SFTE EC Board

Nunzio Nicola Caccavo holds an MSc in Mechanical Engineering from Politecnico di Bari and began his professional journey as a pilot in the Italian Airforce. His engineering career advanced through roles such as Project Leader and R&D Powertrain Project Engineer at Toyota Motor Europe NV SA. He completed Flight Test Engineer training at the International Test Pilots School (ITPS) and went on to serve as Experimental Lead Flight Test Engineer at Fokker Services B.V. in the Netherlands. He is a certified EASA Technical Approver for Safety in Flight Testing and currently works as a Lead Flight Test Engineer at Airbus in the Toulouse area, France. Since October 2021, he has also served as Vice President of the European Chapter of the Society of Flight Test Engineers. 

Alessandro started his career in the flight test business in Italy, in the famous manufacturer Leonardo Aircraft Division in 2015. His journey continued in Piaggio Aerospace where he strengthened his knowledge in flight testing until 2019. In the spring of that year, he joined a small company in Germany, called Beechcraft Berlin Aviation where he worked on several King Air projects and he flew for the very first time the new GE Turboprop Engine called Catalyst.

In 2022 moved to Sweden to a start-up called Heart Aerospace trying to build the first regional electric aircraft. 

Since September 2024, Alessandro has been part of the staff of the Empire Test Pilots' School as a Flight Test Engineer Instructor.

Sebastian Rommel received his Aerospace Engineering Diploma in 2009 from the University of Technology in Dresden, before he was employed at EADS Defence&Security working on system integration and qualification tests of the Eurofighter Flight Control System.

In June 2012 he joined the flight test department of the company and attended the P&FQ Course 12B at the National Test Pilot School.

Sebastian graduated as a fully qualified EASA Cat.1 Lead Flight Test Engineer from ITPS Canada in 2019.

Now he is leading the team of FTEs at Airbus Defence and Space in Manching, Germany.

His major flight test projects included avionic suite enhancements, weapon integration and handling qualities assessment, aerodynamic data gathering for the Eurofighter Enhanced Maneuverability Aerodynamic Mod Kit, as well as leading the Swiss Typhoon Flight Evaluation Trials.

For more than 21 years Raluca was a diplomate within the Romanian Ministry of Foreig Affairs,  where she built her experience in 

management of International Policies. Legal background in international law (Bucharest University), LLM in humanitarian affairs (Law University, Bucharest) and LLM in International Aviation Law (Université Toulouse I Capitole).

Experience in multilateral affairs (Vienna/OSCE, Brussels/NATO and The Hague/International criminal courts). High level seminars and event organizer. Since 2022 acting as Secretary of the SFTE European Chapter.

Gin Williams is an experimental aircraft engineer with experience across flight controls, flight-test operations and avionics integration.

She has worked on developing novel crewed and uncrewed vehicles from early concepts through to deployed flight-test campaigns, contributing both as a lead systems engineer and ground-to-air control operator

She began her career within the UK UAV industry, developing communications and control architectures, both for onboard systems and ground-control stations. Expanding from fixed-wing to multirotor and VTOL platforms, culminating in multi-aircraft trials across Europe.

She later joined Volocopter as a Flight Test Specialist Engineer, responsible for the aircraft's crewed and uncrewed configurations, and serving as test crew during flight-test activities.

Gin is currently undertaking a PhD at Cranfield University, investigating flight testing of novel technologies and experimental aircraft. Her study includes analysing weaknesses in regulatory frameworks, emerging technologies for crew training and rapid development cycles, and comparing industry best practices for military and civilian programmes.

Michiel Hordijk is a skilled engineer with expertise in electrical engineering, flight test instrumentation, and certification. He graduated with a BSc degree in Electrical Engineering from the Technical University of Haarlem in 2003.

Michiel joined the Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR) in 2006 as a Flight Test Instrumentation Engineer. He has established himself as a leading expert in helicopter flight test projects, delivering complex projects and playing a key role in designing and implementing flight test instrumentation for various military platforms. Since 2016, Michiel has also become proficient in certification, serving as an Avionics Certification Verification Engineer (CVE) for NLR research aircraft and RNLAF platforms.

Michiel has leveraged his expertise to lead the testing of launched effects for helicopter platforms used by the Royal Netherlands Air Force and define the required test capabilities for evaluating future CCA/ACP concepts, showcasing his unique blend of technical expertise, project leadership skills, and experience with military aircraft.

Christian Heinrich is an experienced flight test engineer, currently Head of Financial Planning, Flight Operation and Training Services, Airbus Defence and Space (Manching, Germany).

He graduated with an Electrotechnical Engineering degree and has also an MSystemsEng at the University of Applied Sciences, Munich, and has an MBA in Business Administration at the University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Ingolstadt. He followed Flight Test Engineer Courses at NTPS and was Senior Project Leader for a multitude of projects with Eurofighter GmbH, Hallbergmoos.

Paul Koks graduated in Aeronautical Engineering from the Hogere Technische School of Haarlem in 1985, later broadening his expertise through master classes at Cranfield University and the University of Kansas in Flight Testing and Certification.

He joined NLR in 1986 as an FT(I)E, contributing to landmark civil certification programmes including the Fokker 50, 60, 70, and 100. From 1997, he expanded into military flight test, leading certification and upgrade programmes for the F-16, KDC-10, C-130, and a wide range of rotorcraft, including the Lynx, Chinook, Cougar, Apache, and NH-90.

In 2016, Paul took on the role of Senior R&D Engineer, leading NLR's Flight Test Support Section, playing a pivotal role in securing NLR's Part 21J Design Organisation Approval. He was appointed Head of the Flight Test and Certification Department in April 2020 and, in July 2020, was designated Head of NLR's Design Organisation by the CAA-NL.