Considered One Of Italy’s Foremost Aircraft Designers

The Tecnam team gathered Friday in Capua, Italy to celebrate the 90th birthday of pilot, aircraft designer, entrepreneur and Tecnam’s leading light, Professor Luigi Pascale. Despite this special anniversary Professor Pascale will still be behind his desk leading Tecnam’s Research and Design team, working on the very Tecnam latest aircraft design the next-generation 11 seat P2012 Traveler.

Luigi “Gino” Pascale is a native of Naples, Italy, whose passion for aviation began during the 1930’s when, with his brother Giovanni “Nino”, they won many model plane races. The two brothers built their first aircraft, the P48 Astore, which flew on the 2nd of April 1951. At the time Professor Luigi had just graduated with  a Masters Degree as a Mechanical Engineer (the Department of Aeronautical Engineering was created later by Professor Pascale himself)  and started his career at the University of Naples as assistant to Professor Umberto Nobile. Nobile was also an outstanding aviation character, undertaking the first expedition to North Pole with an airship.

Professor Pascale earned his pilot's license in 1951. He designed and built a number of competition-winning race planes, including the P55 Tornado.

After founding PARTENAVIA in 1957, he began building General Aviation planes "for everyone."  Aircraft such as the P64 Oscar and P66 became bestsellers and firm favorites as training aircraft and led to his innovative P68 light twin design. In 1986 the two Pascale brothers founded TECNAM, and Professor Pascale’s first design the P92 has now flown 200,000 hours with over 2,500 in service worldwide.

Professor Pascale has received numerous accolades and awards including the ‘Paul Tissandier diploma’ from Federation Aeronautique Internationale, the ‘Aeroplano d’Argento’ and earlier this year the ‘Flieger Magazin’ Award.

Reflecting his timeless passion for flying, today TECNAM is the world’s largest producer of both General Aviation and  Light Sport Aircraft and delivers a new aircraft every working day.

(Images provided by Tecnam Top: Professor Luigi Pascale. Bottom: Pablo Pascale (left) and Luigi Pascale)

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