No Helmet, No Petrol

 

A fantastic initiative to reign in Bikers who are breaking the law by not wearing Helmets.

A Seafood Feast at Mangalore Pearl

 

Our gracious hosts took us out for dinner today and insisted that we try a seafood restaurant called Mangalore Pearl. I can't even begin to describe the food—it was an absolute feast! I'll simply let the images do the talking.

Adding to the experience were the incredible caricatures adorning the walls, which gave the restaurant a wonderfully distinctive character. Mangalore Pearl specialises in authentic coastal and Mangalorean flavours, and our hosts certainly knew exactly where to take us for a memorable meal.

If you look them up online, you'll find their menu. Better still, drop into Mangalore Pearl yourself and indulge in their splendid delicacies. You won't be disappointed!

Random Photographs from Streets of Bangalore

 

On our way back from HAL Museum I managed to click some photographs of these old Tanks out side an Army cantonment area we crossed.

IAF Rudra Helicopter

So while I was getting amazed with the Aircraft on display at the HAL Heritage Centre and Aerospace Museum, and the constant buzz of LCA Tejas Aircraft & MI-8 Helicopters taking off and landing at the HAL Airport across the road, I suddenly heard the load humming of rotors and instantly knew that there was a Helicopter close by.

Suddenly from behind a tree I saw this magnificent bird rise up and just float in mid air while the nose gun turret kept swiveling from side to side.

It was an HAL Rudra Helicopter with Indian Air Force markings.

HAL RUDRA

Specifications:

HAL/Turbomeca Shakti engine

General characteristics:

Crew: 1 or 2 pilots

Capacity: 12 passengers (14 passengers with high density seating) or 4 stretchers.

Length: 15.87 m (52 ft 0.8 in)

Rotor diameter: 13.20 m (43 ft 3.7 in)

Height: 4.98 m (16 ft 4.06 in)

Disc area: 137 m2 (1,472 ft2)

Empty weight: 2,502 kg (5,515 lb)

Useful load: 2,600 kg (5,731 lb)

Max. takeoff weight: 5,500 kg (12,125 lb)

Powerplant: 2 × HAL/Turbomeca Shakti turboshafts, 1,000 kW (1,400 shp[17])

Alternate engine: 2 x Turbomeca TM 333-2B2 turboshaft, 746 kW (1,000 shp) each

Performance:

Maximum speed: 290 km/h (180 mph, 156.58 kn)

Combat radius: 320 km (200 mi, 175 nmi)

Ferry range: 827 km (516 mi, 447 nmi)

Service ceiling: 6,096 m[18] (20,000 ft)

Rate of climb: 10.3 m/s (2,030 ft/min)

Power/mass: 329.73 W/kg (0.20 hp/lb)

Armament:

Guns:

1 x 20mm M621 cannon into the Nexter THL-20 chin mounted gun turret (Air-Force & Army version)

Missiles:

8 Helina (Helicopter-launched Nag) Anti-tank guided missiles (planned for Air-Force & Army version)

4 MBDA Mistral short-range Air-to-air missiles (Air-Force & Army version)

4 x 68 mm or 70 mm Rocket Pods (Air-Force & Army version)

2 Torpedoes or Depth charges (Navy version)

2 Anti-ship missiles (Navy version)

Avionics:

Elbit CoMPASS optoelectronic suite for reconnaissance and target acquisition

SAAB IDAS-3 self-protection suite

Source: Wikipedia (Data from Indian Army, Crawford, HAL, and Defence Update.)

HAL Heritage Centre and Aerospace Museum

I was in Bangalore and this was the only place I actually wanted visit. So here I am taking the tour of India's first aerospace museum located at the HAL facility (opposite the old Bangalore Airport) spread over 4 acres.

The displays of actual aircraft are very cool and so are the galleries showing historical pictures and evolution of HAL and its contribution to the nation in Military Aircraft as well as Aerospace.

The disappointing thing at the end of the tour was the Gift shop, where I was hoping to find Scale Models of Aircraft and other Memorabilia from the IAF (Indian Air Force), but instead it was a dreary sight to see a shelf which housed Handicrafts! That just didn't make any sense whatsoever.

Anyway for those of you who would like to visit this wonderful Museum, the details are below:

HF-24 Marut 1T (D1698)

IAF MIG-21 Bison (Trainer Version)

HAL HJT-36 Sitara (IJT), Intermediate Jet Trainer Prototype.

HAL Tejas mock-up (LCA) Light Weight Multi-role Fighter Aircraft.

IAF HAL Ajeet subsonic jet trainer & light fighter aircraft.

A prototype HAL Dhruv ALH Mockup 'IN-701' (Advanced Light Helicopter)

IAF BAe Canberra B(I) 58 (BF-597)

Indian Navy Westland Sea King Mk 42a (IN-504) medium-lift transport/utility helicopter.

HAL HPT-32 (X3240)

IAF MiG-21 M (C1691)

IAF MiG-21 M (C1691)

De Havilland Devon (HW-201)

NAL Hansa (VT-XIM)

HAL HT-2 (IX-480) Lycoming Version

HAL HJT-16 Kiran II (U-784) Mk II Prototype

HAL HUL-26 Pushpak

HAL HA-31 Basant

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Heritage Centre and Aerospace Museum (Guide Map)

Address: Varthur Main Rd, HAL GB Quaters, Marathahalli, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560037

Timings: All Days: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Entry Fees:

Entrance Fee (Adult): Rs 50/-  per head

Entrance Fee (Students and Children upto 18 yrs): Rs 30/- per head (with ID card)

Entrance Fee (Children upto 3 years): Free

Physically Handicapped: Free

Basic Simulator Game: Rs 50/- per head

Motion Simulator: Rs 100/- per head

Still Camera: Rs 50/- per each

Video Camera: Rs 75/- per each

Note: Ticket issue closes at 4.30PM.

The Museum encourages visitors for Cashless Transaction.

Telephone No: 080 – 22318341

Source: HAL Website

From Soda Bottle Opener Wala to Craft Beer & an Auto Rickshaw Joy Ride

 

We decided to grab lunch at SodaBottleOpenerWala, a fascinating place with its quirky, nostalgic ambience. One of the highlights for me was the HO Scale locomotive running along the ceiling, making its way around the entire restaurant—a wonderful little detail that was impossible to miss!

After lunch, we decided to head out to TOIT for some craft beer. We took an Uber to the nearest metro station, Mahatma Gandhi Road on the Namma Metro Purple Line, and continued our journey from there.

At TOIT, we indulged in some beer tasting before heading out for what turned into an equally enjoyable auto-rickshaw joy ride—the perfect way to soak in the sights, sounds and energy of Bengaluru!