Bengaluru: Parked next to a metallic MiG-21 Bison at Aero India, a small Tiger Moth sits pretty , making one wonder which era it belongs to. The vintage aircraft belongs to the World War II, when it was the primary trainer for the Royal Air Force.
The two-seat, single-bay Moth is one of the most basic aircraft.
Having just landed the Moth, Wing Commander H Kulshreshta is under the MiG's wings, hiding from the sun. He didn't always fly the Moth, he couldn't have. For, the Moth was the basic trainer for IAF from 1940 to 1953 when it was replaced by the HT-2. It was designated to the Air Force Museum until 2012. Part of the vintage squadron, it was resurrected that year when the IAF turned 80.
"It took us six days to fly from Delhi to Bengaluru. We had to stop over 15 times for refuelling," said Kulshreshta, who a MiG pilot earlier. In a MiG, which has an endurance of about 90 minutes in clear configuration (without additional bombs and other payloads), he would have zipped to Bengaluru.
22/02/15 Chethan Kumar/Times of India
The two-seat, single-bay Moth is one of the most basic aircraft.
Having just landed the Moth, Wing Commander H Kulshreshta is under the MiG's wings, hiding from the sun. He didn't always fly the Moth, he couldn't have. For, the Moth was the basic trainer for IAF from 1940 to 1953 when it was replaced by the HT-2. It was designated to the Air Force Museum until 2012. Part of the vintage squadron, it was resurrected that year when the IAF turned 80.
"It took us six days to fly from Delhi to Bengaluru. We had to stop over 15 times for refuelling," said Kulshreshta, who a MiG pilot earlier. In a MiG, which has an endurance of about 90 minutes in clear configuration (without additional bombs and other payloads), he would have zipped to Bengaluru.
22/02/15 Chethan Kumar/Times of India
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