Here is Maverick: the embrace between Tom Cruise and the drivers of the Frecce Tricolori

The meeting during an airshow in Great Britain. The protagonist of Top Gun invited to Rivolto

The meeting is memorable and the photo, between blue overalls and smiles, has stopped time. Our Frecce Tricolori pilots came face to face with “the” Hollywood pilot par excellence, Tom Cruise, nickname Maverick, the unforgettable protagonist of the action movie Top Gun, an award-winning 1986 film. The sequel came out this year, renewing the success.

It all happened yesterday, in a few minutes, in Great Britain, at the Royal International Air Tattoo (Riat), one of the largest air shows in the world.

This airshow is held annually on the third weekend of July at the RAF Royal Air Force base in Fairford (Gloucestershire).

«Our participation in Riat 2022 – explained yesterday the Pony 7 of the Frecce Tricolori, Major Alfio Mazzoccoli, a native of Enemonzo – is a privilege. We did the first show today.

In this context we had the pleasure of meeting Tom Cruise, known by flight enthusiasts as Maverick, the character of the film who was an inspiration for all of us pilots, starting with the commander, Stefano Vit, who was born in 1981. , passing to me who are from 1986.

It was nice to meet him and we would like to welcome him among us for a visit and, why not, maybe even for a flight.

So we hope that from this fortuitous meeting a new opportunity for the Frecce Tricolori and this myth of the Eighties and Nineties will be born. The Air Force invited him to come and visit us at the Rivolto base. We hope you accept, it would be a dream to share a flight with a childhood myth ».

Major Mazzoccoli also stressed that “being able to restart with demonstrations in Italy and abroad after two years of stoppage due to Covid” is a source of great happiness for the representatives of the Frecce: “This is the 62nd season for us – he specifies – that it began in Bari and will touch many other cities, including Lignano at the end of July ».

«Tom Cruise – underlines Riccardo Chiapolino, speaker of the national aerobatic team – was very busy in the context of this event that gathers the assets of many nations and also realities of the international aeronautical industry.

The meeting was fleeting, but he was able to dedicate this moment to us which was important for us because at the time that film really inspired a generation and now, with the release of the sequel, the emotion is renewed.

As Frecce, with our tricolor, we represent the Air Force and, more generally, the Armed Forces. In addition to us, here is the Experimental Flight Department which with its aircraft highlights the capabilities of the Air Force which, on March 28 next year, will celebrate its hundredth anniversary ».