Sagar Pawan () was an
aerobatics
Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aeroplane" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and gl ...
demonstration team of the
Indian Navy
The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...
's
aviation arm. The team was formed as a part of
squadron 551
__NOTOC__
Year 551 ( DLI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 551 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for ...
in 2003. While in operation, it was one of the only two naval aerobatic teams in the world along with the
Blue Angels
The Blue Angels, formally named the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, are a Aerobatics, flight demonstration squadron of the United States Navy.. Blue Angels official site. Formed in 1946, the unit is the second oldest formal aerobatics ...
of the
US Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
.
The team used four modified
Hindustan Aeronautics HJT-16 Kiran trainer aircraft
A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristic ...
, painted in dark blue and white
colour scheme. The team was based out of
INS Hansa in
Dabolim,
Goa and had performed across India on various occasions such as the Navy Day celebrations. In late 2010, the team was disbanded due to the shortage of Kiran training aircraft.
History
The Sagar Pawan team was established as a part of the
Indian Naval Air Arm squadron 551
__NOTOC__
Year 551 ( DLI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 551 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for ...
in 2003.
While in operation, it was one of the two naval aerobatic teams in the world part from the
Blue Angels
The Blue Angels, formally named the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, are a Aerobatics, flight demonstration squadron of the United States Navy.. Blue Angels official site. Formed in 1946, the unit is the second oldest formal aerobatics ...
of the
US Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
.
It operated a fleet of
HAL HJT-16 Kiran aircraft, painted in dark blue and white colour scheme. The team was based out
INS Hansa at
Dabolim,
Goa.
The team performs using four aircraft and the aircraft are modified to generate colored smoke for displays. The team had performed across various venues in India and on occasions such as the Navy Day celebrations.
In late 2010, the team was disbanded due to the shortage Kiran training aircraft. Commander of the squadron Thiagarajan said that the team would resume the aerobatic displays once the training schedule relaxed and that new
BAE Systems Hawk aircraft would be inducted by 2013-14.
Incidents
On 3 March 2010, a HJT-16 Kiran aircraft of the team crashed in
Hyderabad
Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...
while performing in an airshow.
Commander Suresh Kumar Maurya and Lt Commander Rahul Nair were killed in the crash.
See also
*
Surya Kiran
*
Sarang
References
External links
Video of Sagar Pawan performing in MumbaiImage of the team performing
{{Modern aerobatic teams
Aerobatic teams
Indian naval aviation