On 26thMay 2021, the students of class XI and class XII of Mushtifund Aryaan Higher Secondary School (MAHSS) had the valuable opportunity to interact with Dr. A.R. Upadhya, the former Director of the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), and the Project Director of India’s very own Light Combat Aircraft, the Tejas. Dr. Upadhya is a highly distinguished individual, having secured a BTech and an ME in Aeronautical Engineering from IIT, Kharagpur, and IISc, Bangalore, respectively, along with a PhD from the prestigious Cranfield Institute of Technology in the United Kingdom. Currently a professor at Jain University, Bangalore, Dr. Upadhya has over 50 years of experience in the field of aerospace engineering, much like the Director of Mushtifund Aryaan Higher Secondary School, Mr. Vyankatesh Prabhudesai, whom I would like to thank for giving us this priceless experience to interact with such an imminent personality.
Dr. Upadhya began the interactive session by briefly talking about his experience at the NAL. He then proceeded to start his presentation, which was on the history of aviation, from thousands of years ago to the present day. He related the history of aerospace engineering to some important life lessons and qualities that we, as the citizen of tomorrow, must inculcate.
In the section about ‘Pre-Flight History’, Dr. Upadhya talked about humanity’s fascination with flight, and the numerous references to ‘Flying Machines’ in ancient Indian texts. He then discussed the designs mentioned in the Vaimanika Shastra by Pandit Subaraya Shastry, and how modern-day scientists at Indian institutes, while impressed with the depth of the text, believed that such designs couldn’t possibly fly. Dr. Upadhya then told us about the story of Icarus and Daedalus in Greek mythology, which is probably the most famous ancient story about flight. He then talked about the development of kites in China in the 4th century BC, and the development of hot air balloons in Europe in the 19th century, and many other pre-flight innovations in the field of aeronautics. He spoke about how these inventors were willing to risk their lives in the process of developing their machines, and how it was an ode to the human spirit of perseverance.
Before moving on to the first successful manned flight by the Wright brothers, Dr. Upadhya told us about Otto Lilienthal, considered by many to be the ‘Father of Modern Aviation’ (who unfortunately died in a crash in 1896), and Samuel P. Langley, whose steam-powered Aerodrome won him the unique distinction of having a NASA centre named after him. Dr. Upadhya then talked about how the Wright brothers successfully developed their plane in 1903, by developing their own wind tunnel for development, and adding their own 4-cylinder gasoline-powered engine, along with wings that could be morphed by the pilot in order to control the plane.
Dr. Upadhya then talked about the rapid development of the field, and how Louis Bleriot was able to fly a monoplane across the English Channel in 1909. He talked about how it took centuries to finally build a working plane, and the necessity to never give up and keep persevering, while learning from others’ mistakes, in order to innovatively resolve a problem.
Dr. Upadhya then talked about the development of seaplanes from the 1920s to the 1940s. He then talked about how the monocoque construction of airplanes in the 1930s revolutionized the industry by allowing the metal skin to bear a large part of the weight of the aircraft. He the talked about the development of civil transport aircraft, from the Ford Trimotor and Boeing 247 to the DC-3. He talked about the structural and mechanical improvements that were made to make civil air transport in these planes commercially viable.
Dr. Upadhya talked about how like airplanes have two wings, we too must maintain the balance between our spiritual and materialistic life and not let one outweigh the other in order to be truly content and satisfied with one’s achievements.
Dr. Upadhya then talked about the different engine types, from propeller-based piston engines, radial engines, and rotary engines to the turbine-based designs like the Turbojet, Turboprop, and Turbofan engines. He talked about the physics behind these engine types and compared the fuel efficiency of the engines to their maximum speed. Dr. Upadhya then talked about supersonic flight, from the rocket-propelled Bell X1 and the first jet-powered supersonic aircraft, the YF-100 Super Sabre, to the first commercial supersonic aircraft, the Concorde and the TU-144. Dr. Upadhya talked about the advances in regular commercial airplanes too, from the first pressurized cabin in the Lockheed Constellation and the first jet-powered commercial airlines, the De Havilland Comet, to the Boeing 707 and Boeing 747, and the biggest passenger aircraft, the Boeing 777-300 to the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 787-Dreamliner, which also had extensive use of carbon-fibre composites.
