Ratan Tata today became the first Indian civilian to fly a F-16 Falcon, when he co-piloted the US multi-role combat aircraft at the Aero India show 2007 for about 40 minutes."It was great," said a visibly tired Tata after disembarking the aircraft around 2:30 pm at the Yelahanka Air Force base on the city's outskirts. Chief test pilot Paul Hattendorf, Lockheed Martin, which manufactures the F-16 jets, flew the aircraft."The aircraft reached a speed of 1.3 mach climbing an altitude of 18,000 feet. Tata took over the aircraft controls mid-flight on several occasions," said Hattendorf complementing the 69-year-old business tycoon's flying skills. Tata holds a commercial pilot license.Joe Stout, spokesperson, Lockheed Martin said Ratan Tata has joined the elite list of VVIPs, including several businessmen and defence ministers of various countries, to fly the supersonic aircraft. "This is not at all a publicity stunt. Mr Tata is a very important personality. We wanted to show Mr Tata what a wonderful aircraft F-16 is. We are happy that he agreed to fly the aircraft," he added.Stout pointed out that Tata was well prepared to take the flight."Yesterday, he spent some time in the cockpit of the aircraft to familiarize himself. He was also given extensive pre-flight briefing. He was also given a chance to utilize the F-16 simulator deployed at the air show," he said.The F-16 (Block 50) aircraft belongs to the US Air Force's Misawa Base in Japan. The next generation F-16 (Block 60) aircraft is in the race for the Indian Air Force's plans of acquiring 126 multi-role combat aircraft.
