AEROMEDIA
The Italian Aerospace Information Web
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Clouds and Aerobatics at Turin/Aeritalia Airport

Last 9-10 October, 2010, Turin/Aeritalia airport hosted the fourth edition of “Giochi d’Ali Solidali” (Solidarity Air Games), an air event which represents “the end of the season”. In fact cloudy skies set the scene for this hybrid event which, like 2009, for a variety of reasons saw a reduction in its aviation content.
As usual, the event was mainly organized by ANPAS (the National Association of Public Assistance), the Regional Civil Protection, the Council of the Civil Protection Voluntary Associations of the Turin Province and the Turin Aero Club and Alenia Aeronautica.
The series of these events began in 2007, with a small but well exploited air show, called “Ali Verdi a Torino” (Green Wings in Turin) celebrating the Centenary of Turin’s “Croce Verde” (Green Cross), a local rescue and medical care voluntary organization. For the occasion, the Italian Army adorned one of its helicopters with a special celebrative livery. The flight display programme included one of the first exhibitions of the newly formed Pioneer Team, a civil aerobatic display team flying Pioneer Hawk ultralights. The air show was also preceeded by the first edition of the National Helicopter Championship organized by the Turin Aero Club.
The following year (31 May-1 June 2008), the name of the event was changed to “Giochi d’Ali Solidali” and the air-side content largely prevailed, thanks to the inclusion of a number of Test Events (motor and sailplane aerobatics competitions, parachuting) as a prelude to the forthcoming Turin World Air Games 2009, which was also mainly located in the Turin/Aeritalia airport. In a shrewd move, the Turin Aero Club also included the 2nd edition of the National Helicopter Championship, a race valid as a WAG Test Event for the rotary wing discipline, as part of the main show. Unfortunately, this Championship has since disappeared from the Italian air sport calendar.
The 2008 Giochi d’Ali Solidali is fondly remembered for its tight and outstanding flight programme, including the civil aerobatic teams, fly pasts of a huge Erickson Air-Crane S-64F Helitanker (minutes later it would sink in the nearby lake of Avigliana while water-scooping) and the end-of-show low-level manoeuvres of a thundering Eurofighter Typhoon from the Alenia Aeronautica plant in Caselle.
In contrast to this, Giochi d’Ali Solidali 2009 went almost unnoticed, having been organized in a peculiar location - the gardens of the Venaria Royal Palace - commemorating the 100th anniversary of the first flight of the Faccioli triplane, the first Italian aircraft to fly. Just to keep the record straight, the Faccioli triplane’s maiden flight was in January 1909 from Mirafiori hippodrome. The grounds of Venaria saw the maiden flight of the “second” Faccioli aircraft – a biplane –in the spring of 1909.
Entrance to the Giochi d’Ali Solidali 2010 was free, thanks to the contribution of some 500 volunteers. Saturday was dedicated to the “Civil Protection World”, showing some of the means and equipment used for the many facets of Civil Defence. It was an opportunity for the general public to see the vehicles and equipment used, as well as to talk to the volunteers, many of whom had participated in the dramatic rescues caused by floods and earthquakes in various parts of Italy.
Despite the uncertain weather, Sunday attracted an estimated 10 thousand people for the afternoon air show. The Turin Aero Club did its very best to increase the aviation content of the event, in a period not exactly favourable for sponsorships and free contributions. The Italian Air Force helped by sending the band of the Milan Air Region for the opening ceremony. A number of State Services sent helicopters belonging to their air components to form part of the static display: an NH-500MD of “Guardia di Finanza” (Custom Police), an AgustaWestland AW 109N Nexus of “Corpo Forestale dello Stato” (State Forestry Corps) plus Agusta AB 206 Jet Rangers of both the Carabinieri and the “Vigili del Fuoco” (Fire Corps) were eagerly admired.
Pietro Contegiacomo of Balloon Promotion specialized company offered free tethered flights to children using a brand new Ultramagic M-65. Worthy of mention in the static display area were ultralights such as the P.92 Super Echo “SMAT version” which recently started its sensor test bed activity, the “Flying Doctor” Savannah XL of A.P.ENDE no-profit organization, almost ready for its mercy mission in Kenya, the electric-powered SkySpark awaiting further development and the Guzzi-powered American Sportscopter Ultrasport 496G still undergoing a long certification process. The two ELA 07 autogyros brought by Aeromnia, a new Italo-Romanian commercial entreprise, provided an unusual contribution to the static display area, while the Reims Rocket of “I Falchi di Daffi” association, used by the Regional Civil Protection for air surveillance duties, made its public debut.
