Magni's Day 2001 ~ A "Wet" Success

(Lisa Magni in an M-18) 
We’ve reached the 6th edition of this traditional international rotorcraft fly-in/meeting. We try to make each fly-in better than the preceding one, but none of us expected such a "special" edition of Magni's Day.

First the traditional prologue of the arrivals from abroad. The South African "delegation" has beaten the British "contingent," reaching Spessa on Thursday at lunch time, while the "Orange Overalls" (Magni staff) were preparing last things for the event.

If Magni’s Day means the "party" of rotorcraft flying, the "party" was joined by people from all over the world united by the common passion for rotorcraft. On Friday September 21^st the "party" began with good weather.

All day long we watched the dance of takeoff and landings. Those of us on the ground had our usual exchange of ideas about gyro flying around the world.

(Marc Lhermette pilots his RAF. He and Dave Fairbrass and Khalid Azi flew their RAFs to Magni's Day from the UK.) 
A special excitement caught the staff around 4 o’clock in the afternoon when a phone call from Albenga informed us that the three RAF 2000 gyros were ready for takeoff for the last leg of their long flight from the UK to Italy. A few hours later, the clearly recognizable noise of gyroplanes with a less usual noise of Subaru engines announced to everybody their arrival. Within a few minutes, those gyros were lined up among the others on the flight line.

On Saturday morning the flight line was complete, and many pilots were able to get in some flight time. There was a very special flight with a very special passenger. In the cool and damp air, Gaspare "Gippi" Sacchi in his M-16 2000 Trainer took off with his aunt (pictured at left). You might not think this was so special until you learn that she is 96 years young. She was mesmerized by the flight and could have stayed in the air all day. But by the afternoon, the gray skies were announcing that rain would soon be upon us. We all headed to the hangar to engage in some passionate gyro discussions.

During the fly-in we felt the absence of some of our regular attendees like Ali and Mary Torres, the usual crowd from Spain, and gyro pilots from Belgium and other Italian airfields who were blocked by rain. But on the other hand, we were pleased to welcome the RAF pilots from the U.K.; visitors from the States; the Republic of South Africa (for the first time at Magni's Day); and Mr. Franco Bellarosa, Italo-Venezuelan pilot from Venezuela who had quite a story to tell about how he survived a crash in the Caribbean Sea.

(Due to all the rain, the hangar was kept full most of the time.) The obvious international situation and bad weather didn't help the fly-in turnout, but we were proud and satisfied with 33 gyroplanes on the flight line and some 200 visitors.

Saturday evening, the hangar was transformed into a banquet room. Our awards ceremony followed a lovely dinner with lively conversation. We then turned our attention to the awards ceremony, which began with a very touching moment. We read a letter written by Steph and Greg Gremminger, Magni Gyro's American dealers, that expressed their gratitude for the outpouring of support that the nations of the world are expressing concerning the tragic events in New York and Washington D.C. The letter was read in English and Italian, after which everyone stood up, bowed their heads and joined in a minute of silence. Words can barely describe this emotional moment. The entire hangar was united beyond words as in a big hug to find strength in this tragedy. The silence was broken when someone said, "Flying is also like this--a big family able to share life's happiness and pains."

After this beautiful display of emotion, we proceeded with the usual chaos of awards, recognitions, an unusually talkative Vittorio Magni, and a lot of music and fun.

On Sunday morning, under relentless rain, there was the usual queue to the hangar coffee machine--the only remedy to Saturday night's party. Unfortunately, the cross country flight was cancelled, but the hangar was lively and this left more time for visiting.

By Sunday evening, the skies brightened--sort of a special reward to those who stayed to the end. For a final hour there was no rain, a good airfield and….we're up and away!

Magni's Day 2000
Magni's Day 1999
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