AEROMEDIA
The Italian Aerospace Information Web
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Fifty years ago the national sport parachuting championship at Turin/Aeritalia airport

On the scorching hot Sunday of June 30, 1974, the young editor of the ASA Bulletin visited Aeritalia Airport with his fiancée. A national skydiving competition was underway. A target had been drawn between the two runways in use - a large white cross in the centre of a circle. The aprons were filled with aircraft, including those from a number of Italian airfields. About twenty athletes took part in the competition, using new maneuverable "mushrooms" and wing-like ram-air type parachutes. The idea of using parachutes dates back to Leonardo da Vinci, but its first practical use occurred during the First World War. The last skydiving national competition at Aeritalia took place in 1981, a few years before the airport's footprint was drastically reduced with the separation from the industrial facilities of the then-Aeritalia (now Leonardo Aircraft). As a result, the historic 1,500-metre runway 12/30 was closed to air traffic, precluding Turin from having a "city airport" for regional flights just a few kilometres from the city centre. Furthermore, due to this diminution, the Aero Club Torino lost its parachuting members, who moved to Cumiana, and its model airplane enthusiasts who moved to Pianezza where a few years later an airstrip was created. In 2009, as an exception during the FAI World Air Games, two parachuting competitions were held with the participation of 54 athletes from 19 countries in the canopy formation flying and precision landing specialties.

AIRCRAFT PRESENT AT AERITALIA AIRPORT ON JUNE 30, 1974
I-BUBU Piper PA-32R-300 Cherokee Six Aero Club Friulano c/n 32-40767 (1970), ex N8971N, cancelled
I-PIAP Piaggio P.166 B. Stella, Bresso c/n 371 (1960), ex I-RAIF, cancelled
I-CCAI Cessna (Reims) F 172M Skyhawk II Private owner c/n 1146 (1974), cancelled
I-OPCV Cessna 182N Skylane Officine Arbatax, Cagliari c/n 18260467 (1970), ex N8927G
I-AIAA Avia LM.5 Aviastar Aldo Corino, Turin/Aeritalia c/n 5 (1947), stored ASI Biella
I-SIMI Piper PA-28R-180 Cherokee Arrow Centro Volovelistico c/n 28R-30600 (1968), ex N4697J
I-MOBI Partenavia P.57 Fachiro II-f Alifoto, Turin/Aeritalia c/n 06 (1959), ex Aerro Club Arezzo
MM80491/CC-24 Agusta/Bell AB 47G3-B1 Super Alpino Corpo Carabinieri, Turin/Aeritalia c/n 1637, preserved
I-AUAH Scheibe SF-25B-AU Motorfalke Aero Club Torino, Sezione Volo a Vela c/n 4 (1973)
D-KAAR Schleicher ASK 16 Aero Club Torino, Sezione Volo a Vela c/n 16018 (1974), to I-ZAKO 1982
I-AEGN Stinson L-5 Sentinel Aero Club Torino (Ministry of Defense Air Force) ex MM52846 until August 28, 1960


In the picture: A parachutist is about to land on the target. He is equipped with a dome-shaped device with movable sections to maneuver and reduce his descent rate. Turin/Aeritalia Airport on June 30, 1974. (Archive)

(Aeromedia, June 2024)