Bengaluru: Air Marshal Sreedharapanicker Radha Krishnan Nair, the first and the lone Indian to go on a trans-polar flight and circumnavigation, is finally 'landing'.
One of the finest aviators of the Indian Air Force (IAF) with around 7,200 hours of flying experience spanning four decades, Air Marshal Nair will retire on July 31.
As a veteran transport pilot, Air Marshal Nair has flown almost all transport fleet including the IL-76, AN-32 , DHC-3, HJT-16, HS-748, D0-228, HT-2 and HPT-32. A Qualified Flying Instructor and an Air Force Examiner, he is credited with playing a key role in operationalisation of C-130 J Super Hercules and the smooth induction of C-17 Globe Master.
As the head of Training Command, he ensured seamless transition of Airmen Training to Integrated Pattern of Training, to cater for future needs of the IAF.
From disaster relief missions in Bhuj earthquake, super cyclone in Orissa, Tsunami in south-east Asia, floods in Mumbai and Chennai and landslides in Uttarakhand, Air Marshal Nair was in the thick of action, leading his men from the front.
When the IAF decided to open up the fighter streams to women in 2016 onwards, Air Marshal Nair was the brain behind scripting a white paper and later mentoring the chosen few candidates. In an exclusive interview to Onmanorama, Air Marshal Nair, currently the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Training Command, IAF, opens up about some remarkable points of his career, including his early NCC days at the Loyola School in Thiruvananthapuram.
Excerpts
Planes, cycles & big dreams
I was fortunate to be associated with the NCC air wing at a very young age. It gave me a solid foundation. The uniform life attracted me. I did not miss even a single moment with the aero-modelling wing of NCC. I was an under officer. Many of my friends too followed suit and joined NCC. Anything that flies is fascinating and aero-modelling gave me enough confidence to experiment with the winged wonders.
We used to cycle through the bylanes of Thiruvananthapuram. I had a bunch of friends who was part of my cycle crew. We talked about our dreams and ambitions. Life went on smoothly without mobile phones then. We watched most of the war movies and it was great fun. One thread that connected all of us was our dreams. Big dreams!
Challenges, opportunities at NDA
Certain amount of leadership is there in every human being. And, how you develop it is the most important aspect. I was a troop leader in NCC and in NDA. The initial few terms was a rude shock for me. I faced many unexpected things in life. I almost wanted to give up on many occasions. After a year, I got a hang of things. Then I decided that I wouldn’t give up. Initially there were many obstacles and I wanted to cross them one after another. I soon realised that if you can convert challenges into opportunities, more than half the battle is won.
NDA teaches you that if you are determined you can achieve what you think is actually impossible. There are very few things in life that’s not achievable, if you have the right resources.
Trans-polar flight and circumnavigation
My first posting in IAF was in the north-east, at the Chabua Air Force Station. Those are memories that will live with me forever. Lush green hills, steep valleys and the landing ground looked like the size of your palm on a table-top. But, there was lot of charm in flying over the hills. I used to fly Otter, a single-engine, propeller aircraft, those days. I never knew an aeroplane can be flown there. But we managed to fly.
It was June 2003. The IAF was invited to participate in Cooperative Cope Thunder Exercise in Alaska. I was chosen as the Captain of the mission flying the IL-76. I happened to witness the Northern Lights, while I was in the US preparing for Exercise. It was an unbelievable sight. It is here that the idea cropped up. I did the latitude check and thought why not fly to the North Pole and come back.
Later, I mooted the idea to IAF headquarters. The rest is history. They were a bit sceptical. Remember we had no radio transmission (RT), no land features, no beacons and our compass was unreliable. These were all challenges flying over the North Pole. We were prepared. We were only worried about the navigation systems. None from India had done it till then and even now.
I did not inform my family till I completed the mission. There was a big celebration at the base when we came back. We took off from the Eielson Air Force Base and we landed back at the same base after nine hours and 40 minutes. The USAF congratulated us as even they too do not fly there too often. The IAF was elated at our achievement. It was a great team effort.
The DBO landing
Another mission that comes to my mind is the landing at Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO). In 2009, when I was commanding Air Force Station Chandigarh, I had landed at DBO on an An-32. Later in August 2013, we landed the C-130 J Super Hercules. It’s a very difficult terrain to fly. At 16,600 feet it is the highest air strip in the world. It is not a black-topped air strip. After landing there, we established many military capabilities. Should there be a requirement, military or otherwise in future, we wanted to be prepared. So, in an An-32 I landed and took off from DBO and on Super Hercules I was onboard. There were many challenges and lessons we experienced operating at DBO.
Kargil, an unforgettable experience
Kargil came as a surprise to us. But, the IAF reacts very quickly to surprises. We had to move our combat squadrons up there. We also had to move the troops at very short notice. We used to practically fly round the clock to various places in the northern areas. Flying from Chandigarh to Leh and back round the clock, in adverse weather conditions, was a challenge. We faced difficulties to operate the IL-76 and at times and some of our landings were tricky. But then we had a job on hand we did it. I am fortunate that I have participated in Kargil mission.
Parting shot: In every challenge, there’s an opportunity. There are opportunities that come your way all the time and you got to be alert. Grab them.
(The writer is an independent aerospace, defence journalist, who blogs at Tarmak007 and tweets @writetake.)
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