Marathi writer Amarinder Gadgil is probably better known for their crusade for safer MiG aircraft in the Indian airforce.
It seems fitting that a family which has long had such close ties with flying would now start an aerospace institute.
In 1958, Marathi writer Amarinder Gadgil brought out a biography of the Wright brothers, which he dedicated to his pilot son, Anil. But today the family is probably better known for their crusade for safer MiG aircraft in the Indian airforce. Anil and Kavita’s son, Abhijit Gadgil, died in a MiG 21 crash in 2002 - an incident that inspired the film Rang de Basanti. Now, after 42 years of flying, Anil plans to start the Jeet Aerospace Institute near Pune.
“I was only 11 when my father wrote that book. He always propagated an out-of-the-box thinking. Back then flying was not a common profession,” says Anil at his Versova residence. Anil was an airforce pilot for 20 years and an Air India captain after that. Despite six years of his flying career remaining, he has taken a break to build the institute. Today holds special significance as the Wright brothers flew their first plane on December 17, 1904. Anil is doubly happy as he was made a fellow at the 140-year-old Royal Aeronautical Society in London, the highest honour conferred in the field of aviation. He is the fourth Indian to receive the fellowship.
Anil’s proposed institute will introduce a mobile simulator to be fitted on a truck donated by Tata Motors, a first in India. It will provide basic flying experience to all enthusiasts. “There are very few training centres in the country. This one will introduce interested people to the concept of flying,” says Gadgil. He is however concerned about finding trained pilots and the lack of flights required for such training.
The Jeet Aerospace Institute is an extension of the movement started under The Abhijit Safety Air Foundation by Kavita.
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