Golden Wings from a Silver Legacy

It is the dream of wannabe pilots in India to enter the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Academy, the best flying training institute of the nation

Inside a Socata Tobago TB 20 aircraft, at Fursatganj airfield, about 100 km from Lucknow, a trainee supervised by his instructor, completed the pre-start checks. Gull doors closed, engines started and after a brief warm up, the aircraft taxied to the threshold of Runway 09. Upon clearance from the ATC, the aircraft lined up on the runway and applied take-off power. The feel was quite different from what one may experience in an airliner. At airspeed of 80 knots, the aircraft smoothly rotated, taking wings into a beautiful morning with the sun, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, and a 25-year glorious history of the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Academy (IGRUA) behind its majestic flight into the morning sky.

Better known as IGRUA, this premier flying training institute of India celebrated its silver jubilee in September 2010. Its foundation stone was laid by the former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, who was once upon a time an airline pilot flying the Boeing 737-200s for Indian Airlines. Since then, the academy has followed the philosophy of excellence through continuous betterment, discipline and modern training infrastructure. IGRUA offers a training environment with an air of professionalism that is as good if not better, than other by flying training institutions. An exploration of IGRUA reveals so much—its fleet, maintenance, safety standards, ground training, flight training, aerodrome and training aids, instructors and finally, the trainees.

Initial Grooming

It is the dream of wannabe pilots in India to enter the best flying training institute of the nation, IGRUA. One aspirant said, “I don’t know anything about flying. But I know that it is the best and here I’ll learn all that I need to.” The process of selection is stringent with only the best being enrolled for the limited vacancies. The selection is based on an all-India written examination and a test with the help of a specialised software to verify psychomotor skills, followed by an interview. The success rate is ten per cent. Wing Commander (Retd) Sudesh Kumar, the Chief Ground Instructor (CGI) at the Academy, is assigned the onerous task of managing the selection process. Soon after the selected trainees join IGRUA, the CGI and his team of four highly experienced instructors, all retired officers from the Indian Air Force (IAF), begin a four-month ground training programme. The subjects include navigation, air regulations, aviation meteorology, aircraft technical and radio telephony.

After the theory classes are completed, the Chief Engineer and his staff conduct a week-long technical session at the Flight Operations Centre (FOC) wherein students are explained about the parts of the airplane, flight controls, instruments, systems and everything else that a pilot should know about the aircraft that he is required to fly. Thereafter, an experienced flight instructor conducts classes on the aircraft specific Airplane Flight Manual (AFM) which contains a description of the airplane and systems, airplane performance, operating limitations, and normal and emergency procedures. The students are then put through a training programme on the fixed-base simulator of either the TB-20 or the Diamond DA-40 where they get their first taste of flying without actually leaving the ground.

Trainer Aircraft

The workhorse of the IGRUA fleet years back, was the French Socata TB-20 Trinidad, from a company that supplies aero structures for the Airbus A-330 and A-340 family of aircraft. The TB-20 is a single piston engine, four seat, lowwing airplane that is high on performance and the dream of trainee pilots. The cockpit is conventional with electro-mechanical gauges that although romantic in appeal, do not hold much significance in the present world of glass cockpits, wherein a single screen may display multiple flight, navigation and system parameters. The different modes can be selected by the pilot for greater situational awareness.