In Loving Memory of Shri Vijay Mukund Soni

National Commissioner – Paragliding, Aero Club of India

With deepest grief and profound respect, the Aero Club of India and the entire air sports community of our nation mourn the passing of Shri Vijay Mukund Soni, who left us on 5th July 2025, doing what he loved most – flying free under the open skies.

Vijay was more than a sportsman. He was a spirit – fierce, kind, determined – who believed in the boundless joy and brotherhood that only flight can offer. As the National Commissioner for Paragliding, he was not merely an official; he was a mentor, a comrade, a friend in the wind to every pilot, novice and seasoned alike. His life was tethered not by boundaries, but by thermals and dreams.

He understood what it meant to launch from a hilltop with nothing but fabric, lines, and faith – and to trust the wind with your soul. He understood the solitude of the sky and the quiet courage it demands. And he gave that courage back, every single day, to those who followed his path.

Vijay’s passing has left a silence in our skies – a silence that only those who have flown can truly hear. But it is not an emptiness. It is a call. A reminder that every flight is a gift, that risk is the price of beauty, and that this community of ours – bound by air, not borders – must carry on with heads held high, wings held steady, and hearts forever open.

To his family, we offer our deepest condolences. To his fellow pilots, we offer this promise – that we will remember him not in stillness, but in flight. In the rustle of wings above a sunrise valley. In the glide that goes further than fear. In the spirit that says, “Go.”

May his flight continue, somewhere beyond, eternal and free.

Blue skies always, Dear Vijay.
Aero Club of India (ACI)
On behalf of the entire Air Sports Fraternity of India
7th July 2025