So while others grab an eye shut after sundown, these pilots pull out their text books from under the chopper seats and flip through the pages of complex matter. Their `air crew examining board' examinations are near. A heavy pall of gloom had descended over their camp when the Mi-17 helicopter was shot down near Tololing heights in Drass on May 28. Their friend and colleague Squadron leader Pundir was also preparing for the same examination. The last two months were a ``harrowing experience'' for the Mi-17 pilots and it brought them close to their army aviation counterparts.``The army pilots flying Cheetahs know this area well, for theAir Force it was a new battle field. Initial acclimatisation took time but once we knew where the bunkers and stinger missiles were we took precautions. An Army pilot more often than not accompanied us as an air observation post officer.

It was unfortunate that on May 28 we did not have one,'' said an IAF pilot. The multi-purpose Mi-17 helicopters saved many a lives and also took many. The rocket pods attached to them transformed them into an improvised gun ship and their rockets pulverised enemy bunkers, helping the infantry soldiers to advance.

``There were times we flew more than 30 missions in three days. And till about last week we have evacuated 500 casualties. But it is a fact we would not have been half as effective without the guidance of the Army aviation youngsters who know these mountains like the back of their hands,'' adds another.

And while all the backslapping is on, the pilots continue to read their books.

``Though the Army has apparently postponed the prestigious Staff Collegeexaminations, the Air Force has not,'' says another pilot.

If the first sortie is at 7.00 a.m., the pilots study till 2.00 in the morning and grab some sleep. And as casualties are being loaded into the chopper, they flip a few pages and fly till the last light.