 RAF Cosford once again hosted the Royal Air Force's only air show and attracted over 50,000 people to this ticket only event. Next year should also see the RAF host another air show at RAF Scampton. Despite the amount of rainfall in the week prior to the air show, the organisers announced that the airfield had great drainage and the ground was still firm, so there would not be any problems with parking. The weather on show day started of dry and bright, although during the afternoon, there was low cloud which prevented some aircraft from arriving or displaying, and towards the end of the display the weather worsened when the rain set in. The RAF Cosford Air Show 2016 themes included: 'Speed and Evolution of the jet Engine', 'Training', and 'Air Cadets 75'. As part of the air show's key theme 'SPEED: Evolution of the Jet Engine' the Bristol 188, Fairey Delta II and Avro 707 were displayed outside of the museum, where they could more easily be seen and photographed.
The Bristol 188 was a British supersonic research aircraft built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in the 1950s. Because of its length, slender cross-section and the fact that it was designed to research structures for sustained supersonic flight, it was nicknamed the 'Flaming Pencil'. The Fairey Delta II was a British supersonic research aircraft produced by the Fairey Aviation Company in response to a specification from the Ministry of Supply for investigation into flight and control at transonic and supersonic speeds. On 10 March 1956 the Fairey Delta 2 broke the World Air Speed Record, raising it to 1,132 mph or Mach 1.73, an increase of some 300mph over the previous record which was held by the North American F-100 Super Sabre, and thus becoming the first aircraft to exceed 1,000 mph in level flight. The Avro 707 was a British experimental aircraft built to test the tailless thick delta wing configuration chosen for the Avro 698 jet bomber, later named the Vulcan. The Avro 707, VX784 first flew from Boscombe Down on 4 September 1949 with S.E. 'Red' Esler, at the controls.
RAF Cosford boasts an impressive museum with aircraft housed in three Wartime Hangars and within the National Cold War Exhibition which was opened in 2007. The engine and missile collections total over 60 and are arguably one of the finest collections in the world. This is the only place in the UK where you can see Britain's three V Bombers together: the Vulcan, Victor and Valiant.
As well as the museum aircraft and the resident Sepecat Jaguars, which are used by No 1 School of Technical Training, there were a good selection of aircraft on static display. Many of the aircraft were trainers which fitted in with the 'Training' theme.
Apart from the fixed-wing aircraft, there were also a selection of helicopters such as the Westland Wasp, Gazelle, and Alouette III on static display. There was also a Royal Netherlands Air Force C-130 Hercules on static display.
Carol Vorderman flew into the Cosford Air Show in her white Diamond DA42-VI aircraft which she nicknames 'Mildred'. She calls the aircraft 'Mildred' after 'Mildred (Mary) Bruce' who was a British record-breaking racing motorist, speedboat racer, aviator in the 1920s and 1930s, and later, successful businesswoman. She was the first person to fly from England to Japan, the first to fly across the Yellow Sea, and the first woman to fly around the world alone (crossing the oceans by ship). Carol Vorderman attended the show in her position as Honorary Group Captain Ambassador for the Air Cadet Organisation to promote the Air cadets and also to visit the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) hangar. This year the Air Cadet Organisation celebrates its 75th anniversary, and this was a key theme for RAF Cosford Air Show 2016. On the ground was an enhanced Air Cadet village which promoted the array of opportunities that the Air Cadet Organisation gives young people, with the chance for visitors to get hands on with flight simulators and other interactive activities.
When the air display started in the afternoon, the weather started to deteriorate as the cloud base descended. The RAF Falcons parachute team were unable to make their jump because they did not have enough visibility to see the ground. First we had a single flypast from an RAF A400M Atlas which is a transport aircraft which will eventually replace the C-130 Hercules in RAF service. Next we had a special flypast of an RAF King Air B200 in formation with the Red Arrows. The RAF King Air is used as an advanced, multi-engine pilot trainer by the Royal Air Force and is based at RAF Cranwell. We saw three Grob Tutors in formation as they represented the Air Cadets who use this aircraft for their training. Next up was the RAF Typhoon showcasing its manoeuvrability, speed, and agility. This year's Typhoon display pilot is Flt Lt Mark Long from 29(R) Squadron at RAF Coningsby.
The Belgian Air Force displayed their Agusta A109 which is a lightweight, twin-engine, eight-seat multi-purpose helicopter used for light transport, medevac, search-and-rescue, and other military roles. A DHC-1 Chipmunk T.10 (WG308) was next and performed a very good display. The DHC-1 Chipmunk is a tandem, two-seat, single-engined primary trainer aircraft which was the standard primary trainer for the Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Air Force and several other air forces through much of the post-Second World War years.
The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) displayed a Spitfire and a Hurricane. The Spitfire Mk.XVIe (TE311) is painted to represent Spitfire Mk XVIe TB675 '4D-V' of No 74 Squadron, the personal aircraft of Squadron Leader AJ 'Tony' Reeves DFC, the Squadron's Commanding Officer from the end of December 1944. The Hurricane Mk.IIc (PZ865) wears a new colour scheme, faithfully replicating Hurricane Mk IIC HW840, coded 'EG-S', of 34 Squadron, South East Asia Command during 1944, the personal aircraft of Canadian pilot, Flight Lieutenant Jimmy Whalen DFC. The Great War Display Team brought their WWI replica aircraft to Cosford and put on a great display as they took part in simulated dogfights and used pyrotechnics to great effect. The aircraft included the Junkers CL1s, Royal Aircraft Factory BE2c, Fokker Dr.1s, two Royal Aircraft Factory SE5a, and a Sopwith Triplane.
We then saw the Rans S-6 Coyote II (G-GWFT) which is an American single-engined, tractor configuration, two-seat, high-wing monoplane. It is available in kit form for amateur construction or as a completed light-sport aircraft. Next we had an Avro C19 Anson in formation with a North American Harvard before they split and performed their own routines. The Avro C19 Anson (G-AHKX) is based at Old Warden as part of the Shuttleworth Collection. The British twin-engined C19 Anson was used as communications and transport aircraft during and after the Second World War.
The North American Harvard (AJ841) 'Wacky Wabbit' is based at Duxford and represents a Desert Air Force Harvard that flew in the Middle East during WW2 with 71 and 74 OTU Operational Training Unit. AJ841 was used for training and for pilots converting on to the Hurricane and Spitfire in North Africa between 1941 and 1946. The Old Buckers Display Team consists of a Bucker Bu-131 Jungmann and Bucker Bu-133 Jungmeister. The Jungmann was a 1930s basic training aircraft which was used by the Luftwaffe during World War II. The Jungmeister was an advanced trainer of the Luftwaffe in the 1930s.
A MiG-15UTi (Norwegian Historical Squadron) displayed next. The MiG-15 was a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union, and was one of the first successful jet fighters to incorporate swept wings to achieve high transonic speeds. It was used during the Korean War, in the early 1950s, and was often pitched against the North American F-86 Sabre. We then saw the Nanchang CJ-6 display. The Nanchang CJ-6 is an aircraft designed and built in China for use by the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) as a basic trainer. A Royal Air Force Hercules then made a single flypast before the Red Arrows entered from behind the crowd and started their flat display because of the low cloud. The Red Arrows were warmly received as usual and performed a great display.
Up next was the mighty RAF Chinook HC4 (ZH893) with its usual impressive display, although the weather worsened, and the rain that was forecast began to fall, and the skies darkened. Towards the end of the Chinook's display the rear ramp opened and some guy with a big red hand started waving at the crowd. We then saw Lauren Richardson putting on a superb aerobatic display in her Pitts Special S1-S. Lauren is one of the top aerobatic display pilots in the UK and became British Female Aerobatic champion in 2012. She later gained her Display Authorisation and in 2013 started displaying at air shows. With the rain still falling we saw the Jet Provost T.5A (XW289) which landed at Cosford at the end of its display.
The Gazelle Squadron Display Team was next with two Westland Gazelle helicopters (ZB627 & XZ934) flown by Andy Moorhouse and Russ DeLieu. There were two more Gazelles from the same team in the static display. Continuing with helicopters, we then saw a Westland Scout AH1 from the 'Historic Aviation Flight' based at the Army Aviation Centre, Middle Wallop, in Hampshire. It was to have displayed with their Sioux helicopter