Cockpit rendezvous for celebrities at Aero India 09'
BANGALORE: Scenes of the world’s best air warriors indulging in dog fights and aerobatic displays will be a common feature during the Aero India 2009.
Locking horns with these fighter and display pilots will be celebrities from India attired in G-suits and co-piloting some of the most lethal fighter jets during the bi-annual aero show to be held from February 11 to 15 at the Air Force Station, Yelahanka.
Foreign participants who will be displaying their most potent aircraft are keen on having celebrities in their aircraft cockpits and also taking them on sorties during the aero show.
US aviation major Lockheed Martin which will have the F-16 and the C130J aircraft on the flying display side during Aero India, has said that it is keen to invite a few guests to co-pilot its aircraft.
“We have invites right now to some special people, but have no firm names as of yet,” Lockheed Martin Officials in India confirmed to The Express.
The US Embassy in New Delhi is said to have already sent invites to a few guests to fly the test or co-pilot the aircraft of some of the American companies which will be taking part during Aero India.
“The companies will not decide on whom or how many to invite. It will be done by the US Embassy which has already sent invitations to a few guests whose names cannot be disclosed at the moment,” said company officials.
While the list of Indian celebrities is awaited, the speculation is that flying enthusiasts and industrialists, including those involved in the aviation industry, will don the G-suits.
Among the companies and aircraft which are keen to have the guest pilots on board are those which are lobbying hard to bag the contract for the 126 multi-role combat aircraft which the Indian Air Force (IAF) plans to acquire.
During the last edition of Aero India in 2007, Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata co-piloted the F-16 and also Boeing’s F-18 Super Hornet. Both the companies are in the race for bagging the contract to supply 126 multi-role combat aircraft, as IAF plans to conduct flight trials in March.
...So, the big birds start migrating to Bengaluru...AN-124, holder of 30 world records
Bangalore: The Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) played host to a code F cargo aircraft(An-124), which is the third largest in the world. It flew in from Leipzig, Germany loaded with equipment for the impending Aero India 2009 and headed back after offloading at the BIA.
The An-124 Russian airplanes have set 30 world records, including lifting 171,219kg of cargo to 10,750m. It is fitted with a swept back supercritical wing to give high aerodynamic efficiency. The loading and unloading of the aircraft is fast and efficient as the fuselage nose can be hinged upward to open the front cargo hatch and there is a rear cargo hatch in the rear fuselage.
An-124 is a cargo aircraft that has a payload capacity of up to 150 tonnes.It is designed for long-range delivery and air dropping of heavy and large cargo. An-124 Specifications ?The aircraft fuselage has a double-deck layout. The cockpit, the relief crew compartment and the passenger cabin for 88 seats are on the upper deck. The lower deck is the cargo hold.
?The landing gear is self-orienting and incorporates a kneeling mechanism which allows an adjustable fuselage clearance to assist the loading and unloading of self-propelled equipment. ?There are 34 computers functioning aboard the aircraft, combined into four main systems: navigation, automatic piloting, remote control and monitoring.
31/01/09 ExpressBuzz
this event looks even bigger than 2007New Delhi: With India looking to induct a large number of aircraft, helicopters and UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) in the coming years, almost 600 armament companies are expected to take part in the Aero India-2009 to be held in Bangalore next February.
"Around 330 companies from 50 countries and 270 firms from India are likely to take part in this 7th edition of the biennial international aerospace exposition," said a defence ministry official on Monday.
Nearly 100 different types of aircraft, both civil and military, will be on display," he added, after the first meeting of the apex committee for Aero India-2009, which was chaired by defence minister A K Antony.http://avindia.blogspot.com/2008/08/600 ... -aero.html
[/quote]shiv wrote: I have too many cameras, but none is the "right" one! . All cameras become obsolete in 2 years. But that apart good photography at airshows requires a "higher level of civilization" than India has reached. Don't kill me for this - I will explain.
