The President vists my town for a Joyride!!! - Team-BHP

Edmund · 8th June 2006, 23:10

Well today Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam visited Pune for the ride of his life, something he dreamt of as a child, to fly in a fighter jet and we were there to witness it!

I stay about 17kms from the Pune airport and Airforce base in wanowrie and with the cloud cover it made no sense to try an spot the jets doing their thing from my place, so we called up an aunt who lives in the aptly named locality, 'Vimannagar' [I wonder why the call it that!!!!] which shares its boundary walls with the airforce base.

We [Two brothers,Two friends and myself!] set out at 0800hrs as the president was scheduled to take off at 0900hrs, did breakfast with my aunt, cousin and niece' and headed to the terrace 8 floors above the ground for our ringside seats at the Airshow!!!!

The building in question is about 2 odd kays from the base so the 12x optical zoom was doing what it was made to do!!!! We get the news that the show's been rescheduled and will now begin at 1000hrs, a round of coke, chit chat and some ultra zoom shots at the parked jets saw us through the hour of delay.

The parked Jets......... from 3km away!!!

A Sukhoi-30 MKI takes off. Yup, that jet is really that low!!!

Ok, in the second picture and the picture below you'll notice a building that's closer to the friggin air base, so i thought to myself "Man, if i were on that building the 12x zoom would bring things so much closer!!!!"

Two guys soak up the sight from that building.............

The buildings, with our backs facing the runway!! [Yeah, yeah, i know you are thinking, he has to get his car in the frame!!!! Well, i do!!!]
There were a few other cars there to catch the action too!!!

So we approached security supervisor and requested him to allow us to go to the tank to click a few pics, amazingly he agreed and accompanied us to the top of the tank, approx. 9 floors above the ground, the building is about 500mtrs from the base, you can't get closer or higher than this!!!!

We perch on top of the tank and wait for some action, the prez in the SU-30, with 7 accompanying SU-30's have long since disappeared in the western horizon [Me thinks he wanted to see the arabian sea and the curvature of the Earth!!!!] Also in the air are 5 Jaguars too.............. the sky is now empty!

We waited..............and took some shots.....

This chopper was a signal for the Air show to begin!!!!!

And wham, the 3 Su-30's with the Prez in the middle one hit us in formation!!!!!

The jet banks a few hundred feet over us!!!!!

They finally land, the prez is in one of these!!!!

The Su-30's in the foreground and the massive MIG-29's in the background!!!

PS: The pics are massive, so imageshack will open downsized images, please click on the image to enlarge it!!!

Edmund · 8th June 2006, 23:18

Most of the stuff is captured on video, will post them once i manage compressing them!!

Some crazy barrel rolls, passes, dogfights between the Sukhois and Jaguars, hammerhead stall turns, vector thrust display etc!!!

jango · 8th June 2006, 23:25

Which camera did u use buddy......love the pics u took

Edmund · 8th June 2006, 23:30

Sony DSC-H1 12x optical zoom, was missing a tripod though!!!!

ATL_BOY · 8th June 2006, 23:48

nice pictures man ... I saw it last night on AAJ TAK !!

Sankar · 9th June 2006, 00:02

Can see the pics now, the friggin browser was the culprit.

airfoil · 9th June 2006, 01:32

I cannot see the images posted when I use Firefox.

IE works this time around...

adya33 · 9th June 2006, 12:32

Nice pictures Edmund.

While president was enjoying his ride around 300 passengers were patiently waiting on airport for their flight only to hear every time that their flight has been further delayed.

Abhay · 9th June 2006, 15:51

I heard planes roaring above as I sat in my office....(near the Golfcourse) about 5/6 kms from the Airforce base I guess.

Nice pics Ed..

adya - well its IS a Airforce base and not a civilian airport ;-)
They take priority...and in any case this event was known for many weeks prior so people can't really complain about the delays.

v1p3r · 9th June 2006, 23:22

I've managed to sit on the wing of an Su 30 MK I. And trust me, next to the Su, the MiG is a tiny toy. The MiG's jet wash ruffled my hair, but my friend flew back 10 feet when the Su cranked up.

No wonder the American sh!t their load at the Su-37 Terminator. That's the export version, and it doesn't even come with the radar that Russia sells ONLY to India.

Edmund · 10th June 2006, 00:01

How on earth did you get onto the wing of a SU-30MKI??? I've been in the cockpit of a MIG-21!!!!

v1p3r · 10th June 2006, 18:04

Knew someone that flew the first squad down. Hey, sorry, it was the original batch, not the MK I.

Still a mother of a plane.

naveendhyani · 13th June 2006, 17:03

cool pics edmund. hats off 2 u.

