Lamba’s long haul — Freedom Flight completes mission

Looking fit and confident, Lamba seemed ever-ready to scale new heights. “Flying a big machine is no adventure, it should be challenging and risky”, said Lamba. Quite evident for a man who has flown the most sophisticated fighter air crafts like Mirage 2000, MIG 29 and Jaguars, flying a 40-year old aircraft with obsolete systems needs a lot of courage and experience to confront the unpredictable weather.

“This aircraft is 40-years old and one of the first produced indigenously in the country at the Hindustan Aeronautics limited (HAL). I wanted to pay homage to the aircraft and the HAL,”and added that what better occasion than this when we are celebrating the 50 years of independence.

Sharing his experience of flying from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, Lamba said it was an unforgettable experience. But for the plane having no support systems a lot of risk was involved, particularly while crossing the Banihal Pass.A recipient of the Vir Chakra, Lamba has also been associated with the transport fleet of the IAF.

Lamba started his freedom flight from Bangalore, where he has settled after retirement. The Pushpak first flew to Thiruvananthapuram, and then to Cochin. The next destination was Hyderabad followed by Bhopal and then Delhi. Before reaching its final destination it made a short halt at Chandigarh for minor checks and repair and touched down at Jammu.

Speaking at the Jammu airport, the former Air Vice Marshal said, “It is the thrill associated with flying that gives me the motivation to be up there in the sky. It is really an heavenly experience.”