“Ace aviation reporter David Cenciotti…” Wired’s Danger Room

The Aviationist is run by David Cenciotti (cenciotti@theaviationist.com), a journalist based in Rome, Italy, who launched the blog in 2006: since then, The Aviationist has become one of world’s most authoritative and read military aviation websites. On a daily basis, it is quoted, cited or linked by the most important media outlets across the five continents including Huffington Post, Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya, Independent, Daily Mail, NYT, Corriere della Sera, Business Insider, Stern, Der Spiegel, etc.

“David is the life force behind “The Aviationist” blog, which is a remarkable corner of the Internet. He’s a living library of aircraft knowledge, and adept at aircraft identification.” C.J. Chivers reporter at The New York Times Investigations Desk & The New York Times Magazine.

Born in 1975, David Cenciotti is a private pilot, a former 2nd Lt. of the Aeronautica Militare (Italian Air Force, ItAF) and a graduate in Computer Engineering.

Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide media outlets and magazines, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia, and flown several combat planes with different air forces.

“Flight guru […] Aeronautics Buff David Cenciotti […] has strong credentials” Gizmodo

His stories have appeared on Air Forces Monthly, Revista Força Aérea, Fighter Tactics, Combat Aircraft, Aeronautica & Difesa, Airline, RID, Rivista Aeronautica, Airplanes, VICE News, Gizmodo, War Is Boring, Tech News Daily and Innovation News Daily and he’s regularly interviewed by newspapers, televisions and radios.

“He gives a refreshing Italian perspective, from a professional, of aviation. His books are top notch and he covers current dramatic aviation news with insight and objectivity. His opinions regarding current events is concise as well as accurate. There is no sensationalism or pandering or undue excitement as is found, too often, in today’s news media” SeattlePI

Since Jan. 2013, David is the “first and only featured contributor” for Business Insider Military & Defense. Here’s The Aviationist’s section on BI. Read the introductory article Robert Johnson (BI Military & Defense Editor) wrote about David, including a long interview, here.

If you want to know when a new article is published on a magazine or when I talked in TV or was quoted by newspapers check the in the News / Citations section.

He has written five books and contributed to many more ones; among the books he’s authored, there is the famous best-seller “Frecce Tricolori – an exciting 50 year flight”, the only official book of the Italian Air Force for the 50th Anniversary of the Frecce Tricolori display team, published by DeAgostini in 2010.

“The 37-year-old Cenciotti rivals ace Aviation Week reporter Bill Sweetman for breaking news about military aircraft.” Wired’s Danger Room

As an Information Security and Cloud Networking pro, opinion leader and expert, he’s been working with large organizations analyzing their network architectures, assets, threats, security requirements and procedures, to manage their risks by means of proper countermeasures since 2001. He’s a Lead Auditor ISO 27001, ITIL v3 certified, and owns several more professional certifications.

Still, the  views  expressed here are his alone and have not been authorized by, and  do not necessarily reflect the views of his employer.

“The Aviationist has consistently had the best analysis…” Bruce Schneier

You can follow David on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Flickr.

He has been invited to provide live expert commentary during airshows aired on Rai 1, the flagship television channel of Rai, Italy’s national state broadcaster, in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 (for the 60th Anniversary of the Frecce Tricolori) and 2023 (during the Centennial Airshow at Pratica di Mare).

Live on Rai 1 during the airshow for the 100th Anniversary of the Italian Air Force in 2023.
Some screenshots during the Live TV show on Rai 1 from Rivolto, where the Italian Air Force celebrated the 60th Anniversary of the Frecce Tricolori.
Live during Valore Tricolore Airshow (2019).
Live show on RAI1 for the Punta Marina Airshow (2018).
Some screenshots of the Live show on RAI1 for the Grosseto Airshow (2017).

Click on the thumbnails below to watch some of his TV interviews.

RaiNews per MH370

 

Editorial Team: 

Below, you can find a name of the contributors who help us keep this weblog updated by providing pictures, reports, heads ups, or suggestions.

