It may be a hobby for some people, but for this group of people it's something more. It's a passion. And the name of the game is aero-modelling.

Proud members of the Pune Aeromodellers Association say the basic aim of their group of fliers is "to promote aero-modelling among the younger generation and to create awareness of model aircrafts."

"Pune Aeromodellers Association is registered as a non-profit organisation and we have successfully completed four years," said Sandeep Bajare (37), general secretary.

The group startedu00a0 promoting aero-modelling byu00a0 contacting schools and colleges.

"People joined us as members and we guided them to build aero-models," he said.

They conducted workshops and also started training people. "Apart from young people who showed an interest, we have senior citizens too who got interested in this unusual field," he added.

Starting off with a small group of nine, today they number about 60 fliers.

"We've just had our third annual meet on December 19," said Sandeep.

"We are closely associated with the Gliding Centre here at Hadapsar, where there is a huge ground to fly our models on weekends. You can catch us from Friday to Sunday between 8-11 am," he said.

"We also have a small hangar and use it mostly to store our models," he added.

Sandeep said, "You need to know about aircraft, engines and how to work with wood. It also boosts your creativity. Plus, for students, the physics subject is given a practical dimension, where they understand gravitational force, aerodynamics, et cetera."

Another enthusiast, Aniruddha Joshi (39), the treasurer of the association, said, "This is fantastic, and yet realistic. You are flying a plane, without actually sitting in it. To be an aeromodeller, no qualifications are required, only enthusiasm."

Y N Banker, president for the last four years, said, "We have been giving demonstrations at schools and colleges and are very happy with the response."