Why We Should Know Flying Officer Meghana Shanbogh MR

The Indian Air force has a new poster girl now:  Meghana Shanbogh MR. She recently graduated as a Flying Officer from the Air Force Academy (AFA) in Dundigal at a Combined Graduation Parade.

Here are some things to know about her:

• Meghana is the sixth female fighter pilot and the first from Karnataka to join IAF ranks.
• Shanbough was a student of Maharishi Vidya Mandir Public School, Chikmagalur. While in 4^th standard she told her father that she wanted to study in a boarding school and he supported her dreams.
• She joined Little Rock Indian School in Udupi, (a boarding school) where she studied from Class 5 to 12. After which she graduated from Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering (SJCE), Mysuru where she formed the Sahas-SJCE Adventure Club.
• The club organised trekking, rafting, mountaineering and such other expeditions which toughened her. She also received paragliding training which gave her a glimpse into life in IAF. Their trainers were retired officers. Their discipline and way of life inspired her.
• At 20, while in her second year of college, she did her first solo on a paraglider and jumped off a cliff on Querim Beach in Goa.

“After completing my engineering (in Information Science) in 2015, I was sure I wouldn’t want to take up a day job. I wanted to pursue something out of the ordinary,” says Meghana.

• She read stories of IAF’s first women fighter pilots Flying Officers Mohana Singh, Bhawana Kanth and Avani Chaturvedi that inspired her. She considers her father and paragliding instructor Nagendra as her role models.
• Meghana cleared AFCAT (Air Force Common Admission Test) and SSB (Services Selection Board) and joined AFA as a Flight Cadet in January 2017.
• In June 2017 at AFA she had her first flight as part of the FAM (familiarisation) sortie on a Pilatus, along with her instructor. She has to her credit over 50 sorties on Pilatus (Stage-I) and over 90 sorties on Kiran (Stage-II). Her first solo was in August 2017 on a Pilatus.
• Meghana’s father M K Ramesh, an advocate, sent her to Delhi for IAS coaching after engineering.

Meghana proves that with hard work and determination one can touch the skies.

Picture Credit: mangalorean.com

Also read: Meet Reshma Nilofar Naha Soon to be World’s First Woman River Pilot

Apoorva Lamba is an intern with SheThePeople.Tv