Buy a plane without shelling out crores, Fly a plane without a licence

Soma Das finds out why a bunch of Mumbaikars, including kids and adults, head to Virar every weekend to watch their dream take flight

Soma Das finds out why a bunch of Mumbaikars, including kids and adults, head to Virar every weekend to watch their dream take flight

Twenty seven year-old Jim Desai, a Mumbai-based entrepreneur, flies with his feet firmly on the ground.

The venue is Mahalaxmi Race Course. The time, Saturday mornings. The adrenaline rush is addictiveu00a0 enough for him to get engrossed, often skipping meals because he's too caught up flying a helicopter. Desai's copter is just 2-feet long, like with most aeromodelling fans.

Set up in 2002, the club has more than a hundred members from all over India, most of them students and entrepreneurs. "When I got interested two decades ago, I had to teach myself through trial-and-error. I learnt from numerous crashes," he laughs. His passion was so infectious, he got his whole family involved.

"What makes this craft interesting is that you never know enough. There's always scope to learn more, something new to pick up with regard to design or technique of flying," says Kiran, who looks after maintenance and design at the club, and teaches aeromodelling at IIT.

Beginners usually get a hang of the basics by flipping through Almost Ready to Fly kits (ARF) that are available at the club, and sold at retail stores (see box). Most basic models come with instructions on assembling. Verma says while some models can be assembled in a few hours, others can take up to a month to make. The cost varies from a couple of thousands to lakhs. The models are crafted from balsa wood, fiberglass, plastic, foam, fibre and cloth. The club sells helicopters and aircrafts too.

Kiran Verma has designed some MABs (Micro Air Vehicles) where a camera can be attached to the craft to receive images of inaccessible areas, making it useful for surveillance during army operations, even terror attacks.

AT: Verma Group, Vartak Road, Virar (W).

log on to: www.iacvirar.com

Call:u00a0 9822395039

Cost: Annual membership fee: Rs 500 (inclusive of equipment).

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