Date:02/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/02/stories/2008120250720200.htm

Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam

A glimpse of breath-taking aerial stunts

Nivedita Ganguly

IAF chopper team performing for the first time in the city for Navy Day

The ALH choppers are manufactured by HAL
The ‘Sarang’ team recently performed in Berlin Air Show

— Photo: K.R. Deepak

daredevilry: Dhruv helicopters of ’Sarang’ performing formation manoeuvres at Ramakrishna Beach in Visakhapatnam on Monday.

VISAKHAPATNAM: Get ready for some jaw-dropping manoeuvres by Sarang – the helicopter display team of the Indian Air Force at the Navy Day celebrations on December 4. The daredevils gave a glimpse of some of the breathtaking aerial stunts during the Navy Day rehearsals at the beach road on Monday. The choppers zipped through the skies, crossing each other, almost touching but not touching, mesmerising the visitors with their stunning feats.

The Indian Air Force’s helicopter display team will, for the first time, participate in the Navy Day celebrations in Vizag. Sarang born in June 2003 is a four-chopper team. The team has enthralled audiences the world over, and recently performed in the Berlin Air Show that was co-partnered by India and during the 90th anniversary of Royal Air Force in UK this year.

The choppers are the Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) called ‘Dhruv’ produced indigenously by the Bangalore-based Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. Sarang’s symphony in the air is a statement of the capabilities of this twin-engine multi-role craft that can easily perform heli-borne assault in times of war and switch to air ambulance for casualty evacuations. It is also the only chopper in the country with the capability to fly backward and arguably the only four-helicopter display team in the world. ‘Sarang’, which means peacock in Sanskrit, promises to be as beautiful and graceful as the national bird in its moves. “The highlights of the team’s performances will be a series of spectacular formations in the sky,” Team Administrator N. Praveen kumar told The Hindu. Watch out for the team’s formations like dolphin’s leap, cross over break, double arrow, diagonal cross and Sarang split. The ‘Sarang’ helicopter is powered by French-made Turbo Mecca engines, and is capable of a maximum of 280 kmph.