Gábor Bochkor Conquered The Sky

Wednesday morning an old acquaintance, Brig. Gen. István Petõ, commander of HDF 59th ‘Dezsõ Szentgyörgyi’ Aviation Base welcomed Gábor Bochkor to Szolnok. The reason being that the host of Radio Sláger’s popular morning show received the second phase of his pilot ‘training’ at the airfield of the garrison at the bank of the Tisza.

In the course of the training ‘Bocsi’ is to familiarize himself with the items which are on the syllabus of pilot candidates who apply for the NFTC programme and start their preparation in Hungary. Those interested in the profession of fighter pilots can learn more about the stages of preparation with his help.

Of course, it was not by accident that the showman was awaited by István Petõ — known as Pinyó by fellow aviators — in Szolnok, since the brigadier general is a Jak–52 pilot-trainer and has spent hundreds of hours airborne with this type. Therefore it was quite obvious that he will be the one to fly Gábor Bochkor.

Following the showman’s arrival he was handed out the headset and the maps requied for the flight, and Major Zoltán Somogyi, acting commander of Jak–52 aviation preparation company of the helicopter base told Gábor — who was wearing the green uniform of the air crew by that time — about the basic data of the aircraft. As Major Somogyi said, the two-seat, propeller-driven training plane is used for the practical training of beginner pilots. The commander of the company added that it is a high capacity machine which is easy to control, therefore pilots like it a lot.

Then Bocsi studied the function of the devices, handles, buttons inside the cabin of a Jak–52 aircraft with the help of a computer presentation, and 1st Lieutenant Tibor Lázár, parachuter training officer of the helicopter base told the host of ’Boomerang’ about the reserve parachute regularly used on the plane, and its use. "If a situation arose whereby you have to use the parachute, then you should jump upon the order of the commander of the aircraft, and try to avoid the propeller. After the jump look up, and you should see a yellow and white, dome-shaped parachute above your head. After that, all you have to be focusing on is landing on two feet", explained the 1st lieutenant, who — seeing the startled look on Bocsi’s face — added immediately: of course, a situation like that could not happen.

The preparation of the showman for the flight continued in the tower of the airfield. Here the Pinyó-Bocsi duo preparing to take off listened to the meteorological forecast first, then the basic information of aviation contol. Brigadier General Imre Lamos, commander of the Szolnok Helicopter Base joined the duo, and helped ‘decoding’ the report full of technical terms of meteorology.

By this time a Jak–52 aircraft prepared for takeoff awaited István Petõ and Gábor Bochko in front of the building of the aviation preparation company, or as it is called by the troops serving here, the ’Tiger Cubs’. Before taking over the aircraft, Brig. Gen. Petõ told honvedelem.hu that he has known Gábor for years and they have flown together on several occasions. The Hungarian fighter pilot with more than 2,500 hours spent airborne flies Jak–52s often, two-three times a month, since he is a trainer at the same time and he, too, tests pilot candidates participating in the NFTC programme when their training is complete for this type. Following the handover of the aircraft — in line with the regulations — to Gen. Petõ, the members of the land service crew busy with training aircraft No 06 fastened the belts of the radio host in the rear cockpit. In other words, the highlight of the day, the flight has just commenced.

"Tower, this is Titan–300! Requesting ignition!", said István Petõ on the microphone, then — having been granted permission — in a few minutes, the aircraft lifted up from the concrete strip of the Szolnok runway. During the one-hour flight they completed the Szolnok-Besenyszög-Markaz-Mezõkövesd-Jászapáti-Besenyszög-Szolnok route, then Gen. Petõ demonstrated a few ’simple’ aerobatic maneuvres. The ’challenge’ did not frighten Bocsi, since he had several opportunities to fly with world champion aerobatics pilots, for instance Zoltán Veres and Péter Besenyei before.

"It was a very good flight! This aircraft is super, but I would not replace the Bulldog with this type", said Bocsi enthusiastically following their landing, and also noted that the 70 minutes spent in the air went by very fast and he would have stayed longer. For example to do some more aerobatic maneuvres…

"Having finished the flight route, the general showed me a loop and a spin, and unfortunately, it was time to land", said the showman whose flight was recognized with a certificate issued by HDF Aviation Preparation Department (RFO), the organizers of the whole-day Szolnok programme.

Upon the request of the press, Major Tamás Bali, instructor-officer of RFO read aloud the document: "Gábor Bochkor completed the theoretical preparation and the practical flight stages for Jak–52 aircraft with success".

"Should Gábor be 25-26 years old, I am positive he could complete the pilot training course successfully", said Brig. Gen. István Petõ at the end of the whole-day programme. They are to meet again next Monday, since Bocsi’s training will continue in Kecskemét, where he will master the theoretical knowledge required for flying L–39 fighter aircraft. By the end of the training, which is due to finish on 15th August, he must be able to fly an Albatros fighter alone.