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Flying colours in the skies
By Ruwanthi Herat Gunaratne
It was a display that would have made Orville and Wilbur Wright proud.
Last Wednesday, saw a stunning exhibition and air display in the blue skies above the Sri Lanka Air Force base and Colombo Airport in Ratmalana. Celebrating 100 years of aviation, the air show was organized by the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Air Force, SriLankan Airlines, flying schools and domestic airlines.

It was on December 17, 1903 that the Wright brothers Orville and Wilbur made that historic maiden flight, lasting 12 seconds just 120 feet above ground. Barely eight years after, Ceylon had its first airplane when Cohn Brown imported a Bleriot monoplane to the island. Named after the famous French aviator Louise Bleriot, the plane was brought to Ceylon by sea.

At the Ratmalana airport last Wednesday, it was a scene to gladden any flight enthusiast's heart. The crowd, streaming in from 7:30 in the morning had happily settled in close to the runway. The exhibition which had both the civil and military wings had their eyes riveted to the skies. Model airplanes flew whenever real life airplanes didn't. Every single child proudly sported some paper aircraft or the other upon his/her head.

At 11.30 a.m., the civil aircraft took the airport by storm. A flyover organized by the Civil Aviation Authority, showcased the country's wealth in civil aviation. Flying low over the airfield were a Cessna 152, a Beachcraft Baron, an Avro and an A 330.
"Orville and Wilbur Wright wanted to go up," smiled Duncan Jayawardene, the personal assistant to the Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority. "So we decided to grant 27 children that very opportunity!" With the help of domestic air travel operators, the delighted children were afforded a bird's eye view of their schools and villages.

Situated in an inconspicuous corner of the airfield was Viraj Fernando's stall. Viraj himself was not difficult to locate, for alongside the runway he was flying his rubber band-powered gliders, made of paper, thin wire and of course, rubber bands.

"I obtained my private pilot's licence for the sheer joy of flying, and then went on to making model planes," says this aircraft enthusiast who now runs his own company, Aeromodels. Established in 1992, Viraj's company also built remote controlled small flying machines, "but we no longer produce them as their use is banned".

The Air Force exhibition was a special treat. The Air Force Museum, which usually allows entry only to schoolchildren was open to all free of charge and there was the added attraction of a number of other aircraft currently in operation being on display.
The Air Force fly-past which took place in the evening saw a K8 enthralling everyone with its acrobatics.

"These acrobatics are a very important part of a pilot's training," said Air Vice Marshal L. Salgado, Chief of Staff of the Air Force. "They help the pilots when they go into combat especially in dog fight situations where they have to avoid enemy fire."

The helicopters were represented by the Air Force's premier attack helicopter the M 24, which first whizzed past the runway sideways before twisting vertically to gain height and then setting off a fireworks display. Suddenly, out of nowhere, sky divers gently floated down from a height of 10,000 feet. "They freefall up to 300 feet and it is only then that the parachutes are opened," explained Air Vice Marshal Lal Perera, Director Aeronautical Engineering of the Air Force.

The most fitting tribute to the forefathers of aviation came from two Air Force officers who had built a single seater aeroplane as a hobby. The plans for this aircraft had been on the drawing bboards since January 2001. "One day Squadron Leader Nihal Jayasinghe and I decided to put our heads together to build a plane," smiled Squadron Leader V. C. Senaratne. Wasn't that rather ambitious?

"Well, I am an engineering officer and Nihal is an experienced pilot, so it was the perfect combination." Once the Air Force got wind of their venture, they too came forward to assist. And with the help of a number of other officers and airmen their vision became a reality. The "Centura X" was part of the Air Force fly-past at the exhibition.

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