Bengaluru: On August 17, 1990, a young lad just 17 years old, holding second rank in Mechanical Engineering (Diploma) from Karnataka, stepped into Air Force Station Jalahalli.
His was a decision against the wishes of his parents, but he was locked on to his dream to — Touch the Sky with Glory — the Indian Air Force (IAF)'s motto!
He soon realised that he was only going to test the Russian missiles as an airman. He excelled in his course and was selected in a sub-stream of testing missiles. He was posted to Srinagar. Just that the young man yearned for more.
His Commanding Officer inspired him to apply for the Pilots Exam. A letter from the Varanasi Service Selection Board was on way soon.
Airman to pilot
It was a whiteout at Srinagar that day. Road convoys were snow-blocked. Most flights were cancelled. On a ticket sourced through an ex-IAF friend’s quota, the young airman was lucky to be on board the Air India flight. He knew his dream to be a pilot was closer to a reality.
Today, that passionate airman with chest No. 50 during the pilot selection is Group Captain Tulasi Rukmini Ravi, Chief Operations Officer (COO) at Air Force Station, Yelahanka. And, at the 12th edition of Aero India, he is among the many unsung heroes of the IAF, who are on their toes, ever alert and on the move.
Onmanorama caught up with Gp Capt Ravi, who has to his credit around 8,000 hours of illustrious flying assignments. The job of a COO is a daunting task to be executed with precision, all the time.
Ravi said 110 aircraft were involved in various roles at the base this time. “No military airfield had ever seen so many aircraft of different size and types on one base. It was the first time ever that Airbus-330 and Airbus-320 had landed at AFS, Yelahanka. Most of the aircraft had to be pushed back on to the runway or taxi track for starting up. This required absolute synch with the flying programme.”
Calculated risks
On the risks of aerobatic flying and how air warriors often cope up with the loss of their buddies to accidents, Gp Capt Ravi said: “Pilots are selected and trained to do formation flying. In spite of adequate practice and confidence there is always a chance that things could deviate due to variables from what is planned. This kind of ‘calculated risk’ is something that these finest military aviators are trained to take on and they are always ready to be wrapped in tricolour.”
On the day of the Surya Kiran crash (February 19) that took the life of Wg Cdr Sahil Gandhi, it was Gp Capt Ravi as the COO among the first to reach the crash site with Crash Fire Tenders.
He took stock of situation on ground and in air, and soon transmitted the Google coordinates to base for homing on. The two pilots were evacuated to AFS, Yelahanka, in a civil ambulance and mean time the helicopter was ready for quick airlift to the Command Hospital. The Search and Rescue helicopter was in air to ascertain the situation. The fire was extinguished in a very short time avoiding public property damage. He knew he lost a buddy, but the show must to go on… in true spirit of the military tradition.
‘Mr Cool’ on a mission
Son of a telephone operator, Gp Capt Ravi had another challenge this time owing to the Drone Olympics. His team had to designate airspace within the already-jam-packed base, ensuring the drones wouldn’t infringe flight safety.
‘Mr Cool,’ as mentioned by one of his colleagues, and his team were tested again on Saturday when the fire broke out at a parking lot of the base.
“We were among the first to see the smoke from the tower. (Badminton star) P V Sindhu with Tejas had lined up already and we ensured her take off and after a 31-minute flight she landed back. Meanwhile, a rescue helicopter was on air to give the live commentary of the fire situation. We cautioned all gates to control the crowd so that none panicked, or else there would have been a stampede. The emergency teams doused the fire. And, the show went on,” he said.
Having flown the C-17, IL-76, AN-32, HPT-32 and Kiran to name a few, this is Gp Capt Ravi’s second tenure at AFS, Yelahanka, where he began his career as a pilot.
A Vayu Sena Medal recipient, this air warrior had his share of luck while flying in 2007. It was during an air test sortie, the elevator of the aircraft got jammed while executing an upward clover aerobatic manoeuvre. His pure flying skills got him back to mother earth in one piece.
“There are hundreds of air warriors who silently do their job. There are hundreds more, who risk their lives. For us it is the mission that matters, whatever it takes,” says Gp Capt Ravi.
(The writer is an independent aerospace and defence journalist, who blogs at Tarmak007 and tweets @writetake.)
