In the process he accomplished a lot of other things too.

He became India’s first President (who is also the supreme commander of the armed forces) to fly a fighter jet. He was also the oldest Indian to do so.

And in the process, he also delivered a shot in the arm for the Indian Air Force on a day when one of their MiG’s crashed.

"I always wanted to be an Air Force pilot but was rejected in 1958 and therefore I became a scientist," the 74-year-old Kalam said soon after his 40-minute supersonic flight on a Sukhoi-30 MKI at the Lohegaon Air Force base in Pune on June 8. The President's flight marked the airbase's 50th anniversary.

Regarding the flight, President Kalam said, "I went up. I went down. I took right and left turns.

"I did every thing that Commander Rathore told me to do. He is a great teacher. I feel proud that our country has such great and good pilots."

Asked about the purpose of the entire exercise, he said, "I want to give a message to young Indians that they should join the Indian Air Force. They should be adventurous and feel proud of our defence forces. We have a great team of IAF pilots and after flying today I am proud to say that our country is in safe hands."

Image: President A P J Abdul Kalam in a Sukhoi-30 MKI at Pune's Lohegaon airbase.
Photograph: Rajesh Karkera

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Kalam on wings of fire