Young aviators say HATSOFF

BANGALORE: Rishab, Pooja, Vinodini, Krithika, Sai and Janna flew over the oil rigs of Mumbai. The weather wasn’t friendly but they still managed a safe landing on their Dauphin chopper. Prathika, Anusha, Rahul, Aathira, Aditya and Vaishnav took the Bell chopper and hovered over the Siachen Glacier. Awe-struck by the sight beneath, they manoeuvred confidently, enjoying every moment.Later, during the ‘de-brief’ session in the company of some of India’s finest test pilots, these schoolchildren probably had some of their best moments in their lives. They had a reason to ‘fly’ and they had a reason to cheer, as they joined thousands world over in celebrating the 108th anniversary of the historic first flight of the Wright brothers. The man who gave wings to their desire was Wg Cdr (Retd) CD Upadhyay, CEO, Helicopter Academy to Train by Simulation of Flying (HATSOFF) - a joint venture by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and CAE-Canada. Students from between classes two and nine from various schools, including Sacred Hearts, Sishugruha, HAL, Cambridge and St. Thomas, were taken in groups to fly on simulators along with instructors  at HATSOFF. “The contribution of the Wright brothers cannot be forgotten. Their 12-second first flight at Kitty Hawk is something that we will all remember forever,” said           former chief test pilot of HAL, Upadhyay.While the rest of the much-hyped Aviation Capital of India didn’t bother to celebrate the Wright way (barring Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum which organised a talk), HATSOFF rolled out a red-carpet welcome to these children. “It is important that we inspire these kids,” Upadhyay told Express.The motion flight simulator gave a near-perfect feel of flying and the graphics on offer took the imagination to unbelievable limits. Capt NS Krishna, Chief of Training, HATSOFF, spoke about the way a plane works to the young aviators. The children fired questions at will, like “Uncle, have you gone on any secret missions?” The photo-op of the day finally came when the children flew their paper planes to mark the significance of Wright Day. As  the planes landed one by one, after performing their brief mission, it was time for a short film.“Uncle..., have your fired  a real missile?” the questions continued.