Aero India 2019 - To Bangalore as a Tourist

Yak-50. Team Yakovlevs.

I had moved back home to Hyderabad on the 31st of December. So, any future visits to Bangalore will be as a traveller and not as a resident. The first such visit happened for Aero India 2019. The second edition of Aero India that I visited (after 2017). This visit also took me around the city to visit old friends and places.

Sukhoi Su-30MKI getting inverted.

HAL HTT-40 turbo trainer.

I flew in by Jet Airways, landing in Bangalore at 7:30AM. I started off to Mukund's place in Vidyaranyapura immediately. I carried only one bag, containing two DSLRs, the D750 and the D7200 and 70-300mm and the 150-600mm Tamron. After a quick breakfast with Mukund at an A2B near his place, I set off to Yelahanka AFB, reaching an hour ahead of time. There was tight security around the place. I finally cleared security and reached the tarmac at 9:30 AM, 30 minutes ahead of the show. There were a few flying things around this time. A couple of Mi-17s and Dhruvs doing security duty. The show started with military precision at 10AM.

HAL Tejas in a climb.

HAL LCH.

DRDO Netra AEW&C platform on an Emb-145.

The airforce skydiving team started the show by jumping with the tricolour from a Mi-17 chopper. The first team to get started was the Team Yakovlevs. The four aircraft team flying a Yak-52 and three Yak-50s made their third Aero India appearance this year. They were the only fixed wing team this time as Suryakirans pulled out for three days following a crash on 19th during a rehearsal. They did a heart in the sky, coordinated turns and loops and crossovers. After they landed, a Sukhoi Su-30MKI taxied onto the runway. Meanwhile, Dhruvs and Rudra gunships demonstrated a commando assault, complete with an airdropped Gypsy.

Team Yakovlevs.

HAL Dhruv commando extraction.

 The Sukhoi then took off to demonstrate some Sukhoi-exclusive maneuvers.   This included the Pugachev's cobra and the tailslide. Up next was the restored Douglas C-47 of the vintage flight, Parshuram. The C-47 did some beautifully smooth turns and demonstrated its clean lines. Next was the brand new HTT-40 turboprop trainer of the IAF. The first prototype gave a solo demonstration. I had seen and filmed the same airframe in the last Aero India as well. Meanwhile a Tejas taxied up for the next show. The Tejas just got its FOC and is now officially in service at last. Tejas gave a breathtaking display of the best the HAL has to offer. It has clean lines and is an excellent incident-free fighter.

Douglas C-47 of the IAF Vintage Flight.

The LCH came up next with smoke coming out of its stubwings. The LCH has been designed to work well in high altitudes as the Mi-35 of the IAF didn't help in Kargil war. This gives it a very strong performance envelope. It did stalls, loops and rolls and low passes. The LCH display was followed by the Netra AEW&C aircraft. It flew in low and slow, did a few flybys and came in for a landing. Little did I know that this aircraft was going to be used in the Balakot strikes the following week. The next display was a stunning show by a solo F-16 from Alaska. It demonstrated just how versatile and agile the F-16 platform can be.

Sarang helicopter demo team.

F-16 of the USAF.

The last round of displays were by the Sarang helicopter team of the IAF. The four ship peacock-painted formation did coordinated tailsweeps, weaves, crosses and flybys. We caught a glimpse of an IAF Avro HS748 landing and a Portuguese C-295 taking off after this. A Rafale took to the skies immediately after that and was doing practice runs that were not part of this show. This finished the morning display of 22nd Feb and I headed out. Joginder picked me up in his cab and I was on my way to HSR Layout to meet Sai for lunch at Luo Han. We had our customary meal at Luo Han and I left for FabToLab. I had to pick up a few things I purchased online from FabToLab such as silicone wire, power distribution board and heatshrinks. It was 4 PM by now and I had just a little time to spare. I caught a cab to Sandeep's place to reach by 5. It was my first visit to his place after attending his wedding in Haldwani last June.

Dassault Rafale of the French Airforce.

After having snacks at his place, I set off to the airport. I took the Hoskote route as the airport road is choked thanks to heavy security around Yelahanka AFB. I reached the airport at 8PM, in time for my flight at 9:40 PM. I rode the Boeing 737 back to Hyderabad in time to reach home for a late supper and some well deserved rest. I'm looking forward to the next Aero India now.

HAL Dhruv of the Sarang team.