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Adventure in the air for flying Indians

Maitreyee Handique

If things run according to schedule, an ultra light 260 kg STOL CH 701 aircraft from India will roar down to a packed 5.2 mile airstrip in Winnebago county, in the town of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in north-east US on Sound of Speed Day.

The occasion is the third day of the biggest aerosport fiesta, slated to take place between July 23-29, where spirited aero adventurers will get to fly-in their favourite restored warbirds, or kit assembled aircraft, or vintage Dakotas.

About 3,000 planes are expected to fly-in for the Oshkosh AirVenture show, a mecca for aerosport lovers where they can pow wow about their passion and get close perspectives from the likes of Bruce Bohannon, holder of the altitude world record, or hear Scott Crossfield, the first man to pilot an aircraft at twice the speed of sound. Or else, put on those earplugs, and watch the fastest piston aircraft race when the Reno Air Race gets rolling.

India, this year, has a candidate for the first time in Arvind Sharma, head of Bangalore-based Agni Aero-sports, the country's only manufacturer of all-metal Zen Air microlight aircraft. He could more easily pass as a bowling dude than a daredevil aerobatic pilot.

Stubbled cheeks, a mat of grey-streaked hair in need of urgent trimming, the five feet niner with a mild beer belly, is ready to discuss anything under the sky on his favourite subject, except his weight.

"Pilots, I know, are suave and glamorous. But believe me, there's so much hard work behind all that, " he says by way of apology before changing the subject. But this 33-year-old entrepreneur has an uncanny sense of endurance, easily blending business with bold decisions.

Come June 20, as the monsoons lash the Bay of Bengal, Sharma, along with co-pilot Anil Bagalwadi, will get airborne in a Zen Air craft for the cross-continental Wings of India expedition that'll take them across 11 countries and 17 cities, flying a total distance of 22,000 km.

They will, as he puts it, "move in space" in an east-south slant, cutting through the subcontinent to Phitsanulok in Thailand via Chittagong and Yangon. In the next stage, they'll move north to Wajun and Harbin in China after a night's rest in Laos.

Then, they will proceed to Okhotsk, Magadan and Providenya in Russia before attempting to cross the icy Bering Strait towards Nome in Alaska, finally heading towards journey's end Oshkosh over Canada. All this in 40 days, if everything goes well.

In a calculated move to surpass the national record set by Vijaypat Singhania who travelled 7,000 km from London to Mumbai on a microlight, Sharma now wants to participate in "the first ever of its kind attempted by an Indian" transcontinental air adventure.

For Sharma, before that one per cent glamour, lies the 99 per cent perspiration. There are preparational logistics to handle. "The toughest journey is going to be the 200 km Bering Strait stretch, where I am told you could freeze in 15 seconds in the water," says Sharma.

While Arvind Singh Mewar of the HRH Group of Hotels is lending one of his double barrelled gas tank aircraft for the expedition, the Aero Club of India is processing the diplomatic and passport clearances.

Sharma has been in touch with the Institute of Aviation Medicine in Bangalore that is redesigning the aircraft seats to handle the flight journey, and giving him briefs on hypothermia in case of a mishap at Bering. Survival foods are being packed in water-layered pouches.

Details for a microlight aircraft need to be calculated in grams: spare tubes (7.65 gm), spark plugs (288 gm), laptop (3 kg), water (3 litres), all measured not to exceed 260kg, including the weight of the two pilots.

"We will travel along the coast about seven to eight hours a day at 100 km per hour, below clouds, when visibility is good. It is sheer bliss to fly, to be able to be away from the nitty-gritties of life. You have to have control on your machine, after which you are on top of the world," he says enthusiastically.

The ride is hardly designed for comfort, with only a half-inch between the pilots. "There will be no time to relax between flights. We'll have to take the local tuk-tuk or whatever, to fetch gas in jerrycans. And update our site, wingsofindia.com, before snatching a few hours of sleep."

The love of aerosport has driven the computer science graduate to chart a career in aviation ever since he won a scholarship at the Government Flying Training School in Bangalore in 1988. He went on to set up the country's first Aerosports Adventure Academy in 1995, and became the country's first microlight aircraft licence holder.

He went on to organise the first fly-in festival in Bangalore in February 1997, which saw over 40 private and government-owned aircraft landing at Jakkur airfield. He has also tied up with ace skydiver Santosh to start the first private Sky Diving Club in the country.

As destiny would have it, and to keep his expensive hobby alive, the Rs 30 million plus Agni Aerosports struck a deal with Zen Air to manufacture the STOL (or short takeoff and landing aircrafts) CH 701 in India. Today, with a labour force of 28 people, he has produced 42 aircrafts for the NCC Air Squadron.

"I eat, drink and sleep aviation," says Sharma seriously, and he hopes that if he succeeds in completing the Oshkosh journey, it will rev up further interest in the sport.

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