Monday 21st December the new poster will also be presented. The 50th acrobatic season gets underway
The Christmas cocktail event is a traditional appointment for the National Aerobatic Team, which takes advantage of this day to exchange greetings with the Authorities, the 122 ‘Frecce Tricolori’ Clubs and the enthusiasts who are closest to it. The event took place in the historic hangar of the Frecce Tricolori, transformed for the occasion into a welcoming hall for about 800 people. Lieutenant Colonel Tammaro spoke about the activity carried out in 2009, unveiling the flag of Libya corresponding to the 46th nation in which the Frecce Tricolori have performed. The Commander also underlined the social solidarity commitments involving the men of the Frecce Tricolori through sport and other charitable activities. Then he moved on to the presentation of the formation which sees the key positions of the First Trailer (Pony 6 – Lieutenant Marco Zoppitelli) and the Soloist (Pony 10 – Major Simone Cavelli) confirmed.
There are many new developments for 2010, starting with the future Commander, who will shortly be Lieutenant Colonel Marco Lant. As is customary, the formation leader will also change accordingly (Pony 1 – Captain Jan Slangen, already an experienced pilot of the aerobatic team; in 2009 he flew as Pony 7). Alongside him are two new pilots currently training to fill the positions of Pony 7 (third left wingman), Captain Gaetano Farina (30 years old, originally from Francavilla Fontana in the province of Brindisi, F-16 fighter pilot at the 37th Wing in Trapani), and Pony 9 (second tail-end charlie, Lieutenant Filippo Barbero (26 years old, originally from Albenga in the province of Imperia, Tornado fighter-bomber pilot at the 6th Wing in Ghedi).
The 2010 formation includes: Pony 2 Captain Mirco Caffelli (31 years old, originally from Viadana in the province of Mantua, in his second year in the position); Pony 3 Captain Fabio Martin (32 years old, originally from Treviso, formerly Pony 8); Pony 4 Lieutenant Fabio Capodanno (30 years old, originally from Rome, in his second year in the position); Pony 5 Lieutenant Piercarlo Ciacchi (34 years old, originally from Trieste, in his second year in the position); Pony 8 Captain Stefano Centioni (33 years old, originally from Rome, formerly Pony 9).
Captain Dario Paoli will instead be responsible for the acrobatic training of this new formation, supervising the complex phases that will lead the Frecce Tricolori to be ready on 1st May for the start of their 50th acrobatic season, which will culminate on 11th and 12th September with a two-day event dedicated to aerobatics alongside the world's leading acrobatic teams. At the end of his speech, Lieutenant Colonel Tammaro presented the new 2010 poster, a striking image of how the pilot of aircraft number 9 saw the inverted flight phase of the left roll over Zukovsky airfield near Moscow in August. The Frecce Tricolori will finish their training activities on 1st May 2010, the day on which the first of around forty airshows planned to celebrate the 50th acrobatic season will take place at Rivolto airbase.
