Page 23 - World Airshow News Autumn 2024

Left: The Frecce Tricolori concludes their performance over the beach in Ocean City, Maryland with the World’s Longest
Italian Flag. Bottom: The Scintilla Tricolore break (photos by Steve Serdikoff)

various teams be combined into a single, as well as solo maneuvers more typical of
national aerobatic team to represent the propeller-driven aerobatic aircraft than a
Italian Air Force and, indeed, the entire modern jet.
nation of Italy. The Frecce Tricolori show culminates
The new team was designated the Pat- with the team using its colored smoke to
tuglia Acrobatica Nazionale (PAN), or make a giant Italian flag across the sky to
National Aerobatic Team, eventually the strains of Luciano Pavarotti’s famous
trading its F-86Es for Italian-made Fiat rendition of the aria “Nessun Dorma”
G.91PANs and adopting the now famil- from Giacomo Puccini’s opera “Turan-
iar blue paint scheme. While the prancing dot.” To be fair, airshows are typically
horse is no longer a prominent feature of events that emphasize technical skill and
the paint scheme, the team did retain Bar- technological prowess. Yet in spite of the
racca’s legacy, with each of the team pilots austere technological façade often found
using the callsign “Pony.” at airshows, the Frecce Tricolori, while
clearly flying with a skill and precision
tHE tHREE-COLORED ARROWS equal or greater than that of any jet dem-
Officially called the 313th Acrobatic onstration team in the world, are also able
Training Group, National Aerobatic Team to produce a genuinely poignant moment
(PAN) “Frecce Tricolori” (three-colored of high drama and pure emotion.
arrows), the team is comprised of ten The Frecce Tricolori does not just rep-
pilots (nine formation pilots and a solo resent Italy’s airpower, but the strength of
pilot) and over 100 support personnel, its culture and the passion of its people
each representing the over 40,000 men as well. That’s by design. For Frecce Tri-
and women of the Italian Air Force. The colori Commander, Lt. Col. Massimiliano
team currently flies the Aermacchi MB- Salvatore, “Pony 0,” their airshow carries
339PAN, a slightly modified version of on Italy’s proud tradition not just of ex-
the Italian-designed and built MB-339 jet ceptional formation aerobatics, but also
trainer, with tip tanks removed and col- of performance, one typically expressed
ored smoke generators installed. Beloved through such mediums as opera or cin-
around the world, the team has earned ema. As Lt. Col. Salvatore said, “Italy is
an enviable reputation for its spectacu- something different.” It’s no surprise that
lar performances that incorporate red, upon the death of the great Luciano Pava-
white, and green smoke representing the rotti, the Frecce Tricolori performed their
Italian flag. The team showcases unique famous flag pass at his funeral. In that
formation sets and crossing maneuvers, sense, the team represents deep-seated

Rampante badge on the side of a red Fer-
rari may be the ultimate representation
of Italian style and luxury, it was born of
Baracca’s simple desire to honor his roots
as a former cavalry officer. To carry on
Baracca’s legacy, pilots of the Italian Air
Force’s 4th Wing flew under the prancing
horse emblem, forming an aerobatic team
called the Cavallino Rampante in the
1950s. This team, along with others from
different squadrons, gained substantial
notoriety for their spectacular aerobatic
performances, prompting the top brass
in the Italian Air Force to suggest these

World Airshow News 23 Quarter 4, 2024