In 1968, in the Turin area, three small separate groups of young aviation enthusiasts appeared on the scene. The Turin group, formed by your Aeromedia chief editor and two friends, began to visit nearby airports by bicycle, taking photos of aircraft and making notes of their types and identities. Their expedition to Cannes in occasion of the 1ere Salon Internationale de l'Aviation Générale des Loisirs Motorisés et du Modelisme in 1969 was memorable. The Caselle group, consisting of Gianni Siccardi and a number of friends, had accommodation within biking distance of an airport. The Venaria group, formed by the Genta brothers and mainly interested in WW2 Italian aircraft, had a close relationship with the local Army Light Aviation base. The three groups got in touch during the 3rd Salone Internazionale dell'Aeronautica e dello Spazio held in 1968 in the centre of Turin and at Caselle airport. Obviously they were immediately eager to seek a suitable solution for coordinating their common activities. Finally, on June 1, 1970, the Air Spotter Association was informally founded, and three days later the 4th Salone Internazionale dell'Aeronautica e dello Spazio was inaugurated. After the Summer holidays, a room in Via Caldano 4 in Caselle village became the Association headquarters. The first task was to find some basic furniture, a kerosene stove and construct a darkroom for printing the black and white photographs taken during the visits to various airports. The second and more ambitious goal was to prepare the first issue of their social magazine although none of the few ASA members had any experience in the art of typography. However they diligently prepared ten copies of the hand-made "ASA Notizie numero 1 - ottobre 1970". The text for this was copied ten times over using a typewriter, leaving appropriate empty spaces into which small photographs were glued. This demanding system had its drawbacks, but was relatively useful in showing up avoidable mistakes such as the missing caption for the cover photo and the lack of page numbers. Just the same, the general layout was already setting the editorial line for the successive 18 ASA Bulletins printed in a more professional way, the Avio Data publications in the 'Eighties and finally the Aeromedia web-site set up in 1985. From 1971 to 1974 ASA was significantly active, with a membership of over 300 in Italy and abroad. The 1974 energy crisis, the consequent austerity, price rises (including printing costs) and the various restrictions on vehicle usage were instrumental in the demise of ASA.
In the picture: The cover of "ASA Notizie numero 1 - ottobre 1970" with a picture of the Douglas C-74 Globemaster HP-379 abandoned by Air System in April 1964 at Turin/Caselle airport. The aircraft is seen in Summer 1969 while under painting in the livery of the People's Republic of China Air Force to appear in a scene of the "Italian Job" movie. (download ASA Notizie numero 1)
(Aeromedia, June 2020)
