“I chased the only one moving star on the sky and became a pilot”

India’s Fastest Lady Ms.Sneha Sharma sharing about her experiences on being into an unconventional profession to Aviation Update Special editor Ms.Priyanka Choudhury

- Ms. Priyanka Choudhury

Can you explain more about your journey into racing and flying? Who & What inspired you?

I was quite a different child and never liked doing anything too conventional like watching movies or playing with dolls. I loved speed since my childhood. I had a sports cycle and I enjoyed fast cycling and racing with the bikers on the street. When I tried defeating them, I could sense I have a passion for speed and needed a platform to nurture and express it. Once, I came to know about the Kart racing in the town and tried my hands on it. I clocked the fastest lap time on the first day of the racing. At 14, I searched for an informal training course on mechanics as there were no formal institutes or training available then. At 16, I started learning the racing basics like steering, braking, and cornering. Along with that, I started participating in the local races organized by various companies and newspaper agencies. A race was organized by The Times of India and I won the race. At the age of 17, I was approached by the national team to participate in the championships and at that time I was pursuing my studies in flying. My father was in the Merchant Navy and that made me sail a lot. While sailing, I would locate that one star that was moving was an airplane. I developed my liking for airplanes and from there, I decided to become a pilot.

There were several types of equipment and gadgets like radars and flags on the ship. I used to interact with those and wanted to do something similar.

What's more thrilling for you- racing or flying? How much risk did you take to hone both the skills?