Remove Barriers

While a respectable level of synergy has been achieved between civil and military aviation in airspace management, there is much ground to be covered in the regime of flying training

Aviation began first in the military domain with lighter-than-air platforms such as balloons employed for observation of enemy forces in the Battle of Fleurus, France, in 1794. Subsequently, the first flight in a heavier-than-air machine in 1903 by the Wright Brothers ushered in what is known today as “civil aviation”. There is however a recent development wherein aviation history is being rewritten in Connecticut, USA. John Brown, an aviation historian, has produced photographic evidence to substantiate a claim that Gustave Whitehead flew over Connecticut in a heavier-than-air machine, in 1901, nearly two-and-a-half years before the Wright Brothers undertook their historic, 852-foot, 59-second flight at Kitty Hawk. The Connecticut Senate has cleared a bill on June 5 this year that shifts recognition for the first powered flight away from Orville and Wilbur Wright to Gustave Whitehead.

Be that as it may, heavier-than-air machines saw military application when the US Army acquired a Wright Model in 1909. This was followed by the employment of a variety of aircraft types by the Italians in military roles such as reconnaissance and bombing in the campaign against Turkey. However, military aviation got a real boost with the two World Wars that led to rapid advancement in aviation technology, significant enhancement of capability and diversification of roles. Civil aviation benefitted immensely from the technological innovations in military aviation.

Over the last 110 years, both civil and military segments of aviation have progressively evolved into two elaborate and complex entities. Even though both these entities are founded and operate on a common platform of the science of aeronautics, each has grown into a behemoth with a distinctive character of its own. But what the Indian aviation scene has been lacking rather tragically is adequate level of synergy between the military and civil segments of aviation especially in the regime of basic flying training.

Soon after the Sino-Indian conflict in 1962, the nation embarked on rapid expansion of the Indian Air Force (IAF). However, as the IAF lacked the infrastructure to cope with the sudden surge in the task for basic flying training, part of the initial flying training was outsourced to the civil flying clubs. Unfortunately, this initiative was short-lived and did not blossom into a meaningful synergetic relationship, a force-multiplier that has the potential of being mutually beneficial. Both military and civil segments once again withdrew into their respective fortifications. However, the military continued to remain a source of experienced aviation professionals for civil aviation, especially the airlines. But the lateral induction into civil aviation was largely a private effort except for sometime in the case of the national carrier Air India where there was a formal arrangement for deputation and subsequent absorption of military pilots. This practice was subsequently discontinued.

Synergy in basic flying training between civil and military institutions is not uncommon and is a practice followed in several countries. Established in 1942, the No. 43 Air School located in South Africa is one flying training institution that trains pilots from around the world for private, general, commercial and military aviation. Essentially a civil flying school, it also undertakes training of pilots for the defence forces of South Africa, Kenya, Namibia, Rwanda, Swaziland and Southern Sudan. CAE of Canada, renowned globally for civil flying training and simulation, trains military pilots as well. CAE-HAL joint venture HATSOFF, essentially a civilian helicopter training establishment set up in 2010, has now acquired a Dhruv simulator to train military pilots as well. CAE’s Oxford Aviation Academy located in the US, Europe and China, trains pilots, both for civilian and military use. Becker Helicopters, the only Australian civilian flying training outfit, offers ab initio and advanced training for military pilots that match western standards.

Since the premature grounding of the basic trainer aircraft fleet of the IAF in 2009, the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Academy (IGRUA), the premier state-owned civil flying training school located at Rai Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, has twice offered initial flying training for military pilots. However, the proposal has not found favour with the powers that be. It is true that military flying is substantially different from that in the civilian regime and has its own ethos. But as experience in other parts of the world shows, it is just a matter of restructuring patterns to suit specific needs.

While a respectable level of synergy has been achieved between civil and military aviation in airspace management, there is much ground to be covered in the regime of flying training. However, there appears to be some forward movement in this respect as the Indian Navy has decided to avail the facilities at IGRUA to train their pilots. Finally, the barriers appear to be coming down improving the prospects for better synergy between civil and military aviation.