On December 2, Sub Lieutenant Shivangi earned her ‘wings’, going down in history as the first-ever woman to steer an Indian naval aircraft to the skies.
“You don’t need to be super talented to fly an aircraft, but you need to work really hard and stay focused,” she says.
“Flying goes against your natural instincts. Hence the importance of focus and skill sets,” she adds.
“But she’s an altogether different person in the cockpit – a quick learner and an adept flyer,” vouches Lieutenant Commander Rahul Yadav, one of her instructors at INAS 550.
Before joining the Navy, Shivangi had only seen the sea in Goa as a tourist. “At Muzzafarpur, Navy meant sailing to people and naval aviation was unknown. Maybe now it will have better visibility,” she says.
She has logged some 100 flying hours so far, with over 60 on the Dornier as part of the course.
This will be followed by another six months of mission-based flying in which she will get to learn to exploit the aircraft for its operational role. The bigger dream, however, is to eventually qualify to fly the P8I long-range maritime recce aircraft.
By December-end, two more women pilots of the Navy, Sub Lt. Shubhangi and Sub Lt. Divya will also get their wings at Yelahanka where they trained with the Air Force.
