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India's Republic Day 2023
by Aidan Curley

India’s Republic Day is an annual event that provides a flypast every 26th of January along the Kartavya Path which leads to India Gate in the centre of Delhi. The roads in and around that area are normally full of security types and various VIPs and along with the many obstructions means it is not the best place to catch the photos of the flypast; for that I use the Buddah Jayanti Park which is off to the West as they invariably pass West to East regardless of the wind direction. The last aircraft in the flypast historically makes a high climb out once it reaches India Gate to close the proceedings.

There are a couple of challenges to catching the flypast; first there are a number of rehearsal days ahead of time starting around a week in advance but there is generally limited or no advance information as to which days they will fly and which they will not (never on 25th though). Second, the weather is always a challenge as at that time of year in the most polluted city in the world the occurrence of fog or smog can be a real problem. Best therefore to catch as many of the practice sessions as possible to maximise the chances of getting something worthwhile.

For a detailed overview of the aircraft participating in the flypast and the practice days have a look at the article on our website.

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