EVERYTHING JEH LOVED
JRD Tata, the father of Indian aviation, had flown a De Havilland Puss Moth carrying air mails from Karanchi to Bombay (now Mumbai) on October 15, 1932, thus scripting history.
Apart from the De Havilland Puss Moth, a Leopard Moth - both monoplanes with a fixed wing aircraft - was part of the air fleet, which came to be known as Tata Air Service and later Tata Airlines.
On July 29, 1946, exactly 70 years ago from today, Tata Airlines became a public sector company, today known as Air India.
Children from across Jamshedpur schools had their wow moment when they came to know these interesting facts about JRD, who is popularly known as the first licensed commercial pilot apart from being the chairman of Tata Group, on his 112th birth anniversary.
The young lot also heard about De Havilland Puss Moths for the first time and how a helicopter can be flown with remote control, all thanks to Tata Steel's aviation department, which like every year, paid homage to the doyen of Indian industry by organising a static display of aircraft and aero-modelling for Jamshedpureans at Sonari aerodrome on Friday.
Jolly Sunil, wife of Sunil Bhaskaran, vice-president (corporate services) of Tata Steel, inaugurated the exhibition.
Jamshedpur Aeromodelling Club displayed a static Puss Moth plane to give visitors an idea about the kind of aircraft JRD flew from Karachi to Mumbai.
"This is a static model. It's like a skeleton that forms the base of any aircraft with just variations in design. We have kept this model because it is a monoplane with single-fixed wings, one of the early designs," said Ashutosh Panigrahi, a member of Jamshedpur Aeromodelling Club and also Tata Steel executive.
Members of Calcutta Aeromodelling Club showcased a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) plane, made out of high density thermocol, which can fly like an airplane, and a helicopter with a maximum height of 1,000 metres.
"Both the clubs have displayed around 30 models, out of which, we flew about five. Usually, these models are made of Balsa wood or high-density thermocol. We also flew the Raptor 30, a helicopter which runs on methanol," said Ashok Mitra, a member of Calcutta Aeromodelling Club who visited the city with his four-member team.
Young visitors like Manish Maharana, Kamla Karmakar and Abhishek Dhibar, all students of Utkramit Prathamik Vidyalaya, Sonari, and their counterparts from other Jamshedpur schools like Kerala Samajam Model School and Jusco School, Kadma, were spellbound.
" Humne kabhi aeroplane itne saamne se nahi dekha tha. Yahan bada aur chhota plane bhi hain (We have never seen aeroplane up so close. There are big and small ones)," said a mesmerised Manish.
Asked whether he would want to fly it, he said, " Plane mein chadhne ke liye padhna padta hai. Jab bade honge toh chadhenge (One has to study to fly in an aeroplane. I will when I grow up)," he smiled.
The static aircraft display showcased Pilatus PC12 and Super King B200GT and other aircraft. Mobile phones went click, click as everyone wanted to take selfies in front of the airplanes.
