Sky is their canvas: The Global Stars to perform at 6th India Aviation expo

If you’ve been having mini-heart attacks as you pass by the Begumpet airport and see a few planes whizzing past each other or randomly dropping from the sky, don’t worry. It’s just Mark Jefferies and his team of professional aeronautical pilots — The Global Stars — performing at the on-going 6th India Aviation expo. This is the second time the troupe is performing in the city as Mark and teammate Tom Cassells visited the expo in 2014.

Mark and his team comprising Tom, Chris Burkett, Steve Carver and Michael Pickin perform death-defying manoeuvres twice a day at the show in their customised Extra 300 aircraft.

“It’s a lot bigger and the presentation is good indeed,” says Mark, and jokes, “The show is twice the size this time around so we had to bring twice the number of aeroplanes!”

The Global Stars have been flying together for about five years, and perform at a dozen or more shows as a group every season. Mark, Tom, Chris and Steve serve as the “first team”, while Michael steps in whenever he’s needed. “We also do single shows as singleton displays, so we’re versatile in what we’re doing,” says Tom.

It takes years of practise to get to where the team is, and Tom says they only get together to practise and run through manoeuvres at the start of the season (January/February) “We’ve been doing this for a few years now, so we’re used to it. At the beginning of the season we just get together and run through the skills. Formation aerobatics is probably the most dangerous (of all sports),” Tom says.

And while flying may be their passion, they also have their own personal lives on the side, with their families keeping them grounded. “It’s seen as a little bit of an eccentricity. They think it’s quite strange, what their father does,” says Tom. And when asked why he chooses to live life so literally off the edge, Mark simply says, “Because of the total freedom that flying gives you!”