Jet set go for untrained mechanic

Dhanbad: He's only watched fighter jets on TV. The son of a garage mechanic, he failed his Class XII exams. But, he wants to make a fighter jet for the country.

Too far-fetched? You never know, because motor winder Mohammed Riyasat Ali, 24, of Dhanbad's Rajganj locality has already made a remote-controlled fighter jet model that flies 600 feet in the sky for 30 minutes.

Riyasat's model has drawn the attention of Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research (CIMFR) scientists who have invited him to display his model before institute director Pradeep Kumar Singh on Friday.

Depending on the model's viability, CIMFR will put him through National Aerospace Laboratories in Bangalore, a unit of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.

Senior principal scientist of CIMFR Ishtiaque Ahmed who also heads its HR department, said, "Based on how the presentation goes, we will try to provide a platform for Riyasat to present his idea before National Aerospace Laboratories."

Ahmed, who along with three other scientists of CIMFR, Rajendra Singh of physics and Ashok Kumar and Arun Kumar of strata mechanics, visited Riyasat's Rajganj home after getting to know through sources about the youth's capabilities, said he was amazed.

"We saw a demo of his jet aircraft. We are not the experts in aircraft technology and can't comment on the model's viability, but he certainly has an innovative mind," he added.

Asked how he was feeling before his big Friday appointment, Riyasat said he wasn't thinking too much, he just wanted to show his fighter jet model to CIMFR director Singh.

He added he developed his 973gm fighter jet model in one year at a cost of around Rs 50,000.

"I made the engine by tinkering with the motor bought from the market. I carried out some winding modifications and increased the rotation per minute from 2,200 to around 4,500. I used thermocol to frame the 4 feet long and 3 feet wide model and laminated it for further strength," Riyasat added.

How did he get all the ideas? Asked, Riyasat laughed. "I loved watching fighter jets on TV. I thought, let me try tweaking the motor to give it more power. I burnt many small motors while figuring out what works. Luckily, things turned out well."

Any soaring dreams? "Given the scope I would love to develop a fighter aircraft for India," Riyasat smiled.