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NEW DELHI (India): A woman who flew her micro-light in India's biggest air race that brought out fighter jets and helicopters walked away Sunday not only with a prize but a lifetime seat on the country's state carriers.

Audrey Maben, from the southern city of Bangalore, was surprised when Deputy Indian Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani offered the additional gift at the end of the three-day air race, billed as the largest since India became independent in 1947.

The 27-year-old amateur flier not only pit her homemade micro-light against supersonic planes of the Indian Air Force but survived bad weather, which somehow spared most of the remaining 50 participants en route.

Prize-Lifters

The air force predictably swept most of the prizes but mother-of-one Maben and her tiny flying machine bagged an award reserved for micro-lights, some of which were flown by professional trainers and former military pilots.

Advani said he was amazed by the solo performance of Maben, who has just 176 flying hours under the belt. "Civil Aviation Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy and I were both stunned by the raw courage of young Audrey Maben, who said goodbye to her four-year-old daughter and took off in a micro-light,"

Advani said in the western city of Nagpur, where the race ended. "I hear she pulled through terrible weather conditions and we are so impressed by her that we have instituted a permanent ticket for her to fly in (state-run) Indian Airlines and Air India," Advani said amid applause.

Race

The participants, some of whom flew helicopters, propeller-driven planes, gliders and air force fighter jets, started off Thursday from the eastern Indian city of Barrackpore and ended the race here on Saturday.

The participants stopped at 25 airstrips, some of them barely usable, and en route to Nagpur flew through Bangalore and the sea resort of Goa.

The Aeronautical Society of India, which organised the event, said it had introduced a "handicap system" to provide a level playing field, stipulating that smaller and slower planes fly straight while jets use twisted routes.