Click to play videoBangalore: It took a multi-role American fighter jet and an Indian multinational industrialist to crank up the excitement at the Aero India show in Bangalore.
The full house that gathered on Thursday at the Yelahanka Air Base had come to watch Tata group chairman Ratan Tata fly the F-16.
After about two hours of intense training exercises and medical checkups, the 69-year-old Ratan Tata boarded the jet, taking the instructor's seat at the back.
And his instructor Lockheed Martin's Paul Hattendorf took the test pilot's seat at the front.
The F-16, which had been brought from the Misawa Air Force base in Japan finally took off at about 1:45 for a 20-minute sortie. And the rest as they say is history!
High up in the clouds Ratan Tata touched the mach 1.3 mark, crossing the sound barrier, a thrilling experience no doubt.
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| Ratan Tata sits inside the cockpit of the U.S. F-16 aircraft during the 'Aero India 2007' air show. (Photo: Reuters) |
After about two hours of intense training exercises and medical checkups, the 69-year-old Ratan Tata boarded the jet. He flew the jet commanded by Paul Hattendorf, a test pilot of Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the aircraft.
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| Ratan Tata looks outside from the cockpit of his aircraft before the take off during the air show. (Photo: Reuters) |
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.
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| Ratan Tata shows a thumbs up sign to the audience just before he took off for a 20-minute sortie. (Photo: Reuters) |
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.
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