Page 24 - World Airshow News Autumn 2024

...tHE ItALIAN WAy...

aspects of Italian culture that extend far beyond a flight dem- It was no small feat getting the team to North America. With the
onstration to the very heart of what it means to be Italian. MB-339PAN not capable of mid-air refueling, the route from Italy
included stops in the Netherlands, England, Iceland, and Green-
tHE 2024 NORtH AmERICAN tOuR land before finally reaching Canada. Once in North America, the
Despite the Frecce Tricolori’s worldwide renown, it had tour included performances at ten airshows in the United States
been more than 32 years since they had brought their uniquely and Canada and 16 additional flights over cities from Los Angeles
Italian combination of passion and precision to the skies over to New York and Washington, D.C. Every member of the Frecce
North America. In 2024, the Frecce Tricolori finally returned Tricolori and the Italian Air Force that I spoke with was keen to
to the United States and Canada – and the team could not have emphasize that a tour of this size demanded the cooperation of not
been happier. As Lt. Col. Salvatore told me, returning to North just the Frecce Tricolori team itself, but also numerous personnel
America is “living the dream,” as many current team members and assets of the Italian Air Force. It was a huge source of pride for
grew up seeing the pictures from the team’s last visit to North all involved not just to show the team’s spectacular demonstration
America in 1992 and longed to be the ones to return. to North American audiences, but also to demonstrate to its allies
According to Col. Stefano Pietropaoli of the Italian Air in the United States and Canada the Italian Air Force’s capacity to
Force, the commanding officer in charge of the entire North negotiate the complex logistical requirements necessary to execute
American Tour, the genesis of the return began in earnest in such an operation.
2023 as the Italian Air Force celebrated its 100th Anniversary.
To honor this milestone, the Frecce Tricolori performed all tHE ItALIAN FLAIR FOR pERFORmANCE
over Italy, flying an airshow and a flyover in each of the coun- In the spirit of friendly cooperation, the Frecce Tricolori were
try’s regions. At the conclusion of 2023, the Italian Air Force eager to share their experiences with their North American coun-
was looking for a way to carry the excitement and accomplish- terparts, the Snowbirds, the Blue Angels, and the Thunderbirds.
ment of these celebrations forward into 2024. Then, says Col. While the Snowbirds have adopted a performance style that has
Pietropaoli, the team received an official request from the Roy- much in common with European jet demonstration teams, the dif-
al Canadian Air Force (RCAF) for the Frecce Tricolori to visit ferences between the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds and the Frecce
Canada to help the RCAF celebrate its 100th Anniversary. By Tricolori are stark.
that time, the Italian Air Force and the Frecce Tricolori had So, how do the Frecce Tricolori view the differences between
already been testing the waters by attending the ICAS Con- them and the American teams? Lt. Col. Salvatore said that, in the
vention in Las Vegas and had received further solicitations to United States, emphasis is on the power and technology of the air-
perform in North America. craft. The American teams focus their displays around high perfor-
With these invitations in hand, Col. Pietropaoli began to mance passes down the show line, often using full afterburner. The
form a plan. The motivations were many. Of course, there were Italian team, by contrast, draws on an essentially unbroken tradi-
the dual milestones of the Royal Canadian Air Force’s 100th tion extending back 65 years in which the emphasis is on tradition-
Anniversary and the 75th Anniversary of the North Atlantic al aerobatics, with an eye toward the Italian flair for performance.
Treaty Organization (NATO), but Col. Pietropaoli made it a Unlike the American teams, where many of the passes are in-
point to say that a big part of the team’s visit was to honor the terchangeable in the show timeline, Lt. Col. Salvatore noted that
many Italian immigrants living in North America. The tour the Frecce Tricolori perform their routine as one continuous pass,
was, as Col. Pietropaoli said, “a thank you to our friends in the with all rejoins occurring right in front of the audience. Lt. Col.
United States and Canada,” honoring the deep Italian heritage Salvatore emphasized that their routine must be performed as one
there and the long history between the nations as allies and continuous sequence. It is impossible to extract a single maneuver
as fellow NATO members. The reception was overwhelming. from the middle of the routine and place it in the beginning, for
Col. Pietropaoli was very impressed at the many Italian Amer- example.
icans and Canadians who turned out for their flyovers, enthu- When I asked about the exceptionally rapid rejoins the team
siastically greeting the team waving Italian flags and singing performs, Lt. Col. Salvatore said that this was perhaps the least no-
along to the Italian National Anthem. ticed, but most difficult and important part of the show. With ten

One of the exciting
crossover maneuvers the
Frecce Tricolori performs
during their airshow
routine (photo by Steve
Serdikoff).

www.airshowmag.com 24 Quarter 4, 2024