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Aviation History
1959
1959 - 1581.PDF
774 THE INDIAN AIR FORCE . . . FLIGHT for every aspect of materials testing, and an engine laboratory,complete with Pratt & Whitney R-1830 and Goblin, equipped to the standard of an overhaul shop in miniature. 'For the college's aircraft apprentices the course lasts for nine terms, each of 22 weeks. Entries are restricted to boysbetween 15 and 17-J who have obtained ma trie with science and mathematics, and who can pass the initial exam to determinetheir aptitude. For 18 weeks they are given general Service train- ing and instruction in the basic workshops (to disclose an aptitudefor engineering or electrics) and in English, algebra, geometry, trigonometry and dynamics. At the end of this period, and onthe results of another test, aptitude and preference each apprentice is allotted a trade. Courses for both officers and apprentices are intensive andleave little free time between reveille at 0600 hr and lights out at 2200, but academic and practical studies are levied by hobbyperiods and organized games. For a trainee whose progress is marginal and who does not improve under the combined effortsof the section commander, instructor and chief instructor's individual tuition, a progress board of six senior instructors willinvestigate the reasons for his poor performance. Considerable efforts are always made to improve a pupil's standard before histraining is discontinued and he is rejected. Flying Training "Nagaland is a largely mountainous country straddled withranges whose peaks climb to 10,000ft; lush jungle stifles the lower reaches. Flat ground is practically non-existent and the narrowvalleys, where most of the D.Z.s are located, afford a Dakota little more than wing-tip clearance. Once over the ring of hills girthingthe area the search for the D.Z. begins; an operation necessitating continuous low-flying. Lesser offshoots of the main range jut outawkwardly in the limited path of flight, forcing the pilot to take rapid evasive action. With the controls sluggish at reduced speed,the drop is executed with no small difficulty. In quest of the dropping zone, the aircraft descends to 150ft. There is little roomfor pilot error. Acute claustrophobia, aggravated by a cloud-base frequently no more than 200ft, harries the crew. When the D.Z.is picked out, free-dropped and parachute-lashed packages are pushed out, and the aircraft banks steeply for the turn-about andreturn-run over the target area. Rid of its burden, the Dakota— now lighter b^ 6,500 lb—is put into a steep climb to clear themountain barrier at the end of the valley. The operation is under- taken all through the year, even during temporary let-ups in themonsoon period." This semi-official account of operations in the mountainousnorth-east corner of India (the Naga hills are in south Assam) gives some indication of the standard of flying that is expectedfrom pilots of the Indian Air Force. And although this is a specialized transport operation and gives pointers to the courageof the I.A.F. pilots and the quality of training which makes this "Flight" photograph Hindustan Aircraft have converted a number of Dakotas for I.A.F. use as navigation and signals trainers. This is one of six pupil positions in a navigational trainer high standard of skill possible, the young officers flying DC-3s inAssam are certainly not regarded as being in any way exceptional. Flying training for all Indian Air Force aircrew, pilots andnavigators, begins at the pleasant station at Jodphur on the edge of the Rajasthan desert overlooked by red flat-topped hills andthe multiple minarets of the Maharaja's palace. As our Dakota swept over the town to a landing on the broad airfield, the redsandstone glowed in the setting sun and the lights from the houses began to twinkle under the solitary evening star. For one moreday flying was over and the aerodrome was quiet for an hour until night flying began. The station commander at Jodphur, G/C. J. Chandra, briefedme the following morning on the work of flying training. Aircrew join the I.A.F. either by direct entry or from theNational Defence Academy. The latter institution is particularly interesting, because it has no direct equivalent in this country. Itwas formed in 1949 at Dehra Dun, but really has its roots in the Indian Military Academy which was established by Field MarshalSir Philip Chetwode, who was then commander-in-chief, Indian Army. With independence the Academy was reorganized andextended in scope to provide combined preliminary training for officers of all three services, and in 1954 was established as a self-sufficient "unipurpose township" extending over 7,000 acres at Khadakvasla, 11 miles from Poona. The cadet intake is for boysof school-leaving age and for two years cadets of all services live and work together. In the third year, emphasis shifts to Servicesubjects, I.A.F. cadets being given limited air experience on gliders. The I.A.F. considers that it is reasonably well equipped todetermine whether a candidate will make a good officer, but After initial deliveries of Gnats from Folland, these aircraft and their Orpheus engines will be constructed in India for I.A.F. use. a Folland-built Gnat Mk 1, still in its pre-detivery undercoat This is
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