Shah made it to one of the leading helicopter flying schools in the US and has got a pilot’s licence there.She is one of the handful of Gujarati women to have trained for and flown a rotor-wing craft in the US.
“It is an amazing experience. I always wanted to fly helicopters but I never thought that it would happen in the US,” Shah told TOI.
Shah had become one of the youngest persons to get a student pilot licence in the state when she was 16. Shah flew a Cessna 152 while undergoing training at Gujarat Flying Club in Vadodara.
She went on to join the National Cadet Corps (NCC) and got an NCC ‘C’ certificate. She then began preparing for the Services Selection Board (SSB) interview to join the IAF through NCC direct entry mode.
“I appeared for the SSB interview in 2021 but during the medical test, I was told that I fell short of the required height by four cm. I was declared ineligible for flying branch,’’ Shah said.
Her mother Purvi supported her and motivated her to take up flying in the US. “I applied at the Hillsboro Heli Academy in Portland. I got through and landed in the US in August 2022. The training was tough as one has to pass exams and even fly as per their strict criteria to get a pilot’s licence,” Shah.
Shah preferred the US as she wanted to fly helicopters.
“There were very few women in our institute as not many choose to become a helicopter pilot. I was told that I was the first Indian woman to have got a flying licence from their institute in the last few years,” she added.
After a rigorous training of 15 months, including several hours of flying, she got her licence in November 2023. “I want to become a commercial rotorcraft pilot. People keep saying that flying helicopters is a risky affair and I should go for fixed-wing aircraft but I am fascinated with helicopters. I now plan to take up a job of flying commercial helicopters in the USA,” Shah revealed.
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