Group Captain Om Kumar Chhabra was commissioned in the Indian Air Force on 7th February, 1959. He has to his credit over 7300 Hours of accident-free flying, out of which over 2500 hours have been in maritime role and over 3000 hours on instructional flying. He had the distinction of being awarded Master Green rating as a young pilot in less than six years of service on super constellation aircraft. He has, today, the distinction of being one of the few AÂÂ1 instructors in the Air Force. In addition, he holds 'A' Master Green on Dakotas, Super Constellations and HS-748 which, in the Air Force, is the highest achievement, a pilot can aspire for. Group Captain Chhabra has been commanding one of the transport squadrons since July, 1979. Since October, 1979, shortage of aviation gas of 100/130 octane began to have an adverse effect. It was therefore decided to induct HS-748 for air maintenance role. Though the serial trials on this aircraft have been carrying out since 1972, no conclusive data was available to find out the fitness of this aircraft for this purpose. The challenging task of finding out its feasibility for operations in the Eastern Sector was entrusted to Group Captain Chhabra. He carried out the trials flying in narrow valleys and difficult terrain, even in turbulent conditions. It was because of the dedication to duty and flying acumen of the officer that the worthiness of this aircraft is now being effectively utilized for air maintenance operations/role. Group Captain Om Kumar Chhabra has thus displayed high professional competence and exceptional devotion to duty. |