Did you know?
In 1936, aged 21, Sarla Thakral earned her pilot licence and flew a small plane called a Gypsy Moth on her own. She was among the first Indian women to fly. Later, she became a painter and designer!
The white lines planes leave in the sky are called contrails, short for 'condensation trails'. Water vapour from the hot engines meets the very cold air high up and turns into tiny droplets and ice crystals.
Pilots spell words using a special alphabet: Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta and so on, up to Zulu. It was adopted for flights worldwide in 1956, because letters like B, D and P can sound alike on a crackly radio.
Try this: Spell It Like a Pilot
Here is the pilots' alphabet: Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, Juliett, Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, Oscar, Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Uniform, Victor, Whiskey, X-ray, Yankee, Zulu. Spell your name aloud using it. Then decode this city: Delta-Echo-Lima-Hotel-India.
Show answer
DELHI
Go further: India's First Airline Flight
J. R. D. Tata received the very first pilot licence issued in India, in 1929. On 15 October 1932, he flew a small plane called a Puss Moth, carrying mail from Karachi, on the first flight of his new airline. That airline later became Air India! In 1992, he was given the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award. If you started an airline, what would you call it?