A. Rex Rivolo

A. Rex Rivolo (born November 2, 1944)

is an American aviation expert, pilot, defense analyst, astrophysicist, educator, author, and art collector.

Early life and education

Rivolo was born in Genoa, Italy, and later moved to the United States. He attended Brooklyn Technical High School, where he specialized in its Aviation Course. He continued his education at New York Polytechnic University (now Polytechnic Institute of New York University), graduating in 1967 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering.

Military services

After graduating, Rivolo enlisted in the United States Air Force (USAF). He completed Officer Training School and received his commission as a Second Lieutenant in November 1967. Rivolo underwent pilot training and earned his wings in January 1969, specializing in the F-4 Phantom II aircraft. He served in the Vietnam War, flying 531 combat missions and receiving numerous commendations, including 26 Air Medals and 5 Distinguished Flying Crosses. He left the Air Force in 1973 to pursue graduate studies. In 1976, Rivolo joined the New York Air National Guard as a rescue helicopter pilot, flying the HH-3 and later the H-60 aircraft. He has logged over 7,000 military flight hours. He retired from the military in 1996 in the grade of Lieutenant Colonel.

Career

Astrophysics career

Following his active military service, Rivolo enrolled at Stony Brook University, earning a Ph.D. in astrophysics in 1981. He conducted postdoctoral research at the Space Telescope Science Institute and briefly served as a faculty member in the Astronomy Department at the University of Pennsylvania. Rivolo authored multiple scientific papers on topics including galaxy dynamics and planetary atmospheres.  

Career as Defense Analyst

In 1992, Rivolo joined the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA), focusing on aviation and defense analysis. He contributed significantly to the testing and evaluation of military aircraft and weapons systems, including the V-22 Osprey and the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. Rivolo also served as Chief Analyst at the Counter-IED Operations Integration Center in Baghdad during the Iraq war.

Corporate and consulting roles

In 2009, Rivolo transitioned to the private sector as the Chief Technology Officer of Flight Test Aerospace Corporation (FTA). He oversaw international operations, including depot-level maintenance of Russian-made helicopters for the Iraqi, Afghani, and Pakistani armed forces. After leaving FTA in 2013, he became an independent consultant specializing in aviation and defense and a dealer in fine art.

Art collection and philanthropy

Beyond his professional career, Rivolo is an avid art collector with a particular passion for prints and drawings. The Rivolo Collection began in the early 1970s, when he began acquiring prints and drawings focusing on works from the 19th to the mid-20th century. By the early 2000s, the collection had grown to over 10,000 works and expanded to include graphic works of the Old Masters of the 17th and 18th centuries, post-1950 modernist graphics, and paintings from the 18th though the 20th century.

Currently, the collection comprises over 30,000 works on paper consisting of Western prints and drawings, Japanese woodblock prints and drawings, and over 400 paintings. In 2017, Rivolo established Roving Sands Fine Arts, Inc., to promote and share his collection through an online gallery and website.

Selected publications

Following is the list of his selected publications:

• Jupiter from 1500 to 2000 a with the iue, (with: t. Owen, j. Caldwell, v. Moore, a. L. Lane, c. Sagan, g. Hunt, c. Ponnamperuma), astrophys. J. (letters), 236 (1980), l39.
• An upper limit to the global so2 abundances on io, (with: p. S. Butterworth, j. Caldwell, t. Owen, v. Moore, a. L. Lane), nature, 285 (1980), 308.
• Observations of Uranus, Neptune, and titan by the iue, (with:  j. Caldwell, t. Owen, v. Moore, g. E. Hunt, p. S. Butterworth), astron. J., 86 (1980), 298.
• The velocity dispersion among galaxies, (with:  a. Yahil), astrophys. J., 251 (1981), 477.
• Nonlinear evolution of superclusters, (with:  a. Yahil), astrophys. J., 274 (1983), 474.
• Nonlinear evolution of large-scale density structure (with: a. Yahil), in clusters and groups of galaxies, proceedings of the meeting held at trieste, Italy, 13-16 sep. 1983, (dordrecht: reidel pub. Co.), p. 429, 1984.
• The Massachusetts-stony brook galactic plane co survey: disk and spiral arm molecular cloud populations, (with: p. M. Solomon, d. B. Sanders), astrophys. J. (letters), 292 (1985), l19.
• Liouville's theorem and the velocity field of galaxies, nature, 317 (1985), 788.
• Infrared polar brightenings on jupiter iii: spectroscopy from the voyager-i iris experiment (with: s. J. Kim, j. Caldwell, r. Wagener, g. S. Orton), icarus, 64 (1986), 233.
• The two-point correlation function of the local supercluster, astrophys. J., 301 (1986), 70.
• Analysis of counterdrug historical data in the transit zone for fy93/94 (co-author), ida document d-1529, 7 June 1994.

Controversy

The safety and operational controversies surrounding the V-22 Osprey stirred significant debate and concern within military and aviation circles. Despite assertions from some pilots, such as Captain Justin McKinney, who express confidence in the aircraft's capabilities to convert to airplane mode and potentially find safe landing options in emergencies, Rivolo raised serious doubts.

In 2003, Rivolo wrote a memo called "Lingering Safety Concerns of the V-22." And he noted that the side-by-side engines made the aircraft prone to roll at times. High vibrations from the engines would cause parts to fail and the high downwash from the rotors would kick up dirt, making it hard to see.

Rivolo, in a confidential Pentagon study from  2003, criticized the decision to deploy the V-22 without established autorotation capability, which is a critical feature allowing helicopters to safely land in the event of engine failure. He pointed out the high risk posed by the absence of this capability, particularly in combat scenarios where helicopters are vulnerable during landing approaches. Rivolo's concerns were underscored by historical data from the Vietnam War, where many helicopters were able to autorotate to a safe landing after being hit enemy fire.