New Delhi: Flying Officer Avani Chaturvedi scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman fighter pilot to fly solo. Ms Chaturvedi on Monday flew a MiG-21 Bison, which has the highest landing and take-off speed in the world. This was her first training solo sortie and she flew it for 30 minutes in Gujarat’s Jamnagar airbase, an Indian Air Force official said. The fighter stream was opened for women in 2015 and Avani Chaturvedi, along with two other women – Mohana Singh and Bhawana Kanth – were inducted into the Indian Air Force fighter squadron in 2016. The three women have since then undergone strenuous training programme to fly fighter jets. The Indian Air Force has already selected the next batch of three women trainee pilots for the fighter stream.
Here’s all you need to know about India’s first woman fighter pilot Avani Chaturvedi:
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Sat 21 Dec. 2024
1. Avani Chaturvedi, 24, comes from Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa district. She did her schooling from Deoland, a small town in Madhya Pradesh and went on to study Bachelors in Technology from Banasthali University, Rajasthan. During this time, she joined the Flying Club and went on to pass the Indian Air Force exam.
2. Avani Chaturvedi completed her training at Hyderabad Air Force Academy. Her inspiration to fly fighter jets comes from her brother who is in the Army. Her father, Dinkar Chaturvedi, is an executive engineer in Water Resource Department of Madhya Pradesh government and her mother is a home maker.
3. Avani Chaturvedi’s accomplishment has put India on the global list of countries such as the United States, Israel, Britain and Pakistan, where women fly fighter jets.
4. Once Ms Chaturvedi completes stage-3 training at Bidar in Karnataka next year, she would be able to fly fighter jets like Sukhoi and Tejas.
5. Apart from flying fighter jets, she likes to play chess, table tennis. She also sketches and paints.
