Group Capt Sachin Tendulkar to fly Sukhoi from Pune

If all goes well, honourary Group Captain Sachin Tendulkar could fly the Sukhoi 30MKI, India’s air dominance fighter, from the Indian Air Force (IAF) base at Lohegaon, Pune, soon.

Tendulkar coincidentally appears in the 2011 IAF calendar, posing in front of a Sukhoi jet in a fighter pilot’s gear.

Tendulkar’s imminent Sukhoi flight was announced by Air Marshal Anjan Kumar Gogoi, air officer, commanding-in-chief, south western air command, in his reply to a question posed by the Pune media at the IAF Lohegaon air base on Tuesday morning. He said, “Yes, Group Captain Tendulkar could fly a Sukhoi 30MKI from Pune very soon. The papers are being processed at the Air Headquarters.”

However, he refused to give an exact date for the imminent flight. He said: “Sachin is a great role model and icon for India. We are processing his case.”
Tendulkar was bestowed with the honorary rank of group captain by Air Chief Marshal Pradeep Naik in September 2010 at a glittering ceremony at the air force auditorium in New Delhi. “I am extremely proud to be a part of IAF. I want to urge the youth to join the air force and serve the nation,” Tendulkar had said after the September function.

The last VIP to fly tandem in a Sukhoi 30MKI was president Pratibha Patil on November 25, 2009, in Pune. She had been flown by Wing Commander S Sajan, commanding officer of the

Rhino squadron of the Sukhoi 30MKIs, which is based in Pune