Piacenza San Damiano Airbase – 12 October 2024
It ended with great successprima edizione della “Aeronautica Militare Balloon Cup”, which took place from 11 to the 13 October at the San Damiano military airport, headquartersPiacenza Air Force Detachment. The awards and closing ceremony celebrated not only the winners, but also the incredible influx of audiences.
During thethree days, beyond 30.000 people they crowded the event, with peak attendance on Saturdays and Sundays. In addition to the exciting gas and hot air balloon races, that they saw involved 10 team of international drivers, beyond1.500 visitors they had the opportunity to experience the thrill of flight thanks tobound ascensions, and even more enthusiastically they tried their hand at the creative workshops, realizing1.100 mini hot air balloons and1.200 kites.
Ainitiative promoted by the Ministry of Defense and organized by Difesa Servizi in collaboration with the Air Force, l’Pavullo flying club and thetechnical support of Aeronord balloons.
The event officially kicked off on Friday afternoon with the opening ceremony, moderated by journalist Benedetta Delogu, who guided the audience through a succession of relevant interventions. TheLieutenant Colonel Salvatore Occini, commander of the Airport Detachment of Piacenza together withmayor of San Giorgio Piacentino, Donatella Alberoni, they underlined the importance of events such as the Balloon Cup for strengthening ties between the armed forces and the local community.
L’CEO of Difesa Servizi, Luca Andreoli, he underlined on the occasion of the opening ceremony: “Difesa Servizi believes in these initiatives intended and designed for the community. We want to tell the story and emotions of flight through hot air balloons, first instrument with which man explored the third dimension, we do it by looking to the future, which is already present, the stratosphere. In addition to participating in the event's initiatives, visitors will be able to admire the beauties of Italy from a different point of view : from the sky. This is part of a path that Difesa Servizi has undertaken together with stakeholders such as the State Property Agency, Ministero del Turismo ed Enit – agenzia nazionale del turismo, which is called “Valore Paese Italia”, through which we tell and enhance all the beauties of our country.“
TheChief of Staff of the Air Force, General of the Air Force Luca Goretti, ha evidenziato quanto le “initiatives like this allow the general public to know about the Air Force and what it carries out on a daily basis in the service of the country. If we are here today to appreciate this beautiful show, it is also because the Air Force and Defense are there every day to defend one of the fundamental values: freedom."General Goretti then continued: “We have made the Piacenza military airport available, an important department for the Air Force also in order to enhance the historical heritage of the Armed Forces, because appreciating what we have been, we can better face the challenges of the future. We see it here, hot air balloons represent the dawn of flight, from that flight we have grown and arrived until today with human space flight on the ISS. We are proud to promote events like this. We want to make ourselves known especially by young people who represent the future of this country. We invite them to be curious and ask every single member of the Air Force what work they do every day.. You will be thrilled and you will discover that it is one of the most beautiful professions there is, those linked to the world of flight”.
Numerose le iniziative che nella tre giorni dedicata al mondo del volo hanno visto l’Air Force protagonist: from the playful simulators of the Frecce Tricolori and Eurofighter aircraft to the oculus, viewers that allowed the use of various contents related to flight in the context of virtual reality, passing through the aircraft on static display such as the T-346A, Euro Fighter, Tornado, HH-212, HH-139, il mock up del MB339PAN, until the historical re-enactment of Campo 100. I sorvoli dei velivoli Tornado ed F-35A del 6° Stormo, l’Eurofighter del 51° Stormo, the Legend formation and the performance of the Frecce Tricolori acrobatic program thrilled and enchanted the audience present. Also arousing great interest was the meeting with the astronauts of the AX-3 mission with Colonel Walter Villadei who, together with his colleagues, spoke about the activities carried out in orbit on board the International Space Station. Great participation on the final day for the performance of the Fanfare of the Air Force Command and 1st Milan Air Region and the meeting with the Blue Butterflies, the rhythmic gymnastics team that brought home a bronze medal at the last Olympics in Paris.
TheAir Brigade General Urbano Floreani, Capo del Reparto Comunicazione dell’ Aeronautica Militare, brought greetings and satisfaction for the success of the event expressed by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, General of the Air Force Luca Goretti, underlining the importance of initiatives such as the Balloon Cup in promoting aeronautical culture and the link between the Air Force and the territory.
Salutati con particolare affetto anche gli equipaggi dell HH-139 del 15° Stormo di Cervia presenti all’evento insieme al personale del 118, who have provided a valuable contribution in bringing relief to the population of Emilia-Romagna recently hit by a violent flood.
An event that also highlighted the generosity of the public towardsBuzzi Foundation, thanks to the donations that transformed the flight of many hot air balloons into a concrete contribution for the creation of a new Shock Room at the Buzzi Children's Hospital.
The appointment is for the second edition of the“Aeronautica Militare Balloon Cup” dalla mongolfiera alla stratosfera” nel2025.
Sources:
Testo – Aeronautica Militare – 5° Reparto “Comunicazione” – Ufficio Pubblica Informazione
Photo - Aviaspotter.it
