From Marathi Medium to Wing Commander: War Stories, Aviation Safety, and Life After Flying
A Wing Commander shares how he rose from a Marathi-medium middle-class background in Mumbai to join the National Defence Academy in 1962, describing selection standards, service preferences, eyesight and height criteria, and advanced flying training paths.
He explains choosing the transport wing to keep flying longer and later transition to commercial aviation, recounting postings near the 1965 war, operational experience in the 1971 war supplying forward army lines, and night landings with minimal lights and basic navigation aids, earning the Vayu Sena Medal in 1971. He discusses air superiority, transport bombing missions like AN-12 strikes, aircraft capability gaps in 1965 versus improvements by 1971, and peacetime vs wartime fighter routines including ORP readiness and beyond-visual-range engagements.
He covers turbulence types, crash scrutiny, black box recording, retirement rules, and his move to Athashree senior living for support, community, and revived hobbies and intellectual interests, emphasizing accident rates should be viewed by flying-hour ratios.
Chapters
00:00 Meet the Wing Commander
00:28 Early Dreams of Flying
01:32 Life at NDA
02:47 Selection Standards Explained
07:01 Advanced Training Branches
08:49 Choosing Transport Aviation
10:32 First Posting and 1965 War
12:48 Mindset in Combat
15:51 Transport Tactics and Air Dominance
19:44 1965 vs 1971 Aircraft Tech
24:26 Vayu Sena Medal and 1971 Missions
25:48 Night Landings in Blackout
28:24 Switch to Canberra Bombers
28:44 Fighter Pilot Routine and ORP
32:25 Beyond Visual Range Shots
33:10 Dogfights And Weapon Choice
35:05 Two Seat Fighters Workflow
37:57 Switching From Combat To Airlines
39:56 Turbulence Types And Avoidance
43:21 Crashes Blame And Black Box
46:11 Retirement Rules And Age Limits
47:24 Choosing Senior Living Athashree
51:11 New Friends Hobbies And Learning
56:10 Are Accidents Really Increasing
58:40 Closing Thanks And Reflections