24-year-old Avani Chaturvedi scripted history on Monday becoming the first Indian woman pilot of the Indian Air Force to fly a fighter jet.
She flew a Mig-21 Bison for 30 minutes earlier this week, the air force said.
Avani achieved this remarkable feat over the Jamnagar Airbase in the Russian-origin flight.
Before MiG-21 Bison, she has flown solo in aircrafts like Pilatus PC-7 turboprops, Kiran and Hawk jet trainers.
Avani, who comes from a small town named Deoland in Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa, was always fascinated with flying and like numerous of girls across the country, Kalpana Chawla, the first woman of Indian origin to go on a space mission, was her inspiration.
She did her Bachelors in Technology from Banasthali University, Rajasthan and during this time, she joined the Flying Club and passed the Indian Air Force exam.
Avani’s mother Savita said her daughter had kept the news of her appearing for IAF exam a secret till the last minute. It was only after she received the selection letter, the news about Avani joining the IAF was disclosed.
She is currently posted at No. 23 Squadron (Panthers) and is from the first batch of three women officers who were commissioned as fighter pilots in the IAF in June 2016.
NDTV reports Ms Chaturvedi would be able to fly fighter jets like Sukhoi and Tejas once she completes stage-3 training at Bidar in Karnataka next year.
Flying Officer Bhawna Kanth is expected to follow the footsteps of Avani Chaturvedi by taking a solo flight in MiG-21 Bison fighter jets very soon. Kanth is currently posted at Ambala with No. 3 Squadron of the IAF.
Talking about Avani’s achievement, IAF spokesperson Wing Commander Anupam Banerjee said that it is a major milestone in training of a fighter pilot. He said that it also demonstrates IAF’s enduring commitment to ‘Nari Shakti’.
Share
