Decommissioned aircraft ‘Deepak’ gifted to RSC

Nagpur: HPT 32 (HAL piston trainer 32), an aircraft popularly known as 'Deepak' that was decommissioned from service, was gifted to Raman Science Centre and Planetarium (RSC) by Air Marshal Hemant Sharma, air-officer-commanding-in-chief, at a function held on Friday.

HPT-32 is an Indian prop-driven primary trainer manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

India's indigenously built HPT-32 'Deepak' by HAL was used for initial pilot training and other utility tasks. 'Deepak' was developed by HAL for the Indian Air Force (IAF) to replace the tandem two-seat HT-2 basic trainer and undertake a range of other utility roles.

'Deepak' first flew in 1981 and was delivered to IAF Training Command in 1984. Notably, many of the top IAF officers have trained on HPT-32. The prototype first flew on January 6, 1977.

Sharma interacted with a group of school students at the RSC and explained to them various parts of aircraft. He also narrated the thrills associated with working for IAF and urged the children, especially girl students, to join the force.

Sharma was given a preview of Science of Sphere (SoS), which is a state-of-the-art system of studying various planets, as also the Earth. N Ramdas Iyer, director of RSC, explained the capabilities of SoS.

Iyer talked about how science is necessary to create technology.

Iyer revealed many new facilities that have been created by the centre, one of which is TV2 turbo shaft engine of a helicopter which was dedicated by Sharma.

The centre has built an attractive display around the aircraft as well as engine, explaining the science and technology behind flying machines.

The air marshal appreciated the efforts of the centre in keeping alive the interest of children in science and technology. He promised all help and cooperation to RSC in its work.

(Reporting by Nisha Hirani)