8th June 2006, 23:10	#1 (permalink)
Edmund BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Pune Posts: 535 View My Garage	The President vists my town for a Joyride!!! Well today Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam visited Pune for the ride of his life, something he dreamt of as a child, to fly in a fighter jet and we were there to witness it! I stay about 17kms from the Pune airport and Airforce base in wanowrie and with the cloud cover it made no sense to try an spot the jets doing their thing from my place, so we called up an aunt who lives in the aptly named locality, 'Vimannagar' [I wonder why the call it that!!!!] which shares its boundary walls with the airforce base. We [Two brothers,Two friends and myself!] set out at 0800hrs as the president was scheduled to take off at 0900hrs, did breakfast with my aunt, cousin and niece' and headed to the terrace 8 floors above the ground for our ringside seats at the Airshow!!!! The building in question is about 2 odd kays from the base so the 12x optical zoom was doing what it was made to do!!!! We get the news that the show's been rescheduled and will now begin at 1000hrs, a round of coke, chit chat and some ultra zoom shots at the parked jets saw us through the hour of delay. The parked Jets......... from 3km away!!! A Sukhoi-30 MKI takes off. Yup, that jet is really that low!!! Ok, in the second picture and the picture below you'll notice a building that's closer to the friggin air base, so i thought to myself "Man, if i were on that building the 12x zoom would bring things so much closer!!!!" Two guys soak up the sight from that building............. The buildings, with our backs facing the runway!! [Yeah, yeah, i know you are thinking, he has to get his car in the frame!!!! Well, i do!!!] There were a few other cars there to catch the action too!!! So we approached security supervisor and requested him to allow us to go to the tank to click a few pics, amazingly he agreed and accompanied us to the top of the tank, approx. 9 floors above the ground, the building is about 500mtrs from the base, you can't get closer or higher than this!!!! We perch on top of the tank and wait for some action, the prez in the SU-30, with 7 accompanying SU-30's have long since disappeared in the western horizon [Me thinks he wanted to see the arabian sea and the curvature of the Earth!!!!] Also in the air are 5 Jaguars too.............. the sky is now empty! We waited..............and took some shots..... This chopper was a signal for the Air show to begin!!!!! And wham, the 3 Su-30's with the Prez in the middle one hit us in formation!!!!! The jet banks a few hundred feet over us!!!!! They finally land, the prez is in one of these!!!! The Su-30's in the foreground and the massive MIG-29's in the background!!! *PS: The pics are massive, so imageshack will open downsized images, please click on the image to enlarge it!!!* __________________ Zeropointeight for me to keep and miles to go before I sleep............ Last edited by Edmund : 8th June 2006 at 23:12.

8th June 2006, 23:18	#2 (permalink)
Edmund BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Pune Posts: 535 View My Garage	Most of the stuff is captured on video, will post them once i manage compressing them!! Some crazy barrel rolls, passes, dogfights between the Sukhois and Jaguars, hammerhead stall turns, vector thrust display etc!!! __________________ Zeropointeight for me to keep and miles to go before I sleep............

8th June 2006, 23:25	#3 (permalink)
jango BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: B'lore & kotayam Posts: 572 View My Garage	Which camera did u use buddy......love the pics u took __________________ Wounds Heal & Bones Set DRIVE FAST !!

8th June 2006, 23:30	#4 (permalink)
Edmund BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Pune Posts: 535 View My Garage	Sony DSC-H1 12x optical zoom, was missing a tripod though!!!! __________________ Zeropointeight for me to keep and miles to go before I sleep............

9th June 2006, 15:51	#9 (permalink)
Abhay BHPian Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Pune Posts: 425 View My Garage	I heard planes roaring above as I sat in my office....(near the Golfcourse) about 5/6 kms from the Airforce base I guess. Nice pics Ed.. adya - well its IS a Airforce base and not a civilian airport ;-) They take priority...and in any case this event was known for many weeks prior so people can't really complain about the delays. __________________ 2005 Tata Indica LGi

8th June 2006, 23:48	#5 (permalink)
ATL_BOY BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Atlanta Posts: 51	nice pictures man ... I saw it last night on AAJ TAK !!

9th June 2006, 00:02	#6 (permalink)
Sankar Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2005 Location: TRV Posts: 1,541 View My Garage	Can see the pics now, the friggin browser was the culprit.

9th June 2006, 01:32	#7 (permalink)
airfoil BHPian Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 215	I cannot see the images posted when I use Firefox. IE works this time around...

9th June 2006, 12:32	#8 (permalink)
adya33 Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Pune Posts: 1,911	Nice pictures Edmund. While president was enjoying his ride around 300 passengers were patiently waiting on airport for their flight only to hear every time that their flight has been further delayed.

9th June 2006, 23:22	#10 (permalink)
v1p3r Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: BLR - chasing cars... Posts: 4,158 View My Garage	I've managed to sit on the wing of an Su 30 MK I. And trust me, next to the Su, the MiG is a tiny toy. The MiG's jet wash ruffled my hair, but my friend flew back 10 feet when the Su cranked up. No wonder the American sh!t their load at the Su-37 Terminator. That's the export version, and it doesn't even come with the radar that Russia sells ONLY to India. __________________ *I've lost my phone. Please PM me your phone number if I'm on your contact list.*

10th June 2006, 00:01	#11 (permalink)
Edmund BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Pune Posts: 535 View My Garage	How on earth did you get onto the wing of a SU-30MKI??? I've been in the cockpit of a MIG-21!!!! __________________ Zeropointeight for me to keep and miles to go before I sleep............

10th June 2006, 18:04	#12 (permalink)
v1p3r Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: BLR - chasing cars... Posts: 4,158 View My Garage	Knew someone that flew the first squad down. Hey, sorry, it was the original batch, not the MK I. Still a mother of a plane. __________________ *I've lost my phone. Please PM me your phone number if I'm on your contact list.*

13th June 2006, 17:03	#13 (permalink)
naveendhyani BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Melbourne Posts: 542	cool pics edmund. hats off 2 u.

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