Bengaluru, Aug 28: Two months after the historic induction of first three women pilots into the fighter stream of Indian Air Force (IAF), the Bidar Air Force Station is all set to give them the first flying experience on Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer, as part of the Stage-II training.
IAF sources told Mathrubhumi on Sunday that the three women Flying Officers -- Bhawana Kanth, Avani Chaturvedi and Mohana Singh – have already begun their sessions on Hawk simulators.
“As part of the Stage-III training being imparted to these women officers, they have begun sessions on the simulators from August 22. They will start flying the Hawks in the next one or two weeks,” an IAF official said.
The official said the three pilots were given adequate familiarisation training to switch over to higher Gs on Hawk as compared to the Kiran and Pilatus platforms they were trained during their stint with Air Force Academy (AFA) at Dundigal near Hyderabad.
These three women moved to AFS Bidar last month for their training on Hawks, ahead of their final destination in flying supersonic jets, next year.
At AFS Bidar, the trio would be trained in ‘practise combat flying’ during which their body is set to experience new challenges. “It will be different and the girls have been already prepared for the same. They have been given a whitepaper (a book let) that explains their role,” says an official.
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