This Harvard trainer was dilapidated and derelict. but just years later it was rescued from the brink..at Sainik School Goalpara.
Goalpara (Assamese: গোৱালপাৰা) is the district headquarters of Goalpara district, Assam, India. It is situated 134 kilometres (83 mi) to the west of Guwahati. Goalpara is located on the bank of the river Brahmaputra.
Sainik School Goalpara, Assam, India, was established on 12 November 1964. The school is located in the north-eastern part of India. The school is situated 18 km from Goalpara town en route capital Guwahati. The nearest railway station is Goalpara.
The school first came to our notice with the discovery of a photograph showing a rather sad and dilapidated Harvard trainer on the school campus in June 2005.
| Harvard at the Sainik School. Photographed by Mr. Ramesh Bhattacharji / Flickr |
The aircraft had broken perspex, frayed rudder and ailerons and seemed to have been resting on blocks. It didnt look like the aircraft had any further years ahead to look for.
However photographs from five years later show a much more promising future for the Harvard. Some sort of local restoration seems to have been undertaken on the Harvard, and it is back to display status. Though the patched up parts appear a bit out of whack, the effort to ‘restore’ the aircraft and prolong its life is commendable.
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| A photo of the Harvard from 2010 shows some effort at its ‘rescue’. |
The Sainik School ofcourse added another aircraft to its collection on 8th April 2011, when a MiG-21UM fighter trainer, serial U2970 was installed and dedicated in a investiture ceremony by Air Marshal Anjan Kumar Gogoi, then AOC-in-C of South Western Air Command. Air Marshal Gogoi was a former student of the School.
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MiG-21UM U2970 at Sainik School Goalpara – installed and inaugurated on 8th April 2011. |
Google Maps Locations – MiG-21UM
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Google Maps Locations – Harvard
{mosmap width=’100%’|height=’130’|lat=’26.091442’|lon=’90.735794’|zoom=’18’|zoomType=’Small’|zoomNew=’0’|mapType=’Satellite’|showMaptype=’1’|overview=’0’|tooltip=’Harvard at Sainik School’|marker=’1’|align=’left’}
Details on the Sainik School : http://www.cic.nic.in/cicwebpages/Assam/Matia/sainik_school.htm
