Aug. 30, 2015
Virgin Galactic has officially announced the appointment of Nicola Pecile, a national test pilot school instructor and former Italian Air Force Lieutenant Colonel.
The pilot of Virgin Galactic's next “space plane” will be Italian. The UK/US company founded 11 years ago by UK magnate Richard Branson - with the ambitious goal of offering 500 suborbital flights per year for particularly wealthy clients - has officially announced the appointment of an Italian pilot.
His name is Nicola Pecile, from Fagagna (Udine), and he was trained first as a fighter pilot and later as an experimental test pilot in the Italian Air Force. With more than 5400 flight hoursto his credit in 132 different models of helicopters and planes,
Pecile's abilities have been most highly rewarded in the US, where he has been awarded the 4 biggest trophies for a pilot: “Distinguished Graduate” for best officer, “Top Stick Pilot” for best results in individual flights, “Top Formation Pilot” for best pupil in tight formation flight discipline and tactics, and “Commander's Trophy” for best pupil for military qualities, attitude for flight and command.
After his degree in Aeronautical Science, with a Master's Degree in Astronautical Engineering from La Sapienza University in Rome, Pecile has spent the last 4 years doing further training: this time at the National Test Pilot School in the Mojave desert - a civilian school for pilots known for its experimental pilot testing, where Pecile was also director of operations and instructor for testing pilots. Now, he's ready for the next challenge - piloting Sir Richard Branson's “space planes”.
ASI President Roberto Battiston commented that “this news fills us with pride, and confirms the excellent quality standards of the Italian air force's pilot training”. Nicola Pecile is playing a leading role in the world of astronauts, and proves that Italy is also in the forefront of this new operating environment. “Technology is rapidly moving the world of aeronautics closer to the space sector, and this process will make it easier to access research opportunities and extra-atmospheric resources”, concluded Battiston.
Mike Moses, Vice President of Virgin Galactic, commented that “Nicola is a great representative of the cutting edge aerospace development that exists in Mojave”. “His extensive experience with high performance vehicles, excellent engineering skills, and career as a test pilot instructor make him a natural fit for Virgin Galactic”, Moses concluded. “Virgin Galactic continues to grow and attract top talent like Nicola, and we couldn’t be more proud of our distinguished pilot corps.”
“Since a young age, I have been very passionate about aviation in general and spaceflight in particular. Virgin Galactic is transforming the overall concept of accessing space, projecting humanity to become a truly spacefaring civilization. I am really honoured to be selected as a pilot to join this amazing group of talented people”, commented Pecile.