The year-end special issue studded with excerpts of important writeups of the previous issues and a sprawling photo gallery are there to provide a matchless recipe for nostalgic delight

As the penultimate year of the first decade of the ‘New Millennium’ draws to a close, we at SP’s Aviation have chosen to go into a rewind and recapture the major happenings of the eventful 2009 in a ‘Year-End Special’ for our esteemed readers. To maintain continuity, it is always helpful to take a backward glance, reflect, consolidate and then step into the future. India Inc weathered the global storm leading to economic meltdown and remained steadfast in continuing to write its economic growth story. Keeping pace with its growing regional and global responsibilities, the country has also launched itself on the path of meaningful modernisation of its armed forces and military and civil aviation sectors. Not surprisingly, in spite of a worldwide economic downturn, a whopping 303 companies from abroad along with 289 from India converged at Air Force Station, Yelhanka, Bangaluru in mid-February for Aero India 2009, eyeing a chunk of the $30 billion (Rs 1,50,000 crore) pie on offer from the Indian government in the short term alone, in return for military aircraft and other defence and civil aviation related equipment. It is little wonder that the biennial event continues to grow from strength to strength with each showing.

On the Indian Air Force (IAF) front too, continuity remained the ‘mantra’ when on May 31 Vayu Bhawan in Delhi witnessed the smooth transition of power with Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Chief Marshal F.H. Major handing over the baton to his successor and Vice Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal P.V. Naik. The momentous occasion came soon after yet another commemorative event: induction of the first of three Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) into the IAF on May 28. A vigilant eye and ear in the sky, the IAF AWACS has been going through extensive operational paces and was showcased to the public for the first time at the Air Force Day ‘Fly Past’, on October 8 at Air Force Station, Hindan.

Earlier, on April 1, President Pratibha Devisingh Patil formally inducted the specially configured Boeing Business Jet into the IAF’s Communication Squadron before boarding the aircraft on its maiden VVIP flight. Literally armed to the teeth with electronic sensors and passive/active counter-measures, the aircraft not only provides a comfortable office in the sky, but also a safe aerial platform for the use of the national leadership.

Patil wrote another chapter in the IAF’s history on November 25, when she became the first woman President in the world to fly a combat fighter jet. Clad in a ‘g-suit’, the President presented a picture of poise as she climbed into the rear cockpit of a Su-30 MKI at the IAF’s Lohegaon airbase near Pune. After the 30-minute sortie she enthused, “There was no apprehension, but there was excitement... I was, right from the beginning, very confident”.

The aforesaid is just the proverbial ‘tip of the iceberg’. The Special Issue carries excerpts of many major articles and narratives of important events which studded the previous eleven ‘2009’ issues of SP’s Aviation. These and a sprawling photo gallery are bound to provide a matchless recipe for a nostalgic delight. Enjoy.

Season’s Greetings and a ‘Very Happy New Year’.