Avani Chaturvedi is an Indian fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force. In 2018, she became the first woman to fly the MiG-21 ‘Bison’ solo. In 2022, she became the first female fighter pilot of the IAF to participate in air war games abroad.
Wiki/Biography
Avani Chaturvedi was born on Wednesday, 27 October 1993 (age 29 years; in 2023) in Satna, Madhya Pradesh, India. His zodiac sign is Scorpio. He attended Adarsh Higher Secondary School in Deoland, Shahdol district, Madhya Pradesh. In 2014, he received a Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science from Banasthali University, Rajasthan. In college, he became a part of the college flying club and from there, he became interested in flying. When he was in the flying club at his college, he gained several hours of flying experience. While studying in college, he was one of the core team members of Mayukh, the University’s annual technology fest. He underwent a 6-month internship as an associate software engineer at Ranosys Technologies Pte Ltd. He has more than 3 years of experience working as a system engineer at IBM. Later, he took the Air Force Common Entrance Test (AFCAT) exam and passed. He was also recommended by the Air Force Selection Board (AFSB).
Physical appearance
Height (approx): 5′ 4″
Weight (approx): 50 kg
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Black
Family
Avani Chaturvedi belongs to a Brahmin family in Satna, Madhya Pradesh, India.
Parents & Siblings
His father’s name was Dinkar Chaturvedi; he is a superintending engineer in the Water Resources Department of the Madhya Pradesh government. His mother is a housewife.
Avani Chaturvedi with her parents
He has an elder brother, who is an Indian Army officer and he encouraged him to join the Indian Air Force.
Husband
In November 2019, she married Vineet Chikara, a flight lieutenant in the Indian Air Force.
Avani Chaturvedi and Vineet Chikara’s wedding day pictures
Career
Fighter Pilot
At the age of 25, he completed his six-month training in Dundigal, Hyderabad after being selected by the Indian Air Force Academy. In June 2016, she, along with Bhawana Kanth and Mohana Singh, became the first Indian female fighter pilot in the history of the Indian Air Force.
They did their initial training at the air force academy in Telangana.
Avani Chaturvedi training at air force academy in Telangana
In 2017, he was posted to the 23 Panther Squadron of the Indian Air Force in Suratgarh, Rajasthan. On 19 February 2018, she became the first female fighter pilot to fly solo in a MiG-21 Bison fighter. Later, he was promoted to the position of flight lieutenant. He did a solo flight for half an hour in a jet of Russian origin in the sky above the Jamnagar Air Base.
In an interview, IAF spokesperson wing commander Anupam Banerjee spoke about Avani becoming the first female fighter pilot to fly the MiG-21 Bison fighter and said,
This is a major achievement in fighter pilot training and the first time an Indian woman has flown a fighter aircraft solo. It shows the IAF’s continued commitment to ‘Nari Shakti’.”
In January 2023, it was revealed that Squadron Leader Avani Chaturvedi will participate in the first air combat exercise named Veer Guardian 2023 between the Indian and Japanese Air Forces. She was the first Indian woman fighter pilot to take part in aerial combat. He flew the Sukhoi-30MKI jet at the air war event that took place from January 12, 2023 to January 26, 2023 at Hyakuri airbase in Japan.
Avani Chaturvedi at Hayakuri Air Base in Japan
Awards & Honors
- 2018: Awarded doctorate from Banasthali Vidyapeeth
Favourite
Facts/Trivia
- He likes to sketch and paint.
- He also plays musical instruments and likes to play the violin.
Avani Chaturvedi plays the violin
- He was trained along with 43 other male batch mates at the Indian Air Force academy in Telangana. In an interview, when asked about being one of the first women to receive fighter pilot training, she shared, how her male friends reacted to her presence, she replied,
The first day, I think it was quite new for them, as well as for me. I have a good relationship with all my classmates. Every flight, every landing and every takeoff is different. There will be days when you will have a bad time, and you will feel bad about it. These days, when I go back and talk to a classmate, I’ll find out that, oh, the same thing happened to him a few days ago, too. That’s when I felt that I’m not alone and human that makes mistakes.”
- In August 2010, Prem Chowdhry, a senior social scientist and historian, wrote in his paper titled, ‘Women in the Army,’ published in Economic and Political Weekly that high-stress professions, including the armed forces, are not suitable for women and combat, naturally, is a profession for men. However, in 2016, Avani Chaturvedi worked hard and shattered the belief that women cannot do combat. In an interview, when asked about her opinion on discrimination based on gender, she replied,
The best part of being a pilot is that you fly the plane—it’s a machine. The plane doesn’t know who’s sitting behind it, so the machine will behave the same way it would with a male pilot.”
- In 2017, he appeared in a promotional video for the Indian Air Force.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJEhbnacqbA
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
