Frecce Tricolori 55th Anniversary - Rivolto Air Show 2015

To celebrate the 55th anniversary of the Frecce Tricolori, the Aeronautica Militare Italiana (Italian Air Force) organized a great airshow, held on the 5th and 6th of September 2015, at Rivolto Air Base. During the rehearsal of the airshow on Friday, there was also a Spotter Day.

For the two show days, the airshow’s audience reached and exceeded 350,000 people, another manifestation of the love for the popular Frecce Tricolori.
The timeline of the airshow was very intense and we had the opportunity to see all aircraft and helicopters of the Italian Air Force during their displays or fly-bys, along with many foreign aircraft.

The airshow was attended by no less than nine military aerobatic teams: the Saudi Hawks (Royal Saudi AF) for the first time in Italy; the Patrouille Suisse (Swiss AF); the Midnight Hawks (Finnish AF) for the first time in Italy; the Patrouille de France (French AF) on Saturday only; the Royal Jordanian Falcons (Royal Jordanian AF); the Biało-Czerwone Iskry (Polish AF); the Patrulla Águila (Spanish AF); the Türk Yıldızları or Turkish Stars (Turkish AF); the Red Devils (Belgian AF).
Two civilian formation display teams also participated: the Team Paramotoristici Audaci (Audaci Powered Parachute Team) and the We Fly! Team (three ultralight aircraft flown by pilots disadvantaged with reduced mobility)..
Another formation premiere was the legacy formation of Italian trainers, consisting of a T-6G Texan, Fiat G-59, MB-326, the current MB-339A, modernized MB-339CD, and the latest Italian Air Force trainer, the T-346A (M-346).

Solo displays were flown by the Eurofighter F-2000 – RSV; M-346 Master – RSV; AW-149 – RSV; Tornado 6° Stormo; AMX 51° Stormo; HH-139A CSAR 15° Stormo; KC-767A Tanker 14° Stormo; KC-130J 46^ Brigata Aerea; HH-101 CSAR 15° Stormo; HH-212 CSAR 9° Stormo; Saab 105Ö (Austria); F-16 Solo Display Team (Belgium) on Saturday only; AH-64D Apache Solo Display Team (Netherlands); MIG-29 Solo Display Team (Poland).
Other flying displays included the Glider World Champion Luca Bertossio in his Swift S1 glider, the Female Aerobatic Champion Aude Lemordant with her Extra 330SC, the Breitling Wing Walkers, and a SPAD XIII replica.

All around the airport there were many different thematic areas with all the present and future aircraft of the Italian Air Force, and the audience could meet all the Italian astronauts that had attended the airshow. The airshow was also attended by the Italian President Sergio Mattarella who arrived in the afternoon flown in by a 31° Stormo Falcon.

Concluding this report what else is there to say except that the organization was perfect and that the show was of a high standard.
Finally, I would like to thank Captain Testa and all the other Italian Air Force personnel for their support and professionalism.