The chief of the air staff, Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, completed his final flying sortie in an Indian Air Force aircraft on Tuesday, returning to the HJT-16 Kiran Mk-1 trainer with his first flying instructor, Wing Commander V S Kochar (retd). The 55-minute flight in aircraft U 707 took place at the Air Force Academy in Dundigal near Hyderabad, where Singh began flying more than four decades ago.
According to an IAF press release, Singh undertook his first-ever flying sortie on January 28, 1984. Tuesday’s flight reunited him with the instructor who guided his earliest lessons and brought him back to the same aircraft type in which his flying career began.
Speaking after landing, Singh described the experience as a “dream come true” and expressed gratitude to his former instructor. “I just wanted the circle to be complete,” he told reporters, recalling his initial flying training at the academy.
Singh received a water cannon salute when the aircraft landed, according to a Press Trust of India report. He had graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1984 with the Sword of Honour, awarded for outstanding performance during training.
Developed indigenously by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), the HJT-16 Kiran has trained successive generations of IAF pilots. Originally used for intermediate flying training, the Kiran Mk-1 and Mk-1A variants also undertook basic training after the HPT-32 fleet was grounded in 2009, according to the defence ministry.
The IAF began inducting Pilatus PC-7 Mk-II basic trainers in 2013, although the Kiran continued to serve in the training fleet. Its longstanding association with pilot development added significance to Singh’s return to the aircraft that marked the beginning of his flying career.
Commissioned into the fighter stream on December 21, 1984, Singh subsequently became a qualified flying instructor and experimental test pilot, accumulating more than 5,000 flying hours. His career included commanding a MiG-27 squadron, leading the MiG-29 upgrade project team in Moscow and overseeing flight testing of the indigenous Tejas light combat aircraft.
On October 12, Singh completed his final fighter sortie in a Tejas during Exercise Tarang Shakti at Jodhpur. Tuesday’s Kiran flight marked a separate milestone, concluding his flying sorties in IAF aircraft.
The IAF said the sortie highlighted the enduring bond between flying instructors and their trainees, with instructors continuing to serve as mentors throughout an aircrew member’s professional career. By returning to the Kiran alongside the instructor who guided his first flying lessons, Singh concluded more than four decades of flying in IAF aircraft, underscoring the role of training, discipline and mentorship in shaping generations of military aviators.
