Alessandro Tonini

Alessandro Tonini (1885 – 12 November 1932) was an important Italian aeronautical engineer and aircraft designer of the early 20th century who worked for Gabardini, Macchi, and IMAM.

Biography Tonini was born in Cavarzere in the Province of Venice in Italy in 1885, the son of a civil engineer. Passionate about the world of aviation, he began his career as an aeronautical manufacturer in Milan in 1908 when he founded the Rebus Works

Tonini's first creation was the Rebus engine, produced in two types. The first, delivering , was installed on the Wright biplane which Lieutenants Mario Calderara and Umberto Savoja flew during the "Brescia Week” competition, winning all the prizes for a domestically produced Italian apparatus.

Together with Piero Bergonzi and Ippolito Negri, Tonini later designed two types of canard monoplane with a parasol wing, and was powered by a Le Rhône rotary engine, while the other was a two-seater of entirely wooden construction and powered by a Anzani engine. Returning to Italy, he worked for a short time at Gabardini, and then was hired as technical director at SIAI at Bovisio. He died in Switzerland due to illness on 12 November 1932.