MYSORE AIRPORT – LATEST NEWS AND UPDATE

In December 2005 – two years ago, I wrote about the plan that the Airport Authority of India was making, to construct a regular airport in Mysore, India, my home town. Later on in April and May 2006 I followed up this story and made critical comments on how the airport project was making sound bites of the wrong kind and how the local media wasn’t getting it right either. As promised in my blog of April 2006, I am updating the news in my new blog that I use for writing only on aviation and aviation related matters.

I am late in updating news and that has been due to a combination of the fact that the much announced and much awaited (20 years or more in the waiting!) project ran into troubles from the start and also because I could not gather any information on the progress, if there was any, of the project because I was away overseas for all this time and no news or data was available on the internet about this airport. If you the reader attempt to research this airport on the internet, you’ll just come up with links to my blog and articles I had written last year on other online aviation magazines.

Well, I’m glad that this time I made it to Mysore on a very brief trip and managed to go to the construction site to see for myself what was going on. I had met the Airport Director of the Bangalore International Airport before heading down to Mysore and had a fair idea of how things had progressed in the time I was gone and since the days of my first writing on the subject two years ago. The Director had been candid about the problems they had faced and the commitment they had for the project that kept it going nevertheless.

(The present "terminal")

Here are some pictures of the Airport, a Second World War surplus airfield, with a grass strip that was once used to fly DC-3 Aircraft and trainer Aircraft such as the Famous biplane the Tiger Moth. These pictures at least give the impression of activity going on at the Mysore Airport. What I saw while I was there seemed impressive, truck loads of material was seen arriving every five minutes, material that would be used at the site. The main runway to cater initially for ATR-72 type Aircraft (68 passengers) is being completed. This will be extended in the second phase to accommodate larger Aircraft such as the Airbus A320/Boeing B737 types. When it gets done in the first phase, it will be a great place for companies to set up light Aircraft/corporate Aircraft maintenance and a flight school and the latter seems to be an idea that may be already in the pipeline, from an undisclosed private party.

(Path from the tarmac area towards the old terminal building)

What I could see is that their first goal of laying the runway was almost over and this is to be followed up by putting in the taxi ways, tarmac area and the airport terminal building. What you see in this picture is the original old “terminal” building that used to be operational even 20 years ago when Vayudhoot (a commuter airline those days) operated a Dornier 228 to and from Mysore using the grass runway. The present estimate for completion of the project is October of 2008 and the officials are confident of meeting this deadline. I’m planning on a trip out to Mysore Airport again sometime in May/June of next year. I’ll update the news on the developments and I’ll encourage Mysoreans to keep their fingers crossed in the meantime and hope that the Airport will be opened soon; it will bring a sigh of relief to the locals.

(construction equipment working on the main runway)


Happy Holidays and Happy 2008 to all, may everything that you aspire for, come true next year. Cheers.

DUBAI AIRSHOW PICTURES

In my blog about Dubai Air Show, I had posted some pictures. Since this blog is dedicated solely to aviation, I have decided to post more pictures of the event that took place in Dubai between 11th and 14th November and happened to be the third largest air show in the World and one that is emerging as a leader in Asia, air show wise and also perhaps because this show will have a dedicated new venue in the form of the new Jebel Ali Airport coming up soon.


(Air Show Main Hall)


(ATR display model)


(Sukhoi Super Jet - an Aircraft in the 100 seat category that is being jointly developed by Sukhoi of Russia who are more known for their military Aircraft and the Italian Company Alenia who is well known as the manufacturer of the ATR Aircraft)


(Above and below are the display model of the Cirrus Jet concept Aircraft. It is designed to be a single pilot/owner pilot jet Aircraft. Cirrus is a manufacturer of the famous SR-22 single engine Aircraft that revolutionized the industry with innovative technologies including an in-built parachute system for the entire airplane)



(Above and below is the Cessna Single turbine engine utility Aircraft)



(Different aerobatic teams put up displays every afternoon during the airshow)


(Above and below-The Airbus A380 Super Jumbo made an appearance and put on some flying displays but the Aircraft was in Airbus colors, Emirates Airlines purchased 55 of these at the air show)


The air show ended as a commercial success, with the promise that the next one to be held in 2009 at the new venue will be a bigger version of the event. Watch this space!

New Post - Aviation

(Me on a P51 Mustang)

After a long hiatus, I am reviving this blog. I have been actively writing on another blog site and topics there started with aviation in the beginning and then I sort of branched it off to include travel related topics. While the going has been good and I have traveled a lot and hence can blog a lot, I and some friends connected with aviation found that I was not doing any justice to aviation. I began that blog to reflect my enthusiasm for aviation but I did not persevere with that subject. The good thing is that the travel blog (as it may now be called) has enjoyed some support from non aviation readers who would not have, perhaps, read my blog if it had been only about aviation.

(Premier 1)

When I re-read what I wrote in my first post on aviation, on this blog, last year, I am happy to note that things which I prophesied at that time still hold true and trends are continuing that way, especially what I briefly wrote about with respect to GA/Corporate Aviation. Now, this blog is going to be based entirely on aviation, news about aviation, the events happening in this field and my analysis on the happenings. I may also be forecasting things but these will be purely my assumptions and I do not encourage anyone to use the data or assumptions that I will provide, for any commercial use or base their commercial or non commercial decisions based on my forecasting or anything I write about, such responsibility will be on the reader only. In the past my writings have been used by others, a plagiarism of sorts, and while I cannot encourage that sort of copying behaviour, it still is beyond my control. I can only ask people who want to use my material, to first obtain my permission before using the same. I may not oppose using my material in other publications so long as the columnist or author obtains my permission to do so.

(Flew in a T28 courtesy my friend Chuck at Camarillo, California)

I thank everyone who have been supportive of my other blog at http://mymysore72.blogspot.com and encourage them to read about aviation on this blog from time to time and ask questions on the subject, especially about things that I write about, should the reader not understand the subject or anything associated with it. I may also cross post what I write here, on the other blog as well, especially if the subject is of interest to the readers there as well.

I will post aviation photographs that I take from time to time and may even post photos that have not been published yet on my other blog. For example, I have taken many more photos of the Dubai air show but have selectively posted them on the other blog. On this one, I'll put in more info and photos of the air show as well as other hitherto unpublished pictures. As always, please click on the pictures to view them full size. Enjoy.