewing flying from there is good. ATC is at the highest point from where one can see the entire runway. All the flying activity is controlled by the ATC. The systematic functioning of the ATC along with the Radar Station enables the safe fight of the aircraft. The academy is having two runway one is long and other is short runway.
In Academy flying is conducted in two sessions one is start from 0600hrs to 1200hrs and second session is from 1200hrs to 1800hrs. At a time two Squadron is using the runway and other two use this ruway in second session. The runway has got the automatic Arrester Barrier at the ends, which controls the speed of the aircrafts in case of emergency landing. Also on the runway stood aircraft like HPT-32, AN-32, AVRO AND KIRAN MKII, WHICH MADE ME EVEN MORE PASSIONATE TO JOIN THE Air Force Academy. There only lies the Tarmac Ground where the “Passing Out Parade” takes place. It is now that I can actually imagine myself tossing up my cap one day, on the day of commissioning
In this camp we get the chance to clear our doubt about SSB and get the knowledge about it. In AFA flight cadets give the class of SSB to us, here in academy we learnt about the etiquates of mess by which they get the knowledge that how to eat food in front of the senior or how to behave in mess.
Of the many experiences in the academy the other most exciting thing was meeting people from allover country, which is not possible normally. Meeting people from different parts of the country and then staying with them for thirteen magical days was really fun. Sometimes it was difficult to communicate with each other, but as the time passed the language barrier was broken. We also learnt a lot from each other, about each one’s cultures, various customs, traditions, festivals, lifestyle and many other things. Finally, the last day came and we made a move to go home. We had spent thirteen fabulous days together. We had learnt a lot, enjoyed a lot, and were now happy to go home and relax and talk about everything we had seen. At the end the academy was given certificate and a group photo in which all the cadets, staff, Deputy Commandant and Commandant are present. After this at the last night we did a party which is given by academy in which we invite all the appointments, and then they were also come and join us and enjoy a lot. But at the end the Academy Cadet Captain were told us that they would believe on us that maximum of us is the part of this glorious organization INDIAN AIR FORCE.
At last, I would conclude my mentioning that there are days which was pass by and are quickly forgotten because there has been nothing different from the daily routine. And there are days which stand out like a red letter in one’s memory because they are different from the humdrum of everyday life. Such were the days; I spent at the Air Force Academy, the memories of which I shall always cherish.
