Chkalov was born on 2 February1904 in the town of Vasilyevo, near Nizhni Novgorod, the son of a boiler maker. His mother died when he was six years old. Chkalov studied in the technical school in Cherepovets but later returned to work as an apprentice with his father and as a stoker on river boats. He saw his first plane in 1919 and decided to join the Red Army's air force. He trained as a pilot and graduated in 1924 joining a fighter squadron. Chkalov married Olga Orekhova, a schoolteacher from Leningrad, in 1927. In the early 1930s he became a test pilot.    Inthefallof 1935, Chkalov’sfriendandcolleague, GeorgyBaydukov, suggestedtheideaof a non-stoptranspolarflighttotheUnitedStates. Chkalovconcededafter a minorhesitation, andinthespringof 1936 thecrew, consistingofChkalov, BaydukovandAleksandrBelyakov, thenavigator, requestedpermissionfromtheSovietauthoritiestofulfilltheirproject.