Click to play videoNew Delhi/Bangalore: For Chairman of Tata group, Ratan Tata, it seems the sky is not the limit.
After soaring to great heights in his business ventures, Tata took to the skies like a pro on Thursday and flew an F-16 jet at the Aero India show in Bangalore.
And that 30-minute sortie seemed to have only whetted his appetite for more. Tata will now fly a Boeing F-18 Super Hornet fighter on Friday. "He will fly at around 2 pm tomorrow," a Boeing spokesperson said.
Sixty-nine-year-old Tata flew the jet commanded by Paul Hattendorf, a test pilot of Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the aircraft.
Both the F-16 and F-18 are in the race to bag a major Indian Air Force contract for 126 combat jet.
Tata, who wore a G-suit for the F-16 flight, was found to be fit for it despite his age. "Basic physical fitness tests were carried out on him, including his blood pressure, vision, colour blindness and heart condition," he said.
Asked if Tata was too old to be in the F-16, Stout said, "I don't think so. Only thing is you have to meet the basic physical requirements," he said.
The F-16 can go up to 9gs (highest gravitational measurement) and can acquire a speed of over Mach-2, which denotes that it goes up to twice the speed of sound.
CNN-IBN correspondent Priyanjana Dutta caught up with him right after he landed.
Priyanjana: How was the experience?
Ratan Tata: It was exhilarating.
Priyanjana: You touched the 132 mark - that's supersonic, how did it feel?
Ratan Tata: Not very different except you when you were accelerating there was a lot of noise and then when you decelerated it was as if someone punched the brakes.
Priyanjana: What safety procedures were you put through before?
Ratan Tata: What to do if there's a fire or if we have to eject - basic safety procedures.
Priyanjana: Were you confident?
Ratan Tata: Yes very comfortable.
Priyanjana: Are you happy to be on ground?
Ratan Tata: No I wish we could go up again.
(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter and Google+)
displayed with permission. Use of the CNN name and/or logo on or as part of CNN-IBN does not derogate from the intellectual property rights of Cable News Network in respect of them.