Contributors:

  • Richard Clements – Gloucester – UK
  • Jacek Siminski – Gniezno – Poland
  • Tom Demerly – Tucson – USA
  • Stefano D’Urso – Lecce – Italy

Photographers:

  • Tony Lovelock – Bishop’s Stortford – UK
  • Giovanni Maduli – Rome – Italy
  • Alessandro Fucito – Rome – Italy

If there are any questions you may contact DC Media Srls, via Fiume delle Perle 188, 00144, Rome, VAT IT12871451006, phone number +39 342 802 0729 or sending an email at the address below: dcmediasrls@pec.it

7 Comments

  1. Ciao Dario,
    purtroppo non credo, a meno di cambi di programma dell’ultima ora, di poter partecipare a Fighter 2008. Eppure mi interesserebbe…e parecchio.
    A presto
    David

  2. CIAO DAVID,
    QUESTA MIA MAIL TI POTRA’ STUPIRE MA PER ME E’ DI VITALE IMPORTANZA E QUINDI PRENDILA IN DOVUTA CONSIDERAZIONE.
    SONO UNA IMPIEGATA/SCRITTRICE/POETESSA DI 55 ANNI, NATA IN LIBYA MA RESIDENTE IN ITALIA.
    SONO L’AUTRICE DI UN LIBRO PROGETTO: LO STATO DELL’INFANZIA UNITA PUBBLICATO NEL 1997 E MANDATO ALL’ONU.
    ORE QUESTO PROGETTO E’ UN WEBSITE: http://www.unitedinfancystate.org E CERCO UN PARTNER CHE MI AFFIANCHI NEL PROGETTO MA CHE SIA ANCHE COMPAGNO DI VITA. AMO L’AEREONAUTICA E STO CERCANDO UN PILOTA MILITARE, ISTRUTTORE, ANCHE IN CONGEDO CHE COMUNQUE SIA UN ACTION MAN PER UN PROGETTO CHE E’ TUTTO PER ME: CREARE “LO STATO DELL’INFANZIA UNITA” CHE CONDIVIDA LA MIA VITA E LA MIA MISSION !
    MI PIACEREBBE CONOSCERE UN MILITARE ITALIANO O AMERICANO E SE TU PUOI DIFFONDERE QUESTO MIO MESSAGGIO ATTRAVERSO IL TUO BLOG O SULLE RIVISTE PER CUI SCRIVI, IO TI SARO’ ETERNAMENTE GRATA E SE TI INTERESSA AVERE UNA PARTE NEL MIO PROGETTO FAMMELO SAPERE!
    IN ATTESA DI UNA TUA RISPOSTA CHE MI AUGURO SIA AL PIU’ PRESTO TI MANDO IL MIO PERSONALE APPREZZAMENTO PER IL TUO BEL SITO E CHE TU SIA SEMPRE AL TOP!!!!!!!
    CIAO CON SIMPATIA SANTINA INSOLIA

  3. Scorrendo le bellissime foto postate ho notato che sulla fusoliera di alcuni tornado italiani c’è lo stemma dello storm shadow e se non vado errato lo si applica dopo una missione di guerra..dunque non mi sembra che ultimamente ci siano state tali missioni..mi potresti dare delucidazioni in merito? Ps: il sito è bellissimo.
    Grazie mille.
    Michele TN

    • Ciao Michele,
      grazie dei complimenti.
      Quel tipo di stemma non è applicato esclusivamente dopo missioni di guerra. Ci sono casi più o meno famosi di stemmi di quel tipo applicati anche in caso di esercitazioni di tiro, dissimilar air combat training ecc. Un episodio piuttosto famoso (e recente) lo trovi qui:
      http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/the-dewline/2009/02/growler-power-ea-18g-boasts-f-.html
      e riguarda l’applicazione ad un EA-18G Growler di un F-22 kill.
      Per tornare a quello nella foto, si tratta dello stemma applicato nel settembre 2006, ad uno dei tre Tornado IDS “1st Upgrade” del 154° Gruppo del 6° Stormo che si sono rischierati nella base di Overberg, in Sudafrica, per le prove di lancio del sistema missilistico stand-off MBDA Storm Shadow. La campagna di lanci, si è svolta presso il poligono di Overberg (OTB, Overberg Toetsbaan), a circa 200 chilometri da Cape Town, ed è stata coordinata dal Reparto Sperimentale.
      Ciao
      David

  4. Hello:
    I’m Blair J. Simundson I collected Airforce Patches as a Captain, however I lost everything to a fire. I was hoping to see if someone could send me a F104 patch, with or with out the Italy logo. Just a F104 woul;d just be nice,. Could you see what you could do. I really would be so gratefull for this. 1 or 2 thats all I would need, I love the simple red, white, Star with the words F104G with a F104 in the midel of the Star.

    • Hi Slice,
      unfortunately I haven’t any of those available now, since already traded all of my F-104 spare patches. Will let you know if I get one for you!
      Best Regards,
      David

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