Nations like Britain and the US realized long ago that there is a sub-culture of people who love aircraft and catering to that sub-culture by allowing them, to see, touch and take pictures of aircraft is a self-feeding process in which interest in aeronautics and flying is generated spawning a great industry to make a great nation.
In India a photographer is treated like an unnecessary pain. Nothing is done to held a photographer-enthusiast and everything is done to get in his way. Only press photographers - some of whom cannot differentiate between a cow's backside and an afterburner get "press passes" and genuine enthusiast with moderately good cameras have to have "influence" to get into a good place for pictures.
It may anger people if I say this - but Indians at large (even educated ones) are such a primitive people that 50% of the governmental jokers in charge of the airshow and half the population think pilots are glorified drivers. With pilots being glorified drivers what are photographers other than freeloading gawkers and a pain in the neck. The absence of an great aviation industry in India fits in perfectly well with the absence of the recognition and encouragement of a aviation loving culture in India.
You can get the most expensive cameras in India but Aero india does not give a damn for enthusiasts. Pride of place goes to Gandhi topi clad politicians who will speak of "Admiral Fali Major, chief of Ar Staff" and the late "Air marshal Sam Manekshaw"
These jokers who will get the best placed and will be fawned over while a genuine, knowledgeable enthusiast who may help creat a generation of aircraft designers and fighter pilots are swept aside and kept with cotton candy eating picnickers in Aero India.
Sorry about the rant - but just check the Nellis AFB thread.
In India aviation enthusiasts are the wrong caste. They are mlecchas to the Brahmin of the politician and "press photographers"
Thanks a ton Krishnaji... and thx for the link Kaushalji... hope to see you there.krishna_j wrote:Ticket Denomination
k prasad wrote:Thanks a ton Krishnaji... and thx for the link Kaushalji... hope to see you there.krishna_j wrote:Ticket Denomination
btw, which exactly are the 'chalets'??? these aren't the expo halls rite??
New Delhi: The global recessionary environment is not likely to impact India's military modernisation programme, which involves the purchase of hardware worth Rs146,430 crore ($30 billion) over the next five years, a top ministry of defence official said Monday.
'The global meltdown is a reality but India's military modernisation will continue as before. There is no question of scaling down our modernisation plans,' secretary (defence production) Pradeep Kumar said. He was addressing a press conference here ahead of the bi-annual AeroIndia 2009 military air show due to open for display at Bangalore from 11-15 February.
The air show has attracted a record 592 exhibitors - 303 from 25 countries and 289 from India - making the seventh edition of the event the biggest yet, Kumar pointed out.
'The offsets (reinvestment) policy provides a tremendous opportunity for foreign manufacturers and events like AeroIndia provide them the ideal opportunity to establish business-to-business contacts,' he added.
'AeroIndia will provide an ideal window of opportunity for companies to not only network with the Indian industry but also to benefit from the sharing of expertise in the fields of R&D production and product support with other global players,' Kumar maintained.
The bulk of the foreign participation - 31 companies each - is from Germany and France, followed by Britain (26), Russia (24), the US (22), Italy (19), Belgium (17), Israel (11) and Australia (10).
A number of foreign aircraft including the F-16, F-18, MiG-35D, Eurofighter, C-17, Embraer 135 business jet, C-130J, Citation XLS, AN-12 Cargo and A-310 MRTT, will be on display.
Indian aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) will showcase the indigenous Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT) and Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter, as also the BAE Systems' Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT) it is building under license.
Defence ministers from eight countries,, including Bolivia, France, Oman and Peru will be present for the show. Also in attendance will be high-level delegations from 40 countries.
China will be represented for the first time through a token 10-member delegation.
'I would not read too much into this,' Kumar replied when asked whether this was a sign of the growing warmth between the two militaries.
Take a look at this picture of YelahankaAmitR wrote:Does anyone have good information about the type of facilities that are provided at the venue. I am planning to got to Aero India show and want to know what is allowed and what are the things necessary to survive there for a day.
1) Are there proper seating arrangements or is it just open enclosure and visitors need to stand the whole day.
