‘Like home…’ Returning to the aircraft cockpit, Group Captain Shukla returned to duty after completing Axiom-4 mission
New Delhi. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who left an indelible mark in India’s space journey, has once again made a strong comeback in the sky by flying in an Air Force aircraft. Just a few months after completing the historic Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS), he has rejoined the Air Force. After the historic space flight, Group Captain Shukla once again flew with the Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team of the Air Force during a practice mission in Bidar on Tuesday.
It is being seen as a rare and spontaneous return to high-performance military aviation activities directly from space. “It feels really good to be back in the cockpit,” he wrote in a post on social media platform
He wrote, “After a life spent in the cockpit, returning to it feels not like a journey but like a homecoming. And if there is a way to return, there can be nothing better than flying with the messenger of the Indian Air Force – the Sun Rays.” Air Force pilot Shukla also shared a video showing his time spent in the cockpit. Based on the peppy title song of the new film ‘Dhurandhar’, the video included stills and flying sequences.
The video, titled ‘Training with the Surya Kiran Team’, carried the message, “This is what my flight training looked like. Astronaut training doesn’t start in space—it starts in the cockpit. Flight training is a core part of astronaut preparation and is essential for space travel.”
The Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team of the Indian Air Force is the only aerobatic team in Asia with a nine-aircraft formation. Group Captain Shukla, who was commissioned in the Indian Air Force in 2006, has about 2,000 hours of flying experience. He has operated aircraft like MiG-21, MiG-29, Sukhoi-30, Dornier and Hawk. Recently he has also been named ‘Man of the Year’ by The Week magazine.
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