Fly high on adrenaline at OTA Air Show

KANCHEEPURAM: If paragliding or skydiving have always made you high on adrenaline, here is an opportunity that you cannot afford to miss. A power packed air spectacle is about to unfold right here in your vicinity and a chance to sample the fire power by men in olive green.Organised by the Officer’s Training Academy (OTA), the event would be held at Singaperumal Koil near here on Saturday. According to officials, the event is intended to better the understanding of the nuances of real time warfare for the OTA recruits who would complete their 11-month long training soon.In the event, the Army and Air Force personnel are all set to exhibit their synergistic operations on air and ground in the enemy’s territory.The skydiving demonstration will be performed by 50 Independent Para Brigade (Meghdoot) and the Akash Ganga team of the Air Force and the OTA’s Infantry Battalion, Pallavaram will display fire from modern weapons. In the spectacular sky diving event, a jumper with a packed parachute strapped on his back would jump out of an aeroplane by spreading his body like an eagle, face down. The jumper is set to fall at a speed of 176 feet per second or 120 miles per hour.“It’s all about sneaking into an enemy’s territory. It requires great skills and the sense to react on time,” said IAF wing commander SS Baig.Alongside AN32 type aircraft, considered the workhorse of the Indian Air Force, a tricolour formation by the planes has also been planned.There would also be firing of various weapons including machine guns, rocket launchers, motors and other small arms. The event is to celebrate the 50 year legacy of the OTA, besides providing an opportunity to the new recruits to have hands-on experience on shades of warfare. For the first time, the event is open for public, which be held at police firing range in Singaperumal Koil.Not Easy to be a High Flier Matchless, precision, rigorous training and more. It takes a lot to be a jumper, to be a part of the air combat team.Says, Wing Commander SS Baig “Our men are handpicked after rigorous training. There is, of course,  high risk involved. A flair for adventure and absolutely fearlessness of height makes the difference.”  The daredevil event would no doubt encourage men and women to join the forces.