Pierced heart
The pierced heart is a flying figure in formation aerobatics , which was made famous by the Italian aerobatic team Frecce Tricolori .
The maneuver
It is a pure show figure, is not in the Aresti catalog and is not a competitive figure .
In the flight figure of the Frecce Tricolori, a formation of ten divides (nine machines form a diamond , the soloist flies at the lower end of the diamond) after a climb (beginning loop ), which is set at an altitude of about 75 to 90 meters, in front of the audience two partial formations of five (to the left) or four aircraft (to the right), whose trajectories draw a vertical heart parallel to the spectators through the show smoke and are exactly in the middle below the resolution point, laterally offset, at the same altitude (about 75 to 90 meters) ) cross in the encounter flight.
The solo machine maintains its trajectory and ends the loop by piercing the heart of the two partial formations like an arrow upwards towards the audience. The solo pilot should fly over the other two groups with a short delay of around four seconds while climbing.
Under squadron leader Mario Naldini (squadron leader of the Frecce Tricolori from 1985 to 1988), who had an accident in Ramstein, the intersection of the two partial formations (with or without trees, depending on the terrain) was often pulled down to 30 meters, which made it much easier for the solo pilot to fly over.
Ramstein air conference accident
At Flugtag Ramstein in 1988, the solo pilot collided with the leader of the five-man formation coming from the left. A total of three machines were involved in the accident and crashed immediately. The soloist's machine kept its trajectory in the direction of the audience and fell to the ground just in front of the barrier. The exact background of the collision has not yet been clearly clarified.
Since then, this flying figure has been flown by the Frecce Tricolori towards the audience without the soloist crossing.
Based on the title of the flying figure leading to the accident, the authors Hartmut Jatzko , Sybille Jatzko and Heiner Seidlitz , who were also the initiators of the aftercare group for victims and survivors of the accident, gave their book, which dealt with psychosocial aftercare after the accident, the title "The Pierced Heart".