Agile Surya Kiran team takes to air, shrinks gap between manoeuvres by 20 seconds

The team flies with nine Hawk Mk132 as part of the flying display

The manoeuvres in the breathtaking display by the Surya Kiran acrobatic team that has left millions spellbound across the world, has evolved over the years from a 50-second gap between manoeuvres to 30 seconds.

The team flies with nine Hawk Mk132 as part of the flying display now. After years of gap during the transition from the earlier HJT-16 Kiran Mk2 trainer jets to Hawks, the training for acrobatic display had started with one aircraft and the synchronisation with nine aircrafts came in phases after it started public display in 2015.

Gp. Capt. G.S. Dhillon, who heads the team of 12 pilots in Surya Kirans, said that the team plan for flying display is modified depending on the terrain, and team practises for about six months in a year to finetune manoeuvres. “Over the last few years, the gaps between manoeuvres have come down from about 50 seconds to 30 seconds, leaving the audience spellbound. We display between September and March during which we perform in about 30 displays across the country and the other six months we train together. For Aero India, training is quite in advance as it is a premier show.”

One of the team members, Sq. Ldr. Deepanker Garg said: “We work on the manoeuvres keeping safety as a paramount aspect and interest of the audience in mind. We do not want the audience to be bored. Because it is a jet aircraft with high speed, the manoeuvres take time and reducing the time gap between manoeuvres, we keep audience interest high.” The average aerial time for performance has been about 20 minutes, he added.

Providing interesting nuggets of the display, Gp. Capt. Dhillon said that each aircraft uses about 500 kg of fuel per display where aircrafts will be flying at a speed of about 600 km. “During the performance, when the aircraft is flying individually, pilots experience 5G to 6G and when performing together, pilots experience up to 4G,” he said.

Explaining the changes in Surya Kirans over the last two decades, Wg. Cdr. Akshay (retd), who was with the team between 2003 and 2005, said: “Slower aeroplanes meant the display was more compact. With lot of G force in high speed jet, it is physically demanding now for the pilot and the display is no longer compact.” He was among the IAF pilots who wrote papers that laid down parameters for the new team in Hawks, based on experiences with the Kirans.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it affected the training of Surya Kirans. Restrictions on crowds also took away their prized audience. “There were only fly pasts, which meant there was no display for the audience,” Gp. Capt. Dhillon said, adding that they are back to where they belong to now: captivating the audience with a combination of speed and skill.