- Peacock) is the helicopter

Helicopter

A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...

 formation display team of the Indian Air Force

Indian Air Force

The Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian armed forces. Its primary responsibility is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during a conflict...

.The team flies four HAL Dhruv

HAL Dhruv

The HAL Dhruv is a utility helicopter developed and manufactured by India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited . Dhruv was first announced in November 1984. The ALH was designed with assistance from MBB in Germany. The Dhruv first flew in 1992; but, due to the changing demands of the Indian Army and...

s. The name Sarang (Peacock in Sanskrit) is symbolic as it is the national bird

Bird

Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...

 of India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. The team was formed in October 2003 and their first public performance was at the Asian Aerospace Show, Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

, 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 Force Base on 8th Oct 2008.

Incidents

In February 2007, the team had its first fatal accident when a Dhruv crashed at Yelahanka during a rehearsal before Aero India

Aero India

Aero India is a biennial air show and aviation exhibition held in Bangalore, India at the Yelahanka Air Force Station. It is organized by Defence Exhibition Organisation, the Ministry of Defence and is held in association with the Defence Research and Development Organisation , the Indian Air Force...

-2007 co-pilot Squadron Leader Priye Sharma was killed, and the pilot Wing Commander V Jetely received serious head injuries.Wg Cdr Vikas Jetley died in Jan 2011 at a Delhi hospital, after being in a coma for more than 3 years after the accident.

External links

• Sarang video
• Sarang at the Asian Aerospace Show, 2004
• Indian peacocks strut their stuff, Aviation International News
• Image of Sarang helicopter
• Aero-India 2007, Sarang Helicopter Display Team, www.Bharat-Rakshak.com
• Aerobatics Aero-India 2007
• Government of India - Press Information Breau release
• "The Hindu" newspaper article: Sarang's aerial ballet