Fernando Alonso (engineer)
Encyclopedia
Fernando Alonso Fernández (born 1956) is the President of Airbus
's flight test division and has been an Airbus employee since 1982. During his career so far, he has accumulated more than 3000 hours of test flights on new aircraft, such as the A318, A320
, A330
, A340
and A340-600. He was part of the crew of the first ever A380
flight together with Jacques Rosay
and four others.
, Spain
, in 1956. He attended United World College of the Atlantic
in Cardiff, Wales
. He then graduated from Technical University of Madrid
as an Aeronautical Engineer.
Alonso joined Airbus as a performance engineer in 1982. Between 1995 and 2002 he was responsible for the development of flight controls and handling qualities during the flight test programs of the A319
, A330-200, A340-500 and A340-600 and in February 2002 he was appointed to his current position as president, flight test division. During his career at Airbus, Fernando Alonso has accumulated more than 3,000 hours of flight tests and has been a flight test engineer on the maiden flights of the A340-200 in 1992, the A319 in 1997, the A318 in 2002 and the A380 in 2005.
Alonso's brother is researcher Pedro Alonso, who has recently developed a vaccine against Malaria
. He received the Prince of Asturias Awards
for International Cooperation for his work in Mozambique
.
Alonso visited India in April 2010. He visited Bangalore's Airbus facility.
Airbus
Airbus SAS is an aircraft manufacturing subsidiary of EADS, a European aerospace company. Based in Blagnac, France, surburb of Toulouse, and with significant activity across Europe, the company produces around half of the world's jet airliners....
's flight test division and has been an Airbus employee since 1982. During his career so far, he has accumulated more than 3000 hours of test flights on new aircraft, such as the A318, A320
Airbus A320
The Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001...
, A330
Airbus A330
The Airbus A330 is a wide-body twin-engine jet airliner made by Airbus, a division of EADS. Versions of the A330 have a range of and can accommodate up to 335 passengers in a two-class layout or carry of cargo....
, A340
Airbus A340
The Airbus A340 is a long-range four-engine wide-body commercial passenger jet airliner. Developed by Airbus Industrie,A consortium of European aerospace companies, Airbus is now fully owned by EADS and since 2001 has been known as Airbus SAS. a consortium of European aerospace companies, which is...
and A340-600. He was part of the crew of the first ever A380
Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine jet airliner manufactured by the European corporation Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS. It is the largest passenger airliner in the world. Due to its size, many airports had to modify and improve facilities to accommodate it...
flight together with Jacques Rosay
Jacques Rosay
Jacques Rosay is Vice President Chief Test Pilot of the aircraft manufacturer Airbus. He has performed the maiden flights of several Airbus airliners, including the A318, A340-500, and A380 Superjumbo...
and four others.
Early life and career
Alonso was born in MadridMadrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, in 1956. He attended United World College of the Atlantic
Atlantic College
The United World College of the Atlantic, also known as Atlantic College, is an international IB Diploma Programme boarding school in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1962, the school was the first of the United World Colleges and was among the first schools in the world to follow an international...
in Cardiff, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. He then graduated from Technical University of Madrid
Technical University of Madrid
The Technical University of Madrid or sometimes called Polytechnic University of Madrid is a Spanish University, located in Madrid. It was founded in 1971 as the result of merging different Technical Schools of Engineering and Architecture, originated mainly in the 18th century...
as an Aeronautical Engineer.
Alonso joined Airbus as a performance engineer in 1982. Between 1995 and 2002 he was responsible for the development of flight controls and handling qualities during the flight test programs of the A319
Airbus A320 family
The Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001...
, A330-200, A340-500 and A340-600 and in February 2002 he was appointed to his current position as president, flight test division. During his career at Airbus, Fernando Alonso has accumulated more than 3,000 hours of flight tests and has been a flight test engineer on the maiden flights of the A340-200 in 1992, the A319 in 1997, the A318 in 2002 and the A380 in 2005.
Personal life
Alonso is married to Marisa Caprile, daughter of deceased Spanish property tycoon Mario Caprile.Alonso's brother is researcher Pedro Alonso, who has recently developed a vaccine against Malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
. He received the Prince of Asturias Awards
Prince of Asturias Awards
The Prince of Asturias Awards are a series of annual prizes awarded in Spain by the Prince of Asturias Foundation to individuals, entities or organizations from around the world who make notable achievements in the sciences, humanities, and public affairs....
for International Cooperation for his work in Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
.
Alonso visited India in April 2010. He visited Bangalore's Airbus facility.