The curtain fell yesterday on the first days of the "Aeronautica militare Balloon Cup", an initiative of the Ministry of Defense, organized by Difesa Servizi in collaboration with the Italian Air Force and the Aeroclub of Pavullo, with the technical support of Aeronord Aerostati. The event officially opened on Friday afternoon, thanks to an inaugural ceremony during which Lieutenant Colonel Salvatore Occini, commander of the Piacenza-San Damiano military airport (where, among other things, the project for a very interesting flying museum was launched this year, with an exhibition of historic aircraft and an illustration of aircraft maintenance activities), and Donatella Alberoni, mayor of San Giorgio Piacentino, highlighted the importance of such initiatives to strengthen relations between the armed forces and local communities. The event attracted considerable interest, marking an important moment of interaction and representation for both military institutions and local civilian entities.

At the press conference to present the balloon competition, which took place on October 2, Air Force Chief of Staff General Luca Goretti shared his vision of the event, underlining the link between the history of aviation and the community, promoting the educational value of the initiative. An initiative to "tell the story of the Air Force, show a part of our world and what we do every day, with pride, in the service of the country. An opportunity to also bring young people, our future, closer to the world of aeronautics. An event like the 'Balloon Cup' reminds us of the origins of balloon flight and projects us into space via sixth-generation aircraft".
"When Difesa Servizi presented us with this opportunity -the general underlined- we made Piacenza airport available for this initiative. Piacenza is a historic headquarters of the Air Force, within which we are trying to enhance a museum itinerary, a Flying Museum, in which we will restore to flying condition aircraft that have made the history of the Armed Forces, as for example we have already done on the occasion of our Centenary with the G-91 Pan, to allow all enthusiasts to be able to live immersed in history with aircraft and unique activities that tell our past, present and future".

We were saying, a unique competition in Europe, with Italian and international hot air and gas balloons, to promote the values, capabilities and traditions of the Air Force. The initiative was enriched by flyovers of various types of aircraft, including historic ones, helicopters, aircraft on display, tethered flights with hot air balloons, extra entertainment activities, including workshops for the little ones, flight simulators, a sponsor village and a selection of food trucks.

An event linked to the emotion, ecology, fantasy, history and culture of flight in Italy and in the world. An opportunity and a moment of advantage to convey the most recent initiatives of the Armed Forces in the field of research and aerospace.

Below, the related photo gallery and two videos show the unique moments in which balloons, planes, helicopters, kites, military personnel, institutions, visitors, all were special protagonists...