2) Also, since many places have security restrictions do they allow us to carry cell phones, cameras, bags and other electronic equipment. If not it makes no sense to go there.
3) What is the difference between the Rs. 1500 ticket and the Rs. 800 ticket. Do you get access to more areas if you purchase the 1500 ticket.
Shiv, I am planning to come on 12th with a Rs.1500 business pass. Can I help you in anyway ?? I just lost my Cannon Powershot camera with which I hoped to take some good pics!shiv wrote:..........
Take a look at this picture of Yelahanka
A krish wrote: Shiv, I am planning to come on 12th with a Rs.1500 business pass. Can I help you in anyway ?? I just lost my Cannon Powershot camera with which I hoped to take some good pics!
I know some HAL guys!
Doc, that is sad because I remember during my aeronautical engineering studies in college coming across Indian Aviation & Aeronautics Society journals dating back to at least the 1920s- just about the same time as many of the advanced aviation nations in the world.asprinzl wrote:shiv wrote: I have too many cameras, but none is the "right" one! . All cameras become obsolete in 2 years. But that apart good photography at airshows requires a "higher level of civilization" than India has reached. Don't kill me for this - I will explain.
Nations like Britain and the US realized long ago that there is a sub-culture of people who love aircraft and catering to that sub-culture by allowing them, to see, touch and take pictures of aircraft is a self-feeding process in which interest in aeronautics and flying is generated spawning a great industry to make a great nation.
In India a photographer is treated like an unnecessary pain. Nothing is done to held a photographer-enthusiast and everything is done to get in his way. Only press photographers - some of whom cannot differentiate between a cow's backside and an afterburner get "press passes" and genuine enthusiast with moderately good cameras have to have "influence" to get into a good place for pictures.
It may anger people if I say this - but Indians at large (even educated ones) are such a primitive people that 50% of the governmental jokers in charge of the airshow and half the population think pilots are glorified drivers. With pilots being glorified drivers what are photographers other than freeloading gawkers and a pain in the neck. The absence of an great aviation industry in India fits in perfectly well with the absence of the recognition and encouragement of a aviation loving culture in India.
You can get the most expensive cameras in India but Aero india does not give a damn for enthusiasts. Pride of place goes to Gandhi topi clad politicians who will speak of "Admiral Fali Major, chief of Ar Staff" and the late "Air marshal Sam Manekshaw"
These jokers who will get the best placed and will be fawned over while a genuine, knowledgeable enthusiast who may help creat a generation of aircraft designers and fighter pilots are swept aside and kept with cotton candy eating picnickers in Aero India.
Sorry about the rant - but just check the Nellis AFB thread.
In India aviation enthusiasts are the wrong caste. They are mlecchas to the Brahmin of the politician and "press photographers"
More power to you saar!Kersi D wrote: I was manning a the BR stall for a few hours. A few "gentlemen" from one of the above mentioned agencies coolly took a few of our AE 2007 CDs. When I mentioned that they cost Rs xyz, one b@$%^&d hade the audacity to say that he is a gvenrmnet employ so we must give it it him free of charge. I REFUSED and he went away in a gruff.
AND ALL THESE M%$#@#F&^%#$ERS ARE GIVEN FREE PASSES
IIRC the Army had given some Chinese Cos a contract for providing Commn eqpt a couple of years back. Outlook had written a big article.For the first time China, which has stayed away from previous air shows, has decided to send a 10-member delegation.
There will not be any Chinese aircraft though.
Sam, I am definitely going for avalon. Its my third time and finally I will manage to get some awesome pics. Couple of me mates are coming along as well with their swish SLRs so that I can horde the picssamthesudden wrote:Is anyone visiting the Avalon 2009 Airshow (10 to 15th March 2009) near Melbourne?
http://www.airshow.net.au/avalon2009/index.html
I hope to get there as my son will probably love it.
I visited twice in the last 6 years but this time my son will be old enough to enjoy it.
Prehaps i will actually remember my camera this time.
Take care
Sam
, I was in bangalore till monday evening.