Aero Sports - Plane Fun on the Beach

December 7, 2008. Six in the morning. The police station at Malpe beach, the most unlikely place from where man could be expected to rise into the air, had two rather unusual but exuberant visitors: Wing Commander (Retd) David de Figueiredo and Dr B.R. Pai, who was till 2004 Flying Director at Bangalore-based National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) spanning two years.

As the orange-yellow sun rose majestically above the coconut trees, and the tides started receding into the Arabian Sea, little did the people on the beach, save for a handful, suspect what was to unfold very soon. The presence of a white Tata Sumo belonging to NAL, with something folded on top, and a small skeleton auto-rickshaw being pulled behind, all the way from the police station located 500 meter away, where it was kept in safe custody, did not draw any attention whatsoever. But that was to change very soon.

On the white soft sand, the Clipper trike, registered VTGFT and belonging to NAL, came to life. As the engine revved up, the wing was getting its shape. Before long, the structure—consisting of a fuel tank, an engine, a propeller, two seats, three wheels and a few yellow bars—was attached to the hang-gliding wing. The trike was ready, as a complete unit. Everyone on the beach, with the exception of few who went about their usual businesses of the day, was drawn to the spectacle of a complete aircraft on the beach, ready for take off. Many of them had for the first time seen an aircraft on the beach. For most, it was the first aircraft they had seen in their life.

Malpe is a beach on the western coast of India, south of Goa, in Udupi district. As one moves towards the water, the beach changes colour smoothly from dazzling white to dark brown. One rule defines the sand: The browner, the firmer; the whiter, the softer—and it was on the brownish part of the beach, very close to the gentle greeting waves of the Arabian Sea, that Dr Pai stepped on the throttle of the aircraft. With the typical drone of an aero-engine and the tearing sound of the propeller wing tips rotating at about 6,000 rpm, the trike moved forward rapidly. About 400 ft on, it was airborne, with every eye on the beach trained on the yellow and white object that no longer belonged to terra firma.

David took the controls when the Flying Director landed the trike safely on the beach. Executing two go-arounds, David got a good feel of the aircraft and the wind conditions, and after being satisfied, like a fine professional, he landed. With that, Aerofest 2008 had unofficially taken off.

Enter the Red Baron
December 20, 2008 saw a small flurry of activity on the beach. Visitors, tourists and others were being packed off by the police. Some grumbled that their planned outing had been ruined by an event that had practically attracted no publicity. Malpe police were rope barricading the area as Dr Pai and his NAL team began bringing the Clipper to life, again. This time, however, they all sported Aerofest Ts.

Blue skies with patches of wispy white clouds hung over a pleasing vista of green coconut trees and white sands, ruffled by a cool breeze. Vinay Nadig of Mysore Aerosports was at the beach, with an ICOM VHF RT in his hand, ready to welcome the first aircraft. She’s here!—and so she was. Against the brilliant blue background stood out a red X-Air F, letting out the welcome roar all ears had been cocked for. Manoeuvred by pilots Vinita and Roopa, the Red Baron made a touch and go at the beach. Soon thereafter, it landed, with a noticeable bounce. Engine was cut, and the Baron pushed onto the whiter and softer part of the beach.

Following in the X-air Red Baron’s wake were the cruisers from the Indian Navy. Two trikes, one painted red and the other yellow, surveyed the beach before touching down. The yellow, flown by K.S. Yadav Porci with Lt Cdr Srinivas Tata sitting behind, landed first. On the beach, eyes followed the yellow silent machine before shifting to the landing red cruiser, flown by Cdr Sandeep Naik with Cdr Praveen Bhaik sitting behind.

As both the trikes were pushed to their parking slots on the beach, the Malpe police had their hands full controlling the surging crowd. Dr Pai was joined by the Director of MIT, Manipal, Dr S.S. Pabla, the Director of NAL, Dr A.R. Upadhya, and the Director of NITK, Dr S. Sancheti to address the crowd in turns. But even as the throng swarmed to the southern side of the beach, a bunch of inquisitive onlookers was having all the fun in the northern corner while they marvelled at the cockpits of the strange aircraft.

Ten kilometers away, at Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal, a bizarre sight was unravelling. Two seemingly crazed figures in maroon overalls, holding aloft huge fans that resembled the archaic contraptions seen at few wedding halls, sprinted along the ground for a few meters before an inflatable wing started rising into the air. Before long, the two personnel of the Parachute Regiment Training Centre, Bangalore, of the Indian Army were airborne. Circling the field once, they set out towards Malpe.

At Malpe, the silence that followed the landing of the cruisers was shattered by the paramotors. As all heads craned their way, the wings zoomed in, more than enthusiastically, swooping around the beach a number of times before settling down next to the crowd. A Hansa that had taken off from Mangalore flew past the beach twice. An American registered Long-EZ did the same—but not without some aerobatic feats. Undoubtedly, it was the fastest of the lot, and its non-conventional design and performance wowed the crowd with its speed and a loop. A red bubble canopied CH-601, and two high winged CH-701s, with fixed slots/slats executed a low fly-pass on the beach. Another shiny blue nosed CH-701 landed on the beach, its wide tires being perfect for that kind of a surface.