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Aero India 2007

The Aero India show this year was excellent. Sundaresh chitappa made all of the arrangements - tickets, food, vantage point for shooting etc. Articles in the newspaper mentioned that no electronic items would be allowed into the show area. However, I packed my camera gear along (sans tripod) to try my luck. At the venue the security folks x-ray scanned all bags. From what I saw nobody carrying cameras/camcorders were stopped. This was my first air show and I had no idea what to expect (from a photographing pov). I decided to carry all my lenses just incase but ended up using the 100-400mm exclusively. It was a very hot, bright day and conditions were not ideal for photography but I still got a few good shots. Locating a fast moving plane within the lens¿s field of view is pretty difficult. I managed to get the hang of it before the grand finale of the show. A number of companies showed off their state-of-the-art aircrafts. Almost all of them went through the same maneuvers - steep climbs, drops, 360 turns, stalls etc.

The IAF flew their Migs, Shukois, Tejas - the advanced jet trainer, as well as several helicopters. The highlight of the show was the performance of Surya Kiran aerobatic team. This part of the show was fantastic. The colored smoke trails added the extra touch. I managed to capture a couple of their maneuvers - Canon's continuous shot is pretty good