Rakesh Sharma escapes gravity once again

India's only cosmonaut, Wing Commander (Retd) Rakesh Sharma addresses journalists before flying Boeing's FA/18 Super Hornet on Friday.Picture copyright R.Sengupta/sify.com.

Bangalore: Twenty-five years after his tryst with fame, India's only cosmonaut to fly in space, Wing Commander (Retd) Rakesh Sharma, was in the limelight once again when he flew in Boeing-made FA-18 Super Homet at Asia's premier airshow, the Aero India 2009, in Bangalore on Friday.

Sharma, who was 35 when he embarked on the space journey in 1984, said, "It was exciting to get back to what I like most -- escaping gravity."

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He had a nearly one hour sortie as a part of the programme by Boeing, which had bid for the IAF medium multi-role combat aircraft deal.

Dressed in the pilot overalls, the squadron leader looked completely at ease as he took off in the aircraft with US co-pilot Hanmann.

Sharma, who did some manoeuvres, including some rolls and tumbles and loops, said it still felt good when coming back to earth.

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Sharma, who was a test pilot with the Indian Air Force, has also flown the MiG 27, the Jaguar, the Mirage 2000 and Lockheed Martin's F-16.

His flight on the Super Hornet comes close on the heels of Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra who flew F-16 on Thursday.

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