Dr. Upadhya then related how airplanes safely carry hundreds of people and tonnes of baggage safely to their destination, to how we, as more privileged members of society have a responsibility to aid the underprivileged and downtrodden members of society. He talked about how, when an airplane encounters a patch of turbulence, the pilot navigates to plane to safety, and related that to how when we are going through a difficult stage in life, we must confide in those who we love and trust to help us and have faith in ourselves to persevere and carry on.
Dr. Upadhya then presented a brief description of the technological advancements that enable modern-day flight, like carbon-fibre composites and fly-by-wire control systems. He talked about how the Tejas LCA has almost 45% of its weight made out of carbon-fibre composites and has its very own indigenously-developed integrated flight control system. He then talked about the various wing and tail designs used in aircraft like the straight wing, swept wind, and delta wing, twin fin tails and T-tails.
Dr. Upadhya the talked about the journey of fighter aircraft, from the First World War fighter plane, the Fokker Dr. I, to the current 5th Generation Lockheed-Martin F-35 Lightning II Stealth fighter. India’s Tejas LCA, whose development was led by Dr. Upadhya, is a 4 ½ Gen Multiple-Role Light Combat Aircraft. While it isn’t explicitly designed to be a stealth fighter, it has a low RCS which makes it harder to detect on RADAR systems. He also mentioned that India is currently developing a low RCS Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft.
Dr. Upadhya the talked about the solar-powered aircraft like the Centurion, the NASA Helios, and the Solar Impulse 2, which flew around the world and even visited India in 2015. Dr. Upadhya then talked about the development of hypersonic aircraft like the NASA X-43.
Even though airplanes are designed to serve for years on end, they must be periodically maintained and taken care of. Dr. Upadhya said that much like these airplanes, we too must take time to maintain ourselves, physically, spiritually, and mentally. Being physically fit, spiritually satiated, and mentally sound at the same time is an ideal recipe for success and yields a tremendous return on investment. Therefore, much like the airplanes get maintained by technicians, we must periodically visit doctors to get our health screened, and dedicate some time of the day for introspection and self-reflection in order to be in the pink of health. Dr. Upadhya also talked about how airplanes are able to fly by themselves but need extensive support infrastructure (like tug trucks for taxiing off a runway, or aerobridges and carton carriers and Air Traffic Controllers) to be able to operate continuously. He said that much like airplanes, we too need to consult our colleagues, friends, and family, without any superiority complex, in order to be able to continuously operate.
We then moved on to the interactive question and answer session, where Dr. Upadhya patiently responded to all of the students’ questions in a detailed and informative manner.
Prabhav Uppoor of class XI asked Dr. Upadhya if he believed that unmanned aircraft would soon start replacing manned aircraft, especially in combat applications. Dr. Upadhya responded by saying that unmanned aircraft have already gained massive popularity as they do not have to bear the burden of protecting a pilot and, as such, are much more lightweight and versatile, and can be used in more dangerous situations where stealth is of essence.
Naisha Asnani of class XI asked Dr. Upadhya for his thoughts on having more practical application subjects (like Programming) in school, especially in fields such as design. Dr. Upadhya responded by telling us about how the National Cadet Corps (NCC) has an aero-modelling lab so that their students could get more hands-on experience with their subject of interest. However, Dr. Upadhya also said that the students of today already have a lot on their plate, and that they mustn’t be overburdened with additional subjects that they may not be interested in.
Finally, I got the opportunity to ask Dr. Upadhya if flight control software should be able to override the pilot’s control in an aircraft, especially in light of the recent crashes of the Boeing 737-MAX due to faulty software that snatched control from a pilot. Dr. Upadhya said that it is a difficult question to answer directly, and that a lot of debate has to occur in the flying community in order to land upon a final conclusion. He said that the end goal is the safety of the passengers, and that every possible fight outcome must be imagined in order to keep every passenger safe.
In the end, the lecture was summarised, and the Vote of Thanks was proposed by Aryennh Bakal of class XI.
It was an enlightening experience to meet such a distinguished and accomplished personality, who, despite his myriad laurels, still remained humble, true to his roots, and willing to answer even the most trivial questions. I would like to thank Dr. Upadhya for his service to the nation and his years of knowledge summarized into one lecture.