Bhubaneswar: Fourteen-year-old Lembha Hansdah from Mayurbhanj district was on cloud nine when he got the chance to fly as a co-pilot with an Indian Air Force pilot.

The Class-IX student of the Rairangpur High School in Mayurbhanj, said: "I was speechless. I had never dreamt that I would fly. I saw the clouds around me and even below me. If God wishes, I will become a pilot."

The NCC cadet had come from Mayurbhanj to take part in the annual training camp.

"I was amazed to see the scenic beauty of the temple city from a height of more than 1,000 feet. The mutli-storey buildings looked like match boxes," he said.

Another tribal boy, Kama Majhi, who also got the opportunity to fly, said: "I was mesmerised seeing the radio-controlling, the take off, climb and the glide. I forgot myself for a moment."

"When the plane touched the ground again, I came back to my senses. I was in another world. I can't wait to go home and tell my mother all about it," he added.

"I even enjoyed the way my pilot, wing commander Bikash Kanungo spoke to the air traffic control to get permission before flying. I will remember this all my life," he said.

Around 50 boys have so far got the chance to fly.

Joint director (AIR) wing commander Bikash Kanungo, who was deputed by the NCC headquarters in Delhi, said: "We have been assigned with the task to let the students - the future of our nation - to get a first-hand experience of flying. We are sincerely doing our job."

"Our job is to instil a sense of confidence and help them overcome all fear. We are not only trying to instil a sense of patriotism in them but also to build them as a good human beings."

Kanungo said: "The NCC air squadron aims to bring more and more boys across the state into the NCC fold. We are committed to fulfil their long cherished dream to fly and discover themselves in the sky."