Flights of fancy

Imagine cruising in an armchair in the sky with the concurrent delights of traveling at the desired height, at a select pace, for a chosen duration. This is not a fairytale mode of transport but Dr Beheramshah Maz­-da’s weekend leisure pursuit. As the Dahanu gener­al practitioner likes to relate to the Press, "In the mornings I’m a doctor, in the afternoons a farmer (supervizing his chikoo orchards) and on weekends I’m a flier.”

The thrills of flying a powered hang glider (also re­ferred to as trike because of its three-wheel base) where he is in constant touch with the ele­ments — the simulated cockpit has no surrounding body — are quite differ­ent from a two-seater fixed wing airplane which he finds as inane as "sitting on a sofa.” The self taught 45-year-old pilot originally started with a single-seater which is "much easier to fly.” Keen to "let others share the same experience,” he progressed to an indigenous twin seater, among the privileged half a dozen in India owning such a trike.

Mazda’s navigational skills require him to control the wing (or glider) and the trike with an engine and propellor in the rear. "The ultralight which is a flimsy little contraption was clearly not designed for flying. It is a tricycle with a hang glider’s cloth wings and a propelled motor fixed to the back of the seat. A children’s park would be a safe place in which to play with this toy,” commented the Afternoon Despatch and Courier of December 19, 2003. As explained in the Sunday Mid Day of April 24, 1994, "The propellor at the rear is meant only to give the ultralight a thrust. The wing then creates a lift and once in the air it works on the principle of weight-shift.”

Mazda (left and above): holds onto his A-frame to control the trike

The elevation and surge that Mazda derives from his ultra­light is unparalleled: At 7.30 on a Saturday morning in May the Dahanu beach is almost deserted. Perfect take-off venue for Mazda. Judging from the flags, the winds too are moderately favorable but not ideal. "Have you done your kusti before coming?” jests Mazda. The pas­senger who is made to sit astride on an elevated seat behind him has only to ensure that the walkie-talkie instrument is settled firmly in the rear to facilitate easy conversation between the two. With a helmet covering his head, a fastened seat belt, a grip on the doctor’s shoulders and a prayer on his lips the passenger is readied for take-off. The trike, resting on its three autorickshaw wheels while not in motion, goes in full speed on the Dahanu beach which serves as the runway and then commences its ascent. Holding the A-frame to control the direction as well as the height of the hang glider, Mazda asks us, "Are your eyes open or shut?” He then proceeds to point the familiar landmarks below, starting with the hospital (!) the Adenwalla Sanatorium, the Pearline Hotel, the thermal plant in the distance... The flight though does not last long as Mazda prefers to play safe when clouds decide to meander.

More than the time spent on flying was the effort involved in assembling the trike, readying it for a flight. From its hangar which is a shed opposite the beach, it has to be manually dragged onto the beach. Then the different peripheral components have to be fixed so that nothing comes asunder during a flight! There was a time, discloses Mazda, when one of his helpers carry­ing spare parts on his moped would accompany the trike, then a solo machine running on a Yezdi machine, as it paced the runway before take off. Breakdowns then were very frequent.

An engine falling off, an accelerator failing...these are all experiences which he cherishes. "It’s fun flying with the engine off,” says Mazda, adding, "after making sure that there is a place to land in the immediate vicinity.” His wife Roxana though has yet not forgotten her last harrowing experience when midair in Boisar they realized they had run out of fuel. With so many pleading with him to give them a joy ride at an air show in Juhu, he lost track of his fuel. They were hovering over some cable wires until the winds mercifully carried them forward. Seeing a field below Mazda decided to make an emergency landing.

The pleasure of flying brings with it the pain of main­tenance too. Having bought the ultralight flying system from a Bangalore based company Raj Hansa, he assembled it himself. A Rotax engine now supports the trike. With the sand from the beach getting in, it has to be regularly cleaned. The nuts and the bolts have to be changed every monsoon too. Mazda though enjoys keeping his five lakh rupees equipment in perfect running condition saying, "It is better to have one passion than to have three or four girl­friends!”

Flying for the last 20 years, Mazda used to initially prac­tise hang gliding near Kamshet. Since Dahanu does not have moun­tainous sites, the next best option for him was the ultralight, using the Dahanu beach as his launch pad. Just as strong cross winds could jeopardize his flight plans, high tides have also to be avoided. For, if there is no dry shore, there would be no airstrip to land his aircraft. Teaching the ropes to his elder son Farzan, he is happy that there are others who share his passion. Younger son Meherzan is more down-to-earth. Besides bringing him endless joy, the doctor’s hobby has also won him innumerable friends, points out Mazda. He has known strangers come all the way from Assam to enjoy his hospitality and the thrill of flying in his trike.