People throng old airport as Tejas lands in Bhopal

BHOPAL: Scores of people thronged Bhopal's old airport as India's first indigenous light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas landed there on Wednesday afternoon, though only a select few got the opportunity to catch a glimpse of it closely.
Incidentally, the city's old airport has been termed as one of the most suitable domestic airports in the country for landing light combat aircraft Tejas.Group captain and pilot, SK Anand, who belongs to Bhopal, reached the state capital with the fighter aircraft and took off for Pathankot in the evening.
The fighter aircraft took off from Bangalore in the morning and reached Bhopal after one and a half hour journey.
Talking to media, Anand said, "It was a fantastic journey. It was a good experience to come to Bhopal." His family members also reached the airport to meet him. Vijay Patel, technical team head, accompanied him.For past one month, preparations were on for landing of Tejas at the old airport.
When contacted, airport director Akashdeep Mathur said, "I cannot comment much on this. The crew was completely satisfied with the airport and other logistic support provided to them."
Sources said the old airport was chosen deliberately to land the fighter plane owing to the absence of traffic. After the construction of Raja Bhoj Airport, the old airport was shut down for domestic services.Wing commander Rajiv Joshi, the other team member, said: "Tejas can carry air-to-air and air-to-surface weapons. The new squadron will get a total of 18 aircrafts including four trainers by 2018."
Tejas jets, developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), are said to be the smallest and lightest supersonic fighter aircraft of their class.