Aircraft designer, entrepreneur and Tecnam’s leading light, Professor Luigi Pascale, has celebrated his 90th birthday in Capua, Italy.

Luigi ‘Gino’ Pascale’s passion for aviation began during the 1930s when he and his brother Giovanni won many model aircraft races. The first aircraft built by the brothers, the P48 Astore, flew on the 2 April 1951.

At the time Professor Luigi had just graduated with a Masters Degree as a mechanical engineer and started his career at the University of Naples as assistant of Professor Umberto Nobile – an outstanding character who undertook the first expedition to North Pole with an airship.

Gaining his Pilot’s License in 1951; Professor Pascale designed and built a number of competition winning ‘race’ aircraft including the P55 Tornado.

In 1986 the two Pascale brothers founded Tecnam, and – according to the company – Professor Pascale’s first design, the P92, has now flown 200,000 hours with over 2,500 in service worldwide.

Professor Pascale is currently leading Tecnam’s Research and Design team, working on the eleven-seat P2012 Traveller.

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