Avani Chaturvedi is an Indian fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force. In 2018, she became the first woman to fly a MiG-21 Buffalo alone. In 2022, she became the first female fighter pilot of the Indian Air Force to participate in a foreign air combat competition.
Wiki/Biography
Avani Chaturvedi was born on Wednesday, October 27, 1993, in Satna, Madhya Pradesh, India (age 29; as of 2023). Her zodiac sign is Scorpio. She studied at Adarsh High School in Deolan, Shahdo district of Madhya Pradesh. She received her B.Tech degree in Computer Science from Banasthali University, Rajasthan, in 2014. In college, she became a member of the college’s flying club and from that point on, she developed an interest in flying. She gained several hours of flying experience while she was in the college flying club. While in college, she was one of the core team members of Mayukh, the university’s annual technology carnival. She worked as an Assistant Software Engineer at Ranosys Technologies Pte Ltd for a 6-month internship. She has over 3 years of experience as a systems engineer at IBM. Later, she took the Air Force Common Admissions Test (AFCAT) exam and passed. She was also recommended by the Air Force Selection Board (AFSB).
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′4″
Weight (approximately): 50kg
Hair color: black
Eye color: black
family
Avani Chaturvedi belongs to a Brahmin family in Satna, Madhya Pradesh, India.
Parents and siblings
Her father’s name is Dinkar Chaturvedi; he is a superintendent engineer in the Water Resources Department of the Government of Madhya Pradesh. Her mother is a housewife.
Avani Chaturvedi and her parents
She had a brother who was an Indian Army officer and he encouraged her to join the Indian Air Force.
husband
In November 2019, she married Indian Air Force Flight Lieutenant Vinit Chikara.
Avani Chaturvedi and Vineet Chikara’s wedding day photos
Profession
fighter pilot
At the age of 25, she was selected for the Indian Air Force Academy and completed six months of training in Dundigal, Hyderabad. In June 2016, she became the first Indian female fighter pilot in the history of the Indian Air Force, along with Bhawana Kanth and Mohana Singh.
They received initial training at Telangana Air Force Academy.
Avani Chaturvedi training at Telangana Air Force Academy
In 2017, she was posted to the 23rd Panther Squadron of the Indian Air Force in Suratgarh, Rajasthan. On February 19, 2018, she became the first female fighter pilot to fly solo in a MiG-21 Bison fighter jet. Later, she was promoted to Flight Lieutenant. She took the Russian-made jet on a half-hour solo flight over the Jamnagar air base.
In an interview, Indian Air Force Spokesperson Wing Commander Anupam Banerjee spoke about Avani becoming the first female fighter pilot to fly the MiG-21 Bison fighter jet and express:
This is an important milestone in fighter pilot training and the first time an Indian woman has flown a fighter jet alone. It reflects the Indian Air Force’s enduring commitment to ‘Nari Shakti’. ”
In January 2023, it was revealed that Squadron Leader Avani Chaturvedi will participate in the first-ever air combat exercise called Veer Guardian 2023 between the Indian and Japanese Air Forces. She was the first Indian female fighter pilot to participate in aerial combat. She flew a Sukhoi-30MKI jet to participate in the air combat event held at Hyakuri Air Base in Japan from January 12 to 26, 2023.
Avani Chaturvedi at Hayakuri Air Force Base, Japan
Awards and Honors
- 2018: Received PhD from Banasthali Vidyapeeth
Favorites
Facts/Trivia
- He enjoys sketching and painting.
- She also plays musical instruments and enjoys playing the violin.
Avani Chaturvedi plays violin
- She underwent training at the Indian Air Force Academy in Telangana along with 43 other male classmates. In an interview, when asked about being one of the first women to train as a fighter pilot, she shared how her male counterparts reacted to her presence, to which she replied:
The first day, I think it was new for them and it was new for me too. I have great relationships with all my classmates. Every flight, every landing and every takeoff is different. Sometimes your punches will be bad and you’ll feel bad about it. I found out when I went back to talk to my classmates these days. The same thing happened to him a few days ago. I felt then that I was not the only one and that everyone makes mistakes. ”
- In August 2010, senior social scientist and historian Prem Chowdhry wrote in a paper titled “Women in the Army” published in Economic and Political Weekly that including the armed forces High-pressure occupations are not suitable for military work. Women and fighting are essentially male professions. However, in 2016, Avani Chaturvedi’s efforts shattered the belief that women cannot fight. In an interview, when asked about her views on sexism, she replied:
The best part about being a pilot is that you’re flying an airplane – it’s a machine. The airplane doesn’t know who’s sitting behind it, so the machine behaves the same way as the male pilot does. ”
- In 2017, she appeared in a promotional video for the Indian Air Force.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJEhbnacqbA
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education