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Sukhoi fighter pilot shares her paragliding experience

Sukhoi

She has flown Sukhoi 30 MKI with Indian Air Force. Yet! Squadron Leader Taruna Yadav says – learning paragliding with Indus paragliding was not only one of the best but THE BEST experience of her life.

I am sharing not one of the best but THE BEST experience of my life. I was fortunate to do a Basic and Intermediate course in Paragliding. I did not know the thrill of this sport until I did it. I have flown in various air-crafts…be it fighter plane Sukhoi 30 MKI at supersonic speeds or transport planes like An 32, IL 76 over Siachen glaciers or the helicopters over the hills. But my best flying experience has been the Paragliding.

The adrenaline rush you have flying over the terrain with your feet dangling in the air…no engines…no noise…no metal body around you…by channeling the winds…it’s sheer miracle.

Initial couple of sorties were challenging with a little fear factor…however later on with more expertise it became such a beautiful sport. Flying amongst the birds, above the rest of the world with no hurry and no worry… I would not want to land. The pure winds in my hair, only me and my flying gear challenging the gravity … well… that feeling is going to stay with me as my best experience!!!

Indus paragliding team especially Chief Flying Instructor Mr Sanjay Pendurkar would always be a special part of my life for introducing and teaching me this sport. The entire stay of two weeks with the Indus Paragliding team was so beautiful. It was like friends staying together and having fun every day. Someone would be juggling balls or balancing the hula hoop ring or flipping the bottles on the table… Others trying their skill at it… Some lying comfortably on the hammock reading a book in the peaceful jungle with birds chirping around. The atmosphere in the camp was always lively. It was a refreshing break.

The pace at which they taught was comfortable and instilled confidence in me that I can do it. The safety of the trainees was paramount and they ensured it. They started from scratch with carrying your own paragliding kit to ground handling and the teaching process carried on till I was made an expert in dealing with contingencies. Within a span of two weeks I was a paragliding pilot!

In fact I am so charmed by this sport and how it has been introduced to me by the Indus paragliding team that I plan to buy my own Paraglider!!!

Hope to see you soon … Thanks Indus!

t-yadav

Taruna Yadav
Squadron Leader
Indian Air Force