Sunday, February 13, 2022

Taking an aerial view of the city: Helicopter joyrides of Ahmedabad

On a Friday afternoon at the Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad, Indian Air Force (IAF) veteran and decorated pilot, Captain Nitin Welde, steps out onto a waiting arena for passengers to share his brief on the route operated by AeroTrans Services Pvt. Ltd., a provider of air charter services, from the Sabarmati Water Aerodrome.

Dressed in a white shirt—sporting epaulettes with four stripes on his shoulders—and dark-coloured pants, Captain Welde explains to passengers that the usual flight route over Sabarmati Ashram, Patang Restaurant, the Sabarmati Jail and the Narendra Modi stadium will be skipped due to the ongoing cricket matches between India and the West Indies.

“Due to the matches, there is a lot of drone activity near the stadium and the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) has stopped us from taking that route. Instead, we will fly north over the city towards Gujarat Science City. We will orbit and come back,” said Captain Welde, who has over 30 years of flying experience, including 25 years spent in the IAF from where he retired in 2016.

After exiting the passenger bay, the pilot headed out to the helipad where a brown US-manufactured Bell 407 helicopter awaited the arrival of passengers. The six-seater helicopter is part of a fleet of nine helicopters and aircraft owned by AeroTrans, a 2.5-year-old aviation company acquired by Ahmedabad-based pharmaceutical firm Hester Biosciences.

The single-engine, single-pilot helicopter can accommodate five passengers for a single joyride that costs Rs 2,360 per person, including an 18 per cent GST.The single-engine, single-pilot helicopter can accommodate five passengers for a single joyride that costs Rs 2,360 per person, including an 18 per cent GST. Armed with a Rolls Royce engine, the rotary-wing aircraft can fly at a speed of 250 kilometres per hour. For the joyride, the helicopter maintains an altitude of 500 feet and clocks a speed of 180-210 kilometres to “help passengers gauge the city better.” It can attain an altitude of 2000-2500 feet above the ground and has an air-conditioned cabin with large glass windows, providing a spectacular airborne view of the city.

Before every joyride, the helicopter undergoes a daily maintenance activity when the in-house technical and maintenance team strive to keep the helicopter airworthy. The aircraft consumes 150 litres of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) per hour and is refuelled using fuel barrels that are manually pushed onto the tarmac with a trolley.

Dhaval Thakkar and his family, the first ones to take the joyride on Friday, undergo a second round of briefing before stepping onto the tarmac painted in bright green, yellow and red. After a round of sanitisation, the passengers are briefed on the safety of the aircraft and the procedures that need to be followed while boarding.

13/02/22 Avinash Nair/Indian Express

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