Ratan Tata co-pilots Boeing fighter at air show
By IANSThursday, February 10, 2011
BANGALORE - Tata Group chairperson Ratan Tata Thursday co-piloted the Boeing fighter F/A-18 Super Hornet at the eighth edition of the AeroIndia military-cum-civil aviation trade expo here.
“I am excited. I will fly again. Its a great aircraft, Tata, one of India’s top industrialists, told reporters after he flew in the supersonic fighter and held controls for a while during the 45-minute sortie.
The 73-year-old, who holds a commercial pilot’s license, flew the Lockheed Martin F-16 at the 2009 air show as a co-pilot.
The Super Hornet and F-16 are the two American aircraft in the race with Eurofighter Typhoon of European consortium EADS, the Dassault Rafale of France, the Saab Gripen of Sweden and the MiG-35 of Russia for an Indian Air Force (IAF) tender for 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA), estimated to cost $10.4 billion.
We are demonstrating the Super Hornet with a flying display involving aerobatics and maneouveres to showcase its potent air prowess and strike capabilities to the aerospace community and the Indian public, a company spokesperson told IANS here.
