Tells Hadapsar staff gliding will go on The heliport proposed at the Hadapsar Gliding Centre would not disrupt gliding activity,Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) E K Bharat Bhushan on Saturday dispelling fears that gliding activities will come to a stop. He was replying to a query from the Express on fears of some gliding centre staff that the sporting activity at the centre would come to a standstill once the proposed training academy of national helicopter company Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited (PHHL) comes into existence. I can assure you that gliding activity at the centre will continue even after the PHHL training institute comes up at the location, said Bhushan. The PHHL,a PSU,has proposed a training institute,a heliport and a Maintenance Repair Operations (MRO) wing at the site. The Hadapsar Gliding Centre,a brainchild of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru,is one of the few operational gliding centres in the country. The staff members at the gliding centre have been pointing out that gliding activity at the centre will die once helicopters share the airspace with gliders. History shows that all locations where gliding was being carried out adjacent to the airfield of powered aircraft,subsequently ended winding up gliding activities. Out of the 16 gliding centres we had in the country many have wound up,Hadapsar gliding centre being one of those existing ., said one of the members of the Hadapsar Gliding Centre. Another gliding centre in the state is at Nashik,said the member. Spread over 230 acres on prime location in a bustling suburb,the land has been eyed by many a developer with a tag of about Rs 1,000 crore attached to the property. With a staff of 25 including an officiating head,who is the only gazetted officer of the club,the gliding centre carries out about 3,000 flights a year,the majority of them on Sundays when the club is open to enthusiasts from the city. Apprehensive of the entry of PHHL,the staff have been referring to General Rules and Procedures of the DGCA,clause 12.2 of which says,Glider flying will not normally take place when powered flying is in progress and in any case will not take place at aerodromes when local training flights of powered aircraft are in progress. Bhushan replied,As DG,I have the power to alter rules. We are planning to post an officer from DGCA Mumbai who would be the overseeing authority of the gliding centre and the person can be expected to be deployed any day. We are spending about Rs 60-80 lakh per year on the gliding centre and had asked the gliding centre staff to prepare a revenue model so that we could subsidize the hobby,but they have sent us one which is grossly inadequate.
