16 microlight aircraft for NCC directorate

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 16

Flying training for National Cadet Corps (NCC) air wing cadets is set to get an impetus with the regional NCC directorate being in the process of getting 16 new microlight aircraft. This is part of the NCC’s plan to acquire about 100 Virus FW80 microlights for its air wing squadrons all over the country.

Sources said in the first phase of induction by the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh NCC Directorate, six microlights have been inducted in NCC squadrons based at Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana.

In the second phase this year, six additional microlights will be procured for squadrons based at Chandigarh, Patiala and Karnal. The third and final phase will see squadrons at Hisar and Kullu getting new aircraft in 2019.

Power flying is part of the training syllabus prescribed for the NCC for which cadets have to fulfil the necessary physical and medical standards. The induction of new aircraft had been a long-pending demand of the air units as training was affected due to the lack of spares and poor serviceability of the age-old vintage Zen microlights.

A microlight is a small twin-seater propeller aircraft that requires short runways and can operate from normal airstrips as well as flat grounds. Besides training, adventure and recreational flying, these are also used for airfield periphery survey, bird activity observation and other light duties. The body of modern microlights is made of light weight non-metallic materials.