I finally join the MiG factory in HAL Nashik

The moment I set foot in Howrah station on my return to Kolkata after the interview in Nashik, I sensed something amiss. The picture on every front page of newspapers showed a West Indian batsman who was running on Red Road with his cricket bat raised in the air. It seems the previous day there was some problem in the Eden Gardens while an India West Indies test match was in progress.
In 1966, there was no cellphone and landline connections were few and far between – therefore, I did not have a chance to announce my homecoming in advance – I just had to knock on the door and say I have come.
I had very little luggage and I took a bus and while sitting in the bus, I had time to recall my interview and felt in my heart of hearts that I may not make the grade – but, I must put up a brave face in front of my parents and among my friends, especially those who were my colleagues in Moitra & Company.
I decided to keep a straight face and smile – it can be interpreted in many ways.
Anyway, within a fortnight I was a much relieved man because the offer of appointment had come by post and I now had to wait for the firm appointment letter. I was literally on cloud nine and celebrated the occasion with my friends and colleagues.
I also informed my Principal and he congratulated me.
But, the final letter was getting delayed. January came and went and February was also half way over and the final letter had still not arrived. I therefore wrote a letter to the Personnel Manager and enclosed a self-addressed and stamped envelope for a reply. I wanted to know my fate!!
Well – the reply came. It was brief and to the point. I had been selected for the next financial year and my firm appointment letter would come only after March. It actually came in the middle of April and I boarded the Howrah-Mumbai Mail via Nagpur to enter a new phase of my life. The train fare from Howrah to Nashik, a distance of nearly 1800-Km, was Rs 35 and reservation charges was just 25 paise. (to be continued …)

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I concentrate on my studies in ATTI

The professor who taught us aircraft materials was actually the younger brother of our principal and he had his subject at his fingertips. It was difficult to stump with any question on this subject and, the best part about him was that even he did not know the answer, he would never admit defeat and would make up some convincing answer.
Of course, he would remember what he had said and, at a later date, he would correct himself in a more convincing way. When it came to theory of flight, our professor was the grand old man who would come to Clive House in his tiny Morris Minor that he had brought with him from Britain. He was a good friend of our principal and both had seen service in Britain during the WWII.
Another interesting subject was the Compass Swinging – it was the setting up of a DR Compass (Direct Reading Compass) on an aircraft. We had two aircraft in Moitra & Co – one of them was a deHavilland Tiger Moth, a bi-plane. It was of wood and fabric construction. Another aircraft was a Piper L-5, it was a mono pane and was all metal construction. The activity was important because in those days, the DR Compass was a means of navigation for aircraft in the air and compass swinging was all about setting the compass so that the needle pointed in the correct direction. This was important because any error could jeopardize the flight.
Like others, I wanted to clear this hurdle of X-license in DR Compass while studying because once ne acquires any one license, he is exempt from appearing in several other subjects – he has to concentrate only on the subject of his specialization. But, unfortunately, that did not happen. (to be continued …)

Depression grips me because my future appeared bleak

Within a few days of joining ATTI and starting to go to Moitra & Co at the airport for practical classes, I began to suffer from depression. The future began to look bleak because the number of opportunities for regular employment in the profession was very restricted. From discussions it became clear that unless one had suitable contacts, one could not aspire to become a ground engineer in any major airline. The discouragement came from old hands at the game who we would meet in a makeshift tea shop outside the airport boundary. They worked in Indian Airlines and were elderly persons who still struggled to acquire an AME license. They made fun of us and explained how each of them were frustrated persons.
Looking at their plight, I began to wonder whether I had made the right choice or had made a big blunder in opting for this institute but, then, I gathered confidence when I met another gentleman who stayed in my neighborhood. He was a ground engineer in Indian Airlines and every morning the car would come to pick him up. He had worked his way up.
He and the men I met in the tea shop were two sides of the same coin.
Anyway, to boost my morale, after classes I would walk down the tarmac, peeping into the hangars where people were at work and go into the lounge of Kolkata Airport. I could see the huge aircraft of international airlines like BOAC, Lufthansa, Japan Air Lines, and KLM lined up at the far end of the runway. Most of them were Boeing-707 which had at that time been inducted into service.
After spending some time in the lounge browsing through magazines and, once in a while, purchasing a copy of some magazine, I would take a bus to Shyambazar to take in a Bengali movie just to get my mind away from unwanted thoughts. (to be continued …)

How I acquired practical experience on Tiger Moth and Piper L-5 aircraft

The theoretical classes in ATTI were held in Clive House from 9am to around 11.30am and the afternoon slot from 2pm to 5pm was reserved for practical classes in the hangars of Moitra & Co located in Kolkata Airport.
Accordingly, I with my friends would board the private bus No 91 that would go to Lauhati and get down at the airport gate near a place called Koikhali. There we would have lunch at a tiny hotel – lunch comprised of a plate of mutton curry and three chapatis with a few slices of onion thrown in as salad along with a tiny piece of lemon.
After lunch we would walk down to the hangars of Moitra & Co located nearly one mile inside the premises of the airport. There was no road as such and we would walk through fields of shoulder-high grass crossing the hangar of Airways India Ltd on the way.
Airways India Ltd was a firm that handled light aircraft and we would watch lovingly at the Cessna aircraft of private companies that would be parked on the tarmac. The aircraft would come there for servicing and maintenance. My interest in AIL was that it was one of the companies where I could acquire practical experience if my luck was good.
Once inside our hangar, I would stare at the de-Havilland Tiger Moth and Piper L-5 aircraft on which I had to study to get acquainted with various terms used in aircraft maintenance. These vintage aircraft were my stepping stones to more sophisticated aircraft like the Dakota DC-3 or Fokker Friendship F-27 or the Boeing-707.
Since our hangars were adjacent to the engine test beds of Indian Airlines, the practical classes would suffer when an engine would be mounted on the rig for endurance test. The noise of the running engine would drown all other sounds. (to be continued …)