<p>Bengaluru: The Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT), which put up exhilarating performances at the <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/aero-india">Aero India 2025</a>, operates on two prongs: training and trust. On Tuesday, the team performed an extended routine that will be replicated through the public viewing days as well. </p><p>Far away from the crowds and up close with the aircrafts they jumped out of, after performing their manoeuvres on Tuesday, the pilots opened up about their experiences and the challenges they are trained to tackle. </p><p>Wing Commander Allen George, flying as Surya Kiran 9, explained that the weather, hazy nature of the skies, and strong winds affect the way the pilots approach a formation. “Our training tells us that we will be rolling out on a particular course on the compass, and I trust that pilot that he will be on that course and he trusts me. So when we give that call, we are trusting each other to be at the particular place as trained,” he told <em>DH</em>.</p><p>Aero India adds “additional pressure” by itself, noted Squadron Leader Ankit Vashisth, because the “stakes are high” here as more people are watching. “Before this, we were in Gujarat. We performed over Pingleshwar Beach, over Rann of Kutch, in Jamnagar and Vadodara. The manoeuvres are the same but the environment is different here,” he noted. The acclimatisation is part of the challenge but their constant training and practice helps in “muscle memory”, he added.</p>.Aero India 2025: Asia’s biggest air show enthrals visitors with jaw-dropping flying displays.<p>For Wing Commander Kuldeep Singh Hooda, who flies in the No. 5 position, this kind of close formation aerobatics is the “best one can experience”. “Training in the team commences with a pilot training as a two-aircraft member, then graduate to four-aircraft, six-aircraft and then gradually, the nine-aircraft team. This display that you saw takes about five-to-six months for a new fighter pilot who has joined the team,” he told <em>DH</em>.</p><p>Following this Aero India, the Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team will see their six-month display season end by mid-March, restarting their six-month training period. It is a three-year fixed tenure, following which, the pilots go back to their frontline fighter squad positions, he explained.</p><p>Eleven years into the Air Force, Squadron Leader H Chandel will be completing his three-year stint as a SKAT pilot in June and get back to flying Jaguar jet attack aircraft. While the pilots part of the team keep changing, the feeling of a family remains, noted Senior Technical Officer Wing Commander Abhimanyu Tyagi. Four more pilots are being trained to join the team in the next few months, right in time for a few of the current pilots to return to their fleets.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: The Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT), which put up exhilarating performances at the <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/aero-india">Aero India 2025</a>, operates on two prongs: training and trust. On Tuesday, the team performed an extended routine that will be replicated through the public viewing days as well. </p><p>Far away from the crowds and up close with the aircrafts they jumped out of, after performing their manoeuvres on Tuesday, the pilots opened up about their experiences and the challenges they are trained to tackle. </p><p>Wing Commander Allen George, flying as Surya Kiran 9, explained that the weather, hazy nature of the skies, and strong winds affect the way the pilots approach a formation. “Our training tells us that we will be rolling out on a particular course on the compass, and I trust that pilot that he will be on that course and he trusts me. So when we give that call, we are trusting each other to be at the particular place as trained,” he told <em>DH</em>.</p><p>Aero India adds “additional pressure” by itself, noted Squadron Leader Ankit Vashisth, because the “stakes are high” here as more people are watching. “Before this, we were in Gujarat. We performed over Pingleshwar Beach, over Rann of Kutch, in Jamnagar and Vadodara. The manoeuvres are the same but the environment is different here,” he noted. The acclimatisation is part of the challenge but their constant training and practice helps in “muscle memory”, he added.</p>.Aero India 2025: Asia’s biggest air show enthrals visitors with jaw-dropping flying displays.<p>For Wing Commander Kuldeep Singh Hooda, who flies in the No. 5 position, this kind of close formation aerobatics is the “best one can experience”. “Training in the team commences with a pilot training as a two-aircraft member, then graduate to four-aircraft, six-aircraft and then gradually, the nine-aircraft team. This display that you saw takes about five-to-six months for a new fighter pilot who has joined the team,” he told <em>DH</em>.</p><p>Following this Aero India, the Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team will see their six-month display season end by mid-March, restarting their six-month training period. It is a three-year fixed tenure, following which, the pilots go back to their frontline fighter squad positions, he explained.</p><p>Eleven years into the Air Force, Squadron Leader H Chandel will be completing his three-year stint as a SKAT pilot in June and get back to flying Jaguar jet attack aircraft. While the pilots part of the team keep changing, the feeling of a family remains, noted Senior Technical Officer Wing Commander Abhimanyu Tyagi. Four more pilots are being trained to join the team in the next few months, right in time for a few of the current pilots to return to their fleets.</p>