<i>Pratibha Patil oldest woman to be airborne</i>

Indian President Pratibha Patil yesterday made history by flying in a fighter jet from an air force base here, becoming the first woman head of state to travel in a war plane.
Wearing a special G-suit, typical of a fighter plane to counter gravitational effect (which flows extra blood into the brain) due to high speed manoeuvres in the air, Patil, 74, also set a world record by becoming the oldest woman to be airborne in a frontline combat jet--Sukhoi-30 MKI-- for a 30-minute sortie at a speed close to the supersonic level.
Patil, who also has the distinction of being the first woman president of India, sat in the co-pilot's seat in the cockpit and waved to the people gathered at the airbase before the aircraft flown by Wing Commander S Sajan took off.
On her arrival at the air base at around 9:00am, Patil, the supreme commander of the armed forces, was accorded a ceremonial guard of honour by Indian Air Force personnel.
President Patil's travelling in a fighter aircraft was the culmination of more than three months' preparations after she expressed a desire to fly in a Sukhoi.
She underwent a fitness regime and was given a detailed briefing on her proposed flight besides an audio-visual presentation of what to expect before and during the flight by senior IAF officers at the Presidential Palace in New Delhi.
Patil became the second Indian president to fly in a Sukhoi after her predecessor APJ Abdul Kalam had done the same in 2006.
There are about 784 woman officers working in Indian Air Force but at present they are kept from flying combat aircraft.