On Monday, May 23, during a flight piloted Lt. Col. Alessandro O., commander of
the 212th Flight Group, the 61st Wing passed the milestone of the first 1,000
hours flown by the T-346 aircraft supplied to the air force. The main players
of this significant event -- the instructors of the 212th Group, students,
specialists, Leonardo-Finmeccanica staff stationed in Galatina and a staff
representative of the Flight School – celebrated the event. The story of the T-346 in the Italian air force
began in August 2014, when the first type qualifications were issued to the
Wing’s pilots. On October 2 of the same year, the first training mission was
flown on aircraft with a "temporary" registration by two of the
school’s instructors. On Feb 26, 2015 Col. Paul Tarantino, the Commander of the
School, took delivery at Venegono of the first of the production aircraft
assigned to Galatina Air Base.
