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ShareSuman Sharma, 30, the world's first civilian woman to fly in a MiG-35 fighter and a Sukhoi 30MKI combat aircraft, and the first Indian civilian woman to fly in an F-16, has saluted president Pratibha Patil for her decision to fly in a Sukhoi.
"I must compliment the president," Sharma told DNA from Delhi. "Despite being 75 years old, she has shown the courage to fly in such planes." DNA had reported on Friday (Air force looks for G-suits as Prez gets ready to fly Su-30) that the Indian Air Force was preparing to take Patil on a sortie on the Sukhoi 30MKI from Lohegaon air base at Pune later this month.
Sharma, a defence correspondent and daughter of a retired naval officer, had made her sorties in the F-16 and MiG-35 combat aircraft during the Aero India show in February at Yelahanka, Bangalore.
InAugust,she was invited to fly a Su-30MKI at the International Aviation and Space Salon, MAKS 2009, at Zhukhovsky, Moscow. "My Sukhoi sortie was for 21 minutes; the one in the F-16 was for 40 minutes and in MiG-35 was for 42 minutes," Sharma said, calling the experiences "out-of-this-world". "One just cannot explain the experience when the aircraft cuts through clouds at such high speeds," she said.
Of the three, Sharma said she found the Sukhoi the most advanced, huge, and safest, twin-engine heavyweight fighter. "I could see and feel its huge size as the rear seat is elevated and there is ample room in the cockpit," she said. "Without using the head-up display I could easily see the runway in front." Her sortie included manoeuvres like the 360º and side rolls.
Sharma's tip for Patil is to "stay cool, meditate, and do yoga before flying and also have
lots of water."
