Aero India 2011: Vintage aircraft Pushpak is still making heads turn

Old metal birds never die, they continue to turn heads forever. This is the case of the Indian Army Aviation Corps Pushpak aircraft.
Tucked between the latest fighters and the sleek business jets, this vintage aircraft which played an active role during the 1971 Indo-Pak War continues to draw attention at the ongoing Aero-India show.

As part of the Army Aviation Corps’ Silver Jubilee celebrations, this green bird will embark on an all-India expedition and touch down at bases and forward locations from where the flyboys (army aviators) of yesteryear operated.

The  little bird piloted by Brig NS Sidhu will take off from Air Force Station Yelahanka after the Aero India to revive the history of the Army Aviation Corps. The aircraft, which flew with the Air OP during the 1965 and 1971 wars, has been reconstructed and restored to flying standards.

It has been mustered from the Patiala Flying Club and reconstructed with the assistance of Punjab Government and the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for this historic expedition, Brig Sidhu said.

This is the one and only  Pushpak which is still flying in the country and the all-India expedition will be its longest mission.

Starting from Bangalore, the aircraft will cover over 10,000km flying to the erstwhile Air Op and the present Army Aviation bases within India and finally land at CATS, Nasik, the Alma Mater of Army Aviation. En route, it will recount old battles, gather folklore from old timers across the country, revisit its old bases and record it all for future generations.