KOCHI: It was a dream-come-true for the cadets of the NCC Air Wing of TD High School, Mattancherry, when they soared to new heights in the blue sky, during their training programme at the Garuda Naval Air Command, Kochi, the other day. The ten cadets from the ninth standard of the school with their officer Dinesh N. Pai, had an exciting experience while flying a microlight aircraft. Wing Commander Ganesh Narayan, the Commanding Officer of the 3 Kerala Air SQN NCC, led the training session. The cadets were excited at the very sight of their school and even their houses from a height of about 1,000 feet. “It was a very thrilling experience,” said an ecstatic cadet flight sergeant Utham Kumar Pai of Standard IX.
“At first I was a little scared, but when Ganesh saab encouraged me to hold the control stick, I felt motivated. He asked me to turn the plane right and left. I could locate my house from the sky,” cadet Suneethi. S. Shenoy could not hide her enthusiasm. “It was unbelievable. I have never been on a flight before. I instantly posted the photograph of my flight on Facebook,” said another cadet Deepak. D. Prabhu. “We were asked to report at 5.30 am after having a light breakfast. But we reached without having it and our officers provided us with light refreshments saying we cannot fly without having food,” said cadet Vishnu G Prabhu.
“It is awe inspiring. I had some other ambitions in my life. Now my only ambition is to become a pilot”, cadet Athira. S revealed her mind. What Sanil Kumar noticed were the signs used by the ground staff to control the flight. Aiswarya. S dared to look down and was fascinated at the sight of Vallarpadom container terminal, south railway station and other places which appeared before her like working models. Dinesh. N. Pai, their teacher and NCC Air Wing officer, said that it was for the second time that cadets were given training on a flight.
