23 November,2009 08:50 AM IST | | Chandran Iyer
It will be a simple sortie for President Pratibha Patil's maiden Sukhoi flight, minus the fancy aerial stunts and manoeuvers on Wednesday
President Pratibha Patil, who will be taking her maiden flight in the Indian Air Force's frontline fighter jet Sukhoi Su-30 MKI, will not be subjected to any air-formations or acrobatic manoeuvers on Nov 25.
The stunts that form an integral part of the fighter jet displays will be avoided keeping in mind the President's advancing age.
A senior IAF official said, "Though the plane will be flying at a supersonic speed, the President will not feel any different from flying in a normal aircraft."
She will be wearing a G-suit to withstand the high gravitational pressure created while travelling at supersonic speed. The G-suit helps to withstand high gravitational pressure during the flight as it prevents excessive blood from flowing to the brain.u00a0
Prez in the air
Former President APJ Abdul Kalam was the first president to have taken a historic 30-minute sortie in latest all-weather air dominance supersonic fighter on June 8, 2006. "President Patil's flight will be of a shorter duration,"said the IAF source.
"The aircraft carrying the President will be accompanied by two other aircraft. One of them will be carrying the military secretary to the President, while the other will fly the deputy military secretary in Vic formations," added the source.
"Though the President has been undergoing a fitness regime for the past three months for her maiden flight, a final fitness test will be conducted on her at the Lohegaon air base and only after that will she be airborne," added the source.
Making history
Patil, who is the supreme commander of the Indian armed forces, will make history by becoming the first woman to fly in an IAF fighter jet. She is following the footsteps of her predecessoru00a0 APJ Abdul Kalam. The air force currently has 784 women officers working in different branches, butu00a0 they are barred from the fighter stream.