The weather over the North of Italy conditioned the fly-ins. Only a few of the expected visiting aircraft turned up at Turin/Aeritalia for the show. Among them were a handful of Light Sport Aircraft. These - thanks to newly promulgated rules governing ultra-lights - made their first sortie from their previous air space boundaries and proudly landed at a first-tier civil airport. The recently approved law (DPR 133/July 9, 2010) allows so-called “advanced” VDS aircraft (VDS = “Volo da Diporto o Sportivo” = Touring or Sport Flight), in the hands of suitably-qualified pilots, to operate in a slightly less restricted way, not yet with the freedom of some other European countries, but going in the right direction. Thus, a number of rarely-seen Light Sport Aircraft types arrived for the first time at the Aeritalia airport, coming from a number of “airfields” surrounding the greater Turin area. They included a couple of TECNAMs, an AeroAndina MXP-780 Calima, an MXP-800 Fantasy and a CZAW Sport Cruiser.
The air show was staged during the afternoon on Sunday (October 10). Unfortunately the meteo situation prevented the arrival of almost a third of the aircraft planned for the air display programme, including seven vintage aircraft of the Aerodina Group and a private Harvard. The spectacular opening was performed by Pioneer Team, a now well established civil aerobatic team formed by Corrado Rusalen leader, Claudio Fogli left wing, Franco Borin right wing and Marco Gioria slot.
After the take-off of Marco Balocco’s motor-trike, Guido Racioppoli – with his Zlin Z 50LA – made the first of three solo aerobatic programmes offered by the three pilots of Milan-based “Federazione Nazionale di Volo Acrobatico”. He was followed by Luca Salvadori at the controls of CAP 21 DS “Silver Chicken”, home built by Sergio Dallan in 1983.
Then it was turn of the Turin Aero Club to launch one of its Schleicher ASK 21 trainer glider making elegant smoke trails first in the hands of Silvio Siriotto and successively with Claudio Brasaola at the controls. “Giochi d’Ali 2010” was also the occasion for the Aero Club’s “Pattuglia Toro” (Bull Team - the bull is the symbol of the city of Turin) to get together for the fourth time since it was established for the official presentation of the 2009 World Air Games. It consists of four PA-28 Cherokees fitted with smoke generators, doing basic formation flying over the airfield (this time pilots were Francesco Bettoja, Annalisa Demaria, Riccardo Di Bari e Daniele Zecchin ). The only other similarly-mounted formation dates back to the Goldfinger movie (1964), when Agent 007 faced many perils, including the Pussy Galore's Flying Circus, a dangerous group of five low-flying Piper PA-28 aircraft (piloted by gorgeous “Bond Girls”) tasked to spray poison gas over the vaults at Fort Knox.
One of the Civil Protection agency Bombardier CL-415 water bombers - popularly known as “Canadair” - started the last part of the air show with an outstanding display in the hands of former-IAF pilot Andrea Canetto (10,000 flight hours and some 90 type ratings). After a full power approach, he made a steep climb, releasing water in an almost vertical attitude. The flight programme went on with aerobatics by former Italian champion Sergio Dallan – now 66 years old – who extracted the best of its performance from a SIAI Marchetti SF.260D, a classic design of the late Stelio Frati. Speaking of Frati, the next aircraft to fly was the last product of the famous Italian designer, a Golden Car F.30 “advanced VDS” aircraft piloted by Paolo Messaglia, a well known aerobatic pilot – with his agile Rans Chaos – in the ultralight fly-in circuit.
At the conclusion of the programme, Aeromnia presented a Skyleader 200 “advanced VDS” flown by Martino Tacchini, and an ELA 07S two-seat autogyro (Francesco Garganese). At the end of the show, the C-27J shown in static dispay took off and made two fly pasts as a final farewell to the crowd.
However, Civil Protection experts agree that the hybrid format of the “Giochi d’Ali Solidali – Air and Civil Protection Show” has come to the end of its cycle. Both sectors deserve future occasions to show themselves independently, in a more complete and effective way.

In the picture: Aerobatic aircraft at “Giochi d’Ali Solidali” (Solidarity Air Games) air show. Turin/Aeritalia airport, Italy, on October 10, 2010. (Aeromedia)

(Aeromedia, October 2010)