A 10-jet aerobatic team is making first appearance at Capital Airshow. See them arrive
Bailey Stover
·2 min read
The Italian Air Force’s 313th Aerobatic Training Squadron, commonly known as Frecce Tricolori, arrived at Mather Airport near Rancho Cordova on Tuesday as part of the jet team’s North American tour. It is the team’s first visit to North America in more than three decades.
A crowd of onlookers watched eagerly as the planes swooped across the sky before making their descent. City of Rancho Cordova Councilwoman Linda Budge, representatives from the Italian Cultural Society of Sacramento and other community members greeted the Frecce Tricolori pilots on the tarmac.
“We are over the moon,” said Darcy Brewer, the executive director of the California Capital Airshow. “So are all the people in the hangar today who came out to welcome them, to represent the 65,000 Italian Americans in our community, and celebrate their culture and our partnership. So we’ve been waiting for this for a really long time.”
“For us, being at the capital of California is really important,” said Italian Air Force Col. Stefano Pietropaoli. “You will see the airplanes showing up together, all 10 together, and then splitting, making it 26 minutes of nonstop show.”
The Italians selected the Sacramento region as the location for their only airshow performance in the western United States. Unlike the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, whose powerful performances Brewer compared to a “rock concert,” Frecce Tricolori’s show holds a more subtle grace. Brewer described the Italians’ show as “a symphony and a ballet mixed together with performance maneuvers no one’s ever seen before.”
Frecce Tricolori will perform along with the Thunderbirds in the 18th annual California Capital Airshow, which takes place this Saturday and Sunday from 3:30 to 9:30 p.m. daily at Mather Airport.
Frecce Tricolori, the Italian air force’s aerobatic team, flies over Mather Airport near Rancho Cordova on Tuesday, July 9, 2024, as it arrives for this weekend’s California Capital Airshow.
An onlooker waves a tambourine in greeting to Frecce Tricolori jet team pilots at Mather Airport near Rancho Cordova on Tuesday. The ribbons of green, white and red correspond with Italy’s tricolor flag.
Pilots of Frecce Tricolori, the Italian air force’s aerobatic team, park their jets at Mather Airport near Rancho Cordova on Tuesday. A crowd of onlookers greeted them with cheers and applause upon their landing. The team is performing in the California Capital Airshow for the first time.
Pilots with Frecce Tricolori, the Italian Air Force aerobatic team, high-five a line of onlookers – some dressed in traditional Italian clothing – after arriving at Mather Airport near Rancho Cordova on Tuesday. This tour is the first time in more than 30 years that the Italian Air Force has deployed its aircraft and personnel to North America.
Philomena Barbarich, 11, talks with her fellow members of her Italian dance troupe while waiting for the Frecce Tricolori jet team to arrive at Mather Airport near Rancho Cordova on Tuesday. Barbarich was one of several young performers to greet the Italian pilots upon their arrival.
Sue Bonnici-Coleman, center, spins along with other members of the Balliamo Italian dance troupe as part of a greeting for the Frecce Tricolori jet team at Mather Airport near Rancho Cordova on Tuesday. The Italian air force team is slated to perform in this weekend’s California Capital Airshow. “What a thrill to see the pilots,” she said.
Virginia Petrali-Griffin, the director of the Balliamo Italian dance troupe, performs to the song “Funiculì, Funiculà” for the Frecce Tricolori jet team’s arrrival at Mather Airport near Rancho Cordova on Tuesday. Petrali-Griffin said joining the dance troupe has helped her connect with her Sicilian heritage and learn more about the different regions of Italy.
