Meet the journalist who flies fighter planes

Jan.17: She flies fighter jets. And yes, the operative world is she. Suman Sharma, daughter of a retired Indian naval officer and journalist from New Delhi became the first Indian woman to fly the Russian MiG-35 fighter jet at the Aero India show in 2009. She has also co-piloted the top US strike fighter, the F-16IN manufactured by Lockheed Martin. And, now, 30-year-old Suman aspires to fly our own Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) which got its initial operational clearance last week.I have been contacted by two companies and I am finalising the flight. Meanwhile, I am improving my stamina and fitness and also gearing up mentally. I would love to test-fly other fighters that I haven't been able to so far, says an intrepid Suman. She says the American F-16 and Russian MiG-35 are in one category, both fourth generation fighters and both vying for the Indian MMRCA deal, but the Russian Sukhoi, which I flew in, in Russia during the MAKS-2009 air show, is a heavier, four-plus generation, advanced, stable, twin-engine aircraft, already in service in the Indian Air Force. Recalling her flying experience in fighter jets, she says it was a flight of life. After a swift take off over Yelahanka, we did a barrel roll, among other manoeuvres. But my heavenly moment came during the nose-up vertical, when I sort of connected with the other world. It was a solo, out-of-the-world experience at 20,000 feet. I had my body properly hydrated before the flight, anticipating dehydration, and kept up with my deep breathing through-out, she said. The experience in each case was unique. The F-16 is agile and more manoeuvrable. I managed 6Gs in the F-16 without blacking out, fainting or vomiting, I did 7Gs in the MiG-35, for which I've entered the Limca Book of Records. I did 5Gs in a Sukhoi, she recalls. Suman has also flown the F-16IN Super Viper manufactured by Lockheed Martin, for a distance of 90 miles in a 40-minute sortie.Suman has no doubt that the IAF has a bright future. We've come a long way from the d! ays of G nats, Dassault Mysteres and the Hawker Hunters, to MiGs, Sukhois, Jaguars and Mirages, and now with India signing up for the fifth generation, there is definitely a bright future for the Indian Air Force. The future will see the IAF get some of the world's finest technology, both indigenous and foreign, like the FGFA, Sukhois, LCA, AMCA, MTA, C-17s, C-130J, and MMRCA, she said.

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