PRELUDE.
(I had written this piece on and around, 10 March 2008. It was getting too lengthy and seemed not to end at all . I put it in the drafts and just forgot about it as I did not want to put any thing on the blog till such time I was satisfied about the written text and more importantly the contents . Yesterday I was advised by one person whose thinking I respect , to write and put up on the blog irrespective whether it was finished product or not.. Refining can take place as an on going process and editing can stop once I was satisfied . There was no reason not to write something more oftener , if not every day and put up on the blog. Also to break up my writing in small self contained subject matter , as a chapter in a book .The person giving this advice was my son . I have whole heartedly taken his advice and here are the results.)
PREFACE
To start with , I do not know if what I want to write or contribute for Gnat 50 Years Web Site violets the official secrets act or not . How ever I understand that there is a statue of limitations where by after a laid down period, even secret documents are de-classified . What I am going to write is for the period 1974 - 1975 so as about 36 - 37 years having elapsed , I feel it is safe to assume that all the limitations would be over . Any way Gnat having been phased-out a long time back , in 1977 to be precise , it should not matter so far as National Security is concerned nor to any one else other then then those "Gnat Fans" who were .
passionately in love with the aircraft or are Interested in 5 BRD.
EARLY GNAT DAYS.
On completing 50 hours on Hunter aircraft in No 7 Squadron my name was forwarded to Air Hq for posting on to Gnat ac .As it was considered waste of precious flying hours on some one who was likely to be posted out of Hunter stream our flying in 7 Sqn came to a grinding halt and I along with some others sat on the ground twiddling thumbs and waiting for the bar to open in the evenings !!The wait for posting , without any flying was really a nerve wrecking experience .
Finally with effect from 16 July1969 I was posted to 22 Squadronon , to fly Gnat Mk I aircraft .The squadron was located at Kalikunda and later in 1973 moved to Hasimara . As was the prevailing custom in those days , with poor Hunter trainer and Gnat serviceability , if one wanted to accumulate flying hours one did not go on service leave , one lagao patti or cut some one Else's patti for a sortie on the Gnat. One also generally volunteered for the air tests and particularly those to be done on a Saturday or Sunday when those not too interested in flying would not venture out. 50 odd minutes of flying in weekend air tests thus logged , would all finally add up to make one experienced on the Gnat and add to flying hours. So after trying all sorts of stratagems I had managed to accumulate about 700 odd hours on the Gnat by the time I had completed 5 long years in the squadron . 140 flying hours per years seems chicken feed , but believe you me and ask any one in the Gnat squadron during late sixties and early seventies how difficult it was to average this amount of flying . Those were the days we could not even log minimum requirement of six hours of flying required to claim flying bounty per month and had to do these flying hours by going to one of the transport squadrons to do 72 hours of supernumerary flying meaning we sat in the cargo hold and were put down as third and forth pilot in the author book , but could log as second pilot. In fact all things considered this was a healthy flying average .
5 years was a long long time to be posted to one unit and finally my posting also came . I was posted to No 5 BRD Sulur . At this point in time I do not remember the posting signal details but there was general ignorance amongst the flyers about a BRD posting except that this unit was overhauling Gnats , I my self having ferried about five to six aircraft immediately after 1971 war knew the place but had never imagined that one day I would be posted there nor the fact that spread over two tenuers We would spend 6 to 7 years at Sulur ! One knowledgeable person opined that as I was posted to fill a flying vacancy , and considering my experience on Gnat , may be I was being posted to do air tests of overhauled Gnats . To avoid being shunted out of the main stream and flying squadrons , I was even advised to put in a personal application for cancellation of this posting . However I was very clear in mind that I was never going to ask for cancellation nor request for choice postings in my service career ! And so we proceeded to Sulur . I was then a senior Flight Lieutenant with 8 years of service and married for just about 10 months .
Arrival was uneventful and we were acommodated in one of the six rooms built inside a hanger . For the next couple of months or so that one room was our Drawing room , bed room , sitting room , kitchen , store and sit out . Bath rooms and toilets were detached and at the rear of the hanger ! Then we were allotted a temporary mqrried accomodation which was juat abvout 100 yards from the Flying Control and about 150 yards from the runway . This may have been the only plce in the whole of the Air Force where married accomodation was almost by the side of the run way and Priti used to lay out the dining table after watching me land after the sortie !.
Having dealt with prelimeneries and the introduction let me get on to the "work" portion of my life at Sulur . The main task of the unit at that time was major overhaul of Gnat aircraft and storege of any and every type of aircraft which was on the IAFinventory but not required in the squadron . So we had couple of Canberras , some HT 2s, couple of chetak and cheetas , The manning therefore was to suit these tasks . So we had about 48 % of officers of Technical branch , 48 % logistics branch and remaining of Acccounts and Admin branches . I was the only pilot on the posted strength of the unit . Before the posting I had not realised that I would be in a unique position , not because I was the only pilot , but also because of the fact that I would actually be filling in the Posts of Chief Test Pilot , Test Pilot , Chief Operations Officer , Station Flight Safety Officer and finally Adjutant to the COO . These posts being included in the Establishment page of the Unit !! Also because of the task , the only sorties which could be authorised in the "autho book" were "Air Tests" . No general handling , no navs , no low flying . no formation or any other type of flying just Air Tests & Air Tests !!
Runway at Sulur was 1700 yds . Standard length of runways at almost all the flying stations was 3000 yds , so for the pilots used to land at 3000 yds runway landing on 1700 yds runway was considered tricky . Even though I had landed earlier at Sulur without much problem , In the early days while operating on 1700 yds runway , on approach , breathing rate did go up a bit . However with passage of time things became ok and 1700 yds did not pose any problem . The secret was to make correct approach , at correct speeds and touch down as close to the begining of the runway as possible , preferably within first 20 to 25 yds ! Over a period of time I found that "Kisser"Landings and touch downs were achieved at speeds of 122 to 124 Kts . Below 120 Kts "kissers " were not possible as the ac fell out of hand ! After touch down at 122 to 124 Kts during the six month period when we had " Palghat Gap " surface winds , with tail parachute and moderate breaking , if one wanted to , the aircraft could be brought to halt in about 1050 to 1100 yds . And so 1700 yds appeared more than adequate for landings even without tail-chute !
From April on wards , for the first 2 -3 months ie up to June or so the unit had a deserted sort of look with most of the airmen and officers on leave . There was not much flying for most part of the year . Almost all of the flying was carried out from September / October onwards till 31 march , most of it within the last 3 months of the finincial year . Those were also the months when personnel , men & officers , picked up the tempo of the work in the the overhaul hanger . Initially afternoon shifts were started . The working hours were then extended to sunday & hoilday as well . It peaked in the month of March when the work was done in three shifts and the aircraft was worked upon 24 hours a day ! All this was to meet the "task " of producing a given number of aircraft which was given by Air Hq / Hq Maintenance Command for the finincial year . To complete the overhaul of one aircraft was to " produce " one aircraft . However the rider was that the aircraft was not considered "produced " unless it was "airtested " . However in case of some aircraft the snags were so many or so perststant that it took days and days to clear them for aircraft to be " Serviceable " , This meant that for most of the aircraft overhauled in March there wont be time for rectification and do the number of sorties required to "clear" the aircraft . This also meant that with a large number of aircraft , at times almost 75% of the given task , being overhauled in March would not be counted towards the " task completion " as they would not be declared " S " after the air tests .. So a case was taken up with Air Hq / Hq Maintenance Command. It was argued that unless the overhaul of the aircraft was completed in all respects and air craft had become airworthy and certified fit by all the tradesmen as serviceable it can not be offerred for airtest , therefore once the aircraft was accepted for flight by the Test Pilot and had got airborne for the sortie it should be considered as having been produceed and snags during the air test should be considered as routine rectificatin work on a "produceed "aircraft ! Much to the relief and joy of every one at BRD including self , this was agreed to by the authorities .
