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Avani Chaturvedi: All you need to know about 1st Indian woman to fly fighter jet

— By FPJ Web Desk | Feb 22, 2018 01:11 pm
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Flying Officer Avani Chaturvedi has created history by becoming the first Indian woman fighter pilot to fly solo. Chaturvedi flew a MiG-21 Bison in her first training solo sortie, in Jamnagar, Gujarat on Monday. It is pertinent to mention that MiG-21 Bison has the highest landing and take-off speed in the world- 340 kmph.

In case you don’t know who Avani Chaturvedi is by now, here are few interesting things you need to know about her.

Avani Chaturvedi

  • 01

    Avani is from Rewa district in Madhya Pradesh. She was declared as the first combat pilot along with two of her cohort, Mohana Singh, and Bhawana Kanth. The trio was inducted into the Indian Air Force fighter squadron on June 18, 2016. They were formally commissioned by then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.

  • 02

    Chaturvedi completed her training at Hyderabad Air Force Academy. She did her schooling from Deoland, a small town in Shahdol district of Madhya Pradesh. Completing her Bachelors in Technology from Banasthali University, Rajasthan in 2014, she passed the Indian Air Force exam.

  • 03

    Chaturvedi is inspired by her brother who is in the Army. She always wanted to conquer the skies and hence joined the Flying Club in her college. Her father, Dinkar Chaturvedi, is an executive engineer in Water Resource Department of M.P. government and her mother is a home maker. Chaturvedi likes to play chess, table tennis and to do sketching, painting.

  • 04

    Chaturvedi’s achievement has put India on the list of the countries such as Britain, the United States, Israel, and Pakistan, where women are allowed to fly fighter jets.  Avani is an active sportswoman and plays chess and table tennis. She also has a knack for painting.

  • 05

    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.

  • 06

    Avani took six months of training on Kiran trainer jets at Hakimpet and followed it with a one-year-long stint on Hawk advanced trainer jets at Bidar Air Base.