Maurizio Cheli, Alenia Aeronautica Chief Test Pilot

Maurizio Cheli joined the Italian Air Force in 1978. After graduation from the Italian Air Force Academy in 1982 and pilot training in the USA he served as an operational recce pilot on F-104G.
In 1988 he graduated top of his class from the Empire Test Pilot School, Boscombe Down, UK. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Sciences from the Italian Air Force Academy, a Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Houston in 1994, a Political Science Master of Science degree from the University of Torino (Italy) in 2004 and a Master in Business Administration from ESCP-EAP, Paris in 2007. While assigned to the Italian Air Force Test Centre he served as project pilot on a variety of test programmes.

In 1992, Maurizio Cheli was selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) and assigned to NASA Johnson Space Centre in Houston where he became an astronaut in 1993 and in 1996 he participated as Mission Specialist in the STS-75 Tethered Satellite Mission.
He joined Alenia Aeronautica in 1996 and in 1998 he became chief test pilot for combat aircraft. Since then he has been in charge of the development programme of the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft of which he has been the display pilot at the Paris Airshow in 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2005 and at several other international air shows throughout Europe.
Maurizio Cheli has logged approximately 4000 flight hours in more than 50 different types of aircraft and helicopters and 360 hours in space.