Grp Capt Tendulkar to fly in Sukhoi from Lohegaon

Cricket legend and Indian Air Force (IAF) honorary Group Captain Sachin Tendulkar will fly the Sukhoi 30MKI sortie from the Lohegaon Air Force Station

Cricket legend and Indian Air Force (IAF) honorary Group Captain Sachin Tendulkar will fly the Sukhoi 30MKI sortie from the Lohegaon Air Force Station here,it was confirmed on Tuesday.

Sachin Tendulkar is a great cricketer and he should fly in a great aircraft like Su-30MKI. His sortie will take place once the formalities are over and it will be from Pune, said Air Marshal Anjan Kumar Gogoi,Air Officer Commanding in Chief,HQ,South Western Air Command.

There are certain norms and procedures that need to be followed before finalising the details of the flight. The process is on and the sortie will surely happen. We cant say the exact time or month.

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The Air Force had conferred the honorary rank of Indian Air Force Group Captain on Sachin Tedndulkar in September 2010 in recognition of his achievements as a cricketer.

We need Tendulkars consent to finalise the date of the sortie. He will have to spare approximately 15 days from his busy schedule for the flight, said an IAF official.

Presidents A P J Abdul Kalam in June 2006 and Pratibha Patil in November 2009 have also flown Sukhois from here earlier.