 This year's RAF Cosford Airshow promised to be one of the best as it is the only Royal Air Force show this year. Despite the late cancellations of some of its star items such as the Polish MiG-29, RAMEX Delta (2x Mirage 2000N), and German P-3C, it still proved to be a very good display which was watched by over 55,000 people at this advance ticket only event. The Polish had grounded all their MiG-29 aircraft due to technical problems, RAMEX Delta had a logistical/operational issue, and the German P-3C had engine failure. After the bad weather on Saturday, it was a relief to see that the morning of the show had blue skies and sun, even if it did cloud over in the afternoon. The static aircraft display was much improved this year with the museum's BAC TSR2 outside, along with various helicopters, a Harrier GR3, and the RAF Jaguars from the 'school of technical training'. This year is the 50th anniversary of the cancellation of the TSR2. Before the actual flying display started we were treated to some large model aircraft in the air which included a superb Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. Anyone wanting to see more of these model aircraft should visit RAF Cosford on 18th-19th July 2015 when they hold a Large Model Aircraft Rally.
The air display started at about 11.45am with the RAF Falcons parachute team which was followed by the Belgian Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon. The Belgian F-16 Demo team has been displaying since 1979, and the Belgian government are now looking to replace the ageing Belgian Air Component F-16 in the 2020s with possibly one of the following aircraft types:- Lockheed Martin's F-35, Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet, Eurofighter Typhoon, Dassault Rafale or the Saab Gripen. Next up was the Armstrong Whitworth Gloster Meteor NF.11 (WM167/G-LOSM) which is based in Coventry with the 'Classic Air Force'. This is the only surviving Night Fighter Meteor left in airworthy condition and was one of the first privately owned jet fighters to operate in the UK. 'Jet Aerobatics' Jet Provost T5 (XW324/G-BWSG) then put on its display. The Jet Provost was a British jet-powered trainer aircraft used by the Royal Air Force from 1955 to 1993.
This is the last year we will see the big yellow RAF Search and Rescue Sea King helicopter at an airshow. The Department for Transport announced that it had a signed a contract with Bristow Helicopters Ltd to provide search and rescue helicopter services in the UK with operations commencing progressively from 2015, and fully operational by 2017 utilising AgustaWestland AW189 and Sikorsky S-92 helicopters. Plane Sailing's Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina displayed next. The Catalina was an American amphibious aircraft used in WW2 for anti-submarine warfare, patrol bombing, convoy escorts, search and rescue missions, and cargo transport.
We were then treated to a single flypast of the new RAF Voyager (A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport). This is the new tanker aircraft that has been selected by the Royal Air Force to replace the VC10 and Tristar tankers. There are two types of Voyager: the KC2, with two under-wing pods and the KC3, a three-point tanker with an additional centre line hose for larger aircraft. The Grob Tutor T1 put on its display next. It is used by the RAF for elementary flying training. The Tutor, which replaced the Bulldog, is constructed mainly from carbon fibre reinforced plastic, which combines high strength with light weight, and has side-by-side seating. We then saw two RAF Jaguar aircraft being taxied down the runway. The RAF Sepecat Jaguar was retired from RAF service in 2007 due to cuts to the defence budget, but many of these aircraft continue to serve as ground instructional airframes at RAF Cosford, and are used in the training of RAF fitters. These two Jaguars included a GR3 (XZ117), and a T4 (XX835) trainer. The Indian Air Force still operate the Sepecat Jaguar and are considering fitting more powerful engines to increase its performance.
Aerosuperbatics then displayed two of their Boeing Stearman aircraft complete with two girls on the wings. The Breitling Wingwalkers are the world's only aerobatic formation wingwalking team and are seen live by over 6 million spectators each year in the UK alone. Then we saw a very impressive display by Rich Goodwin in his Pitts S-2S Special 'Muscle Biplane'. The display also included some very funny commentary. Rich Goodwin trained on the RAF Hawk before joining IX Squadron to fly Tornados which included 21 missions during Operation Desert Storm in the first Gulf War. He now flies Boeing airliners for a living and also displays his aerobatic aircraft a air displays and competes within the British Aerobatic Association (BAEA).
An RAF Typhoon FGR4 of 29(R) squadron, flown by Flt Lt Jonny Dowen was up next and performed an agile and powerful display, before everyone's favourite, the Red Arrows performed their display. The Red Arrows also did a flypast in formation with two Spitfires, and two Hurricanes of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF). There were supposed to be three BBMF Spitfires but only two took part. The four BBMF fighters then performed their own display.
Another highlight of the display was the Swiss F/A-18 Hornet. The F/A-18 Hornet is a twin-engine supersonic, all-weather carrier-capable multirole combat jet, designed as both a fighter and attack aircraft. Hangar 11's Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk aircraft represents P-40N-1 Warhawk (44-2104590), "Lulu Belle", flown by 2nd Lieutenant Philip R. Adair, a pilot with the United States Army Air Force's 89th Fighter Squadron, 80th Fighter Group of the 10th Air Force in the China Burma India Theater.
This year is Vulcan XH558's last display season and she started her display at Cosford with a distinctive powerful howl. The display included a topside view as it flew past which was appreciated by the photographers in the crowd. After the Vulcan display we were treated to a flypast of the Boeing 727 (T2 Aviation) in formation with the Blades Aerobatic Team flying their four Extra 300 aircraft. The Boeing 727 then put on an impressive display for an airliner and was followed by The Blades display.
The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) also brought along their Douglas Dakota which put on a display. Sadly the BBMF Lancaster could not attend because of a recent engine fire which has grounded the aircraft. The RAF Chinook HC4 is always an impressive display with the powerful slap of its two sets of rotor blades, and its incredibly agile display for such a large helicopter. We then had a more sedate display by a glider (Schleicher ASK-21), before two WAH-64D Apache AH1s took to the air and beat up the airfield with a very impressive display which included pyrotechnics with very loud explosions.
The Royal Navy was represented by their Lynx HMA8 helicopter display before we saw the RAF Typhoon and Spitfire Synchro Pair. It is certainly impressive to see the powerful but agile Typhoon able to display with a Spitfire. It was a shame that the camouflage Typhoon had to be replaced due to technical issues.
The 'Classic Air Force' Avro Anson (WD413/G-VROE) took to the air next. During its time with the RAF, WD413 served with both Bomber Command Communications Flight at RAF Booker, Buckinghamshire and Fighter Command Communications Flight at RAF Bovington. The Avro Anson was a British twin-engined, multi-role aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm, Royal Canadian Air Force and numerous other air forces before, during, and after the Second World War.
To end the six hour flying display we had a display from the Hurricane, Me-109 (Buchon), and the P-51 Mustang performing a tail-chase. This particular Mustang belongs to the 'Norwegian Spitfire Foundation' and is nicknamed 'The Shark'.
Thank you to the 'RAF Cosford Air Show' organisers for putting on an excellent event this year. Next year's RAF Cosford Air Show will take place on Sunday 19th June 2016.
|
 The Blades |
 The Blades |
 Avro Anson |
 Hurricane |
 Hurricane |
 BBMF |
 Spitfire |
 Spitfire |
 Hurricane |
 Hurricane |
 Pitts Special |
 P-51 Mustang |
 Red Arrows |
 Pitts Special |
 Buchon |
 BBMF |
 Spitfire |
 P-51 Mustang |
 The Blades |
 Glider |
 Chinook |
 Glider |
 Apaches |
 TSR2 - Phil Catleugh |
 TSR2 - Phil Catleugh |
