Khalatbari was born to a wealthy farmer family in Baslkuh, Ramsar. His maternal grandfather was "Seyfollah Khan Hayati", a Mirza Kuchak Khan's companion in the Jungle Movement of Gilan, whom he was very proud of since his childhood. After studying his elementary education in Chalakrud, he moved to Tehran and gained a high school diploma. Khalatbari served his conscription in the 92nd Armored Division of Ground Forces of Imperial Iran Army with the rank of 3rd Sargeant. He became seriously interested in military aviation and decided to become a fighter pilot and joined the Imperial Iranian Air Force as an aviation student. From 1972 to 1974, he was trained as an F-4 Phantom pilot at the US Air Force's Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas.