Anil Ambani flies sortie in Rafale fighter aircraft at Aero India

Exchanging his usual crisp business suit for flying overalls, Anil Ambani,  chairman of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, flew a sortie in French company Dassault’s Rafale fighter aircraft, at the Aero India 2017 on Wednesday.

His Reliance Aerostructure Limited (RAL) has established a joint venture with the French company Dassault Aviation. The sortie was intended to give Ambani a feel of the power of Rafale, Dassault’s multirole fighter aircraft. Taking off just after 1 pm, Ambani flew for about 25 minutes with Dassault’s test pilot Tom Valette. He was kitted in flying overalls, a G-suit, Armée de l'Air jacket torso harness, flying boots and helmet with an oxygen mask.

Ambani arrived at noon and was taken to the Dassault chalet at the Air Force Station where he was briefed on emergency systems, operating the Heads-Up display and also the eject/egress procedures. As he was escorted to the tarmac, the 57-year-old business giant joked about whether he would be able to do it or not.
 
After a long wait, during which the aircraft was changed, the Rafale moved onto the airstrip and Ambani waved at the crowd as it took off.

The aircraft climbed to a height of 20,000 feet and performed a few manoeuvres, such as steep turns and deep dives before landing.