Audience left spellbound as IAF conducts full dress rehearsal in Puri skies

After enthralling Bhubaneswar residents with its mesmerizing airshows, Suryakiran aerobatic team of Indian Air Force (IAF) on Monday conducted a full dress rehearsal of the show in Puri on Saturday. 

The nine-member team, considered among the top three nine-aircraft aerobatic formations in the world, has left audiences spellbound with its performance. 

According to sources, a fleet of nine aircrafts hovered over the Puri skies as the team conducted rehearsal on the beach behind the Puri Raj Bhawan. Nine pilots were seen flying HAWK aircraft being made in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The show continued for 25 minutes.   

Streaking through the blue skies with blazing contrails just 500 feet above the ground, the aerobatic team executed a series of loops, barrel rolls and other breathtaking aerial manoeuvres. A huge crowd gathered to enjoy the airshow to the fullest.

The administration has made elaborate arrangements to maintain law and order.   

Due to changing weather, uncertainty looms over final Suryakiran airshow which was supposed to be held tomorrow in Puri. 

Notably, the IAF team had performed the airshow at Baliyatra ground on Kuakhai river bank on Friday and it was a hit. 

‘Suryakiran’, which means ‘rays of the sun’ in Sanskrit, was raised in May 27, 1996, at the IAF air base in Bidar, Karnataka, with six Kiran MkII trainer aircraft. It carried out its first display on September 15, 1996 for the golden jubilee celebrations of the Air Force Administrative College in Coimbatore, it is learnt.