Avani Chaturvedi is among the greatest and first Indian female fighter pilots. Here is a biography of Avani Chaturvedi with all the information you need to know about her.
Early Life And Education
Avani Chaturvedi, also Avni Chaturvedi, was born in Rewa District in Madhya Pradesh. Her father, Dinkar Chaturvedi, is part of the Madhya Pradesh Government and works in the water resources department as an executive engineer. On the other hand, her mother, Savita, is a homemaker.
Her brother is an army officer and has always been her inspiration from a young age to be part of the Indian Air Force. Her maternal uncle, Premprakash Sharma, was also a big inspiration because he was an Indian Army Colonel.
Avani Chaturvedi started her education in Deoland, a local school in Shahdol district, Madhya Pradesh. She later joined Banasthali University in Rajasthan to pursue a degree in Technology and joined the school’s flying club.
At the club, she flew planes, adding flying hours to her experience. While still in college, Chaturvedi got an internship at Ranosys Technologies Pte Ltd, working as an Associate Software Engineer for six months.
She later landed a job as a system engineer at IBM and worked there for three years. After graduating in 2014, she took the AFCAT exam and passed it. This resulted in her being recommended by the Air Force Selection Board (AFSB).
Career
After her recommendation by AGSB, Avani Chaturvedi underwent intense training at the Hyderabad Airforce Academy, Dindigul, that started in 2015. On 19th February 2016, her journey in the Indian Air Force started at the Jamnagar base, and she became a fighter pilot in a Mig-21.
This made her, alongside flying officers Bhawana Kanth and Mohana Singh, the first Indian females to be commissioned into the fighter stream as a flying officer. The three were commissioned by Manohar Parrikar, the Indian Defense Minister at the time, who named their induction day a red-letter day.
In addition to her training in Hyderabad, Chaturvedi underwent more training at Hakimpet for six months on Kiran trainer jets. She also trained at bidar Airbase on Hawk advanced trainer jets for a year.
In 2018 Chaturvedi made one of her most significant achievements by taking the Mig-21 Bison on a solo 30-minute flight. That made her the first Indian female to take a solo flight in the aircraft, resulting in her promotion to become a Flight Lieutenant.
Prashant Dixit, the Air Commodore, said that Chaturvedi’s accomplishment was a significant step for India and the Indian Air Force. Her achievement made her feature in an Indian Air Force Recruitment advertisement, and the Air Force said that would help attract more female pilots in the male-dominated field.
The Avani Air Force pilot is currently posted in Suratgarth, Rajasthan, Indian Air Force No.23 Squadron Panthers. While Chaturvedi has accomplished a lot in the Air Force, she still has a long journey before she can go on complete combat missions.
She has to train for tactical maneuvering, night flying, air-to-ground, and air-to-air combat. She also has to train how to fly other fighter jets like Tejas and Sukhoi.
Recognitions And Awards
Banasthali Vidyapeeth awarded Chaturvedi a doctorate degree in 2018. She also received the Nari Shakti Puraskar on 9th March 2020 from President Ram Nath Kovind.
Fun Facts About Avani Chaturvedi
- She loves playing tennis, chess, painting, sketching, and playing the violin
- Before her solo flight, Avani Chaturvedi practiced with other aircraft like Hawk and Turboprops trainer jets that are easier to handle
- She was second on the India Air Force merit list
FAQs
She graduated in 2014 from Banasthali University with a bachelor’s in Technology.
She began her career immediately after she graduated by taking the AFCAT exam.
She married Vineet Chikara, a Flight Lieutenant, in November 2019.
