NEW DELHI: In a first for the Republic Day parade, the Air Force on Saturday fly an An-32 aircraft in an arrangement whose lead plane used a mix of traditional and Biofuel. The An-32 formation also showed India's quest to seek alternative sources of fuel.
The lead airplane of the arrangement was flown using aviation turbine fuel blend with 10 percent Biofuel, a senior Air Force officer said. The Biofuel has been extracted from Jatropha plant seed using a technology untested by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun, the Air Force said.
In a significant move, the use of home-based Biofuel for military aircraft has been unfurnished after months of comprehensive ground and flight trials, officials said on Thursday.
The Air Force is predictable to use Biofuel for its transport fleet and helicopters following the authorization given by the Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification.
The "Vic" arrangement is devised for martial aircraft and comprises three or sometimes more aircraft flying in close arrangement with the leader at the apex and the rest of the flight en stratum to left and right, the whole resembling the letter "V".
A host of the country's air defense capability was showcased during the Republic Day celebrations. This formation follows the main fly-past which left the crowd at the formal boulevard spellbound.
The end of the parade was marked by a single Sukhoi-30 MKI performing the signature "vertical Charlie" in the air.
