The team was formed in October 2003 and their first public performance was at the Asian Aerospace Show, Singapore in 2004. The team also performed at the Farnborough and Aero India air shows. The team performed at the 76th Anniversary of Indian Air Force in Hindon Air Base on 8th Oct 2008.
For the Pilots of the Sarang team getting the 5.5 tonne metallic to dance in the air to the tunes of Mozart is as difficult like guiding a bullet train. These pilots make their show look very simple but the amount of planning which goes into each move and maneuvers is clock worked to precision before every show.This they have learned after the February 2007 accident during a practice session for the Aero India show at Yelahanka in 2007 which claimed the team of its co-pilot Squadron Leader Priye Sharma, and the pilot Wing Commander V Jetely who received serious head injuries.
The Sarang team is like the whirring birds and promise to be as graceful as the peacock in their moves. The sides of the helicopter too are painted with the image of a peacock with the feathers contrasting the gold and red body of the chopper.The chopper team is known for their awesome Sarang Splits, the crossovers, nosedives, reverse moves and different forms of tandem formation flying.
'Of course, jets have a natural grace which is difficult to emulate,'admits the modest Ravuri Sheetal, who at present is a member of the Sarang team. 'Helicopters are largely unstable machines,' and here lies the challenge.The choppers are the Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH), produced indigenously by the Bangalore-based Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. Sarang's symphony in the air is a statement of the capabilities of this twin-engine multi-role craft that can easily take to heliborne assault in times of war and switch to air ambulance for casualty evacuations.
Another member of the team K S Kakade compares Sarang's moves to ballroom dancing! 'Each must know his steps or you step on someone's toes!' The power of the main and tail rotors as well as that of the twin-engine is what gives them the power to maneuver the way they do. 'The ALH has hinge-less fiber rotors. If you try these aerobatic tricks with regular helicopters, it won't work,' he explains.No special modifications have been made to the ALH for the display team, except the addition of a smoke generation system that leaves smoke trails in the sky for the crowds to gasp over.
It is the only chopper in the country with the capability to fly backward. "No helicopter wants to fly backward. There is always a resistance and refusal from the machine," says another team member Rohan Gupta and adds in lighter vein: "It's more difficult reversing a helicopter than a car, because we don't have rear-view mirrors!"The team is also in charge of monitoring the ALH project, under the IAF's Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE). Most of the Sarang pilots are former Siachen pilots who have been flying in and around the high-altitude and arduous areas of Leh. "Asking us which is more challenging — Siachen or Sarang — is like asking which is the better of our children. Each demands a different kind of perfection."
The Bangalore-based team puts in up to 10 practice sessions every week, flying down to Kolar's Defense Air Field at 7.30 a.m. and keeping at it well into 2.30 p.m. Every session is recorded on video and the performance dissected later with the team.The strength of the team lies in its insistence on sticking to a strict standard of criticism! Sometimes, even if a member says a problem was minor and let it pass, the others would say it's not OK, and keep giving feedback.
Watching the Sarang perform, during certain maneuvers, one gets a bit bothered that the rotor blades of two choppers will grate into each other! They instead actually maintain a distance of around 13 meters from each other. It's only the audience perspective that gives the formation a tight appearance.Right now, Sarang dances in the air to the tune of Mozart's 40th Symphony, but may switch to Hindustani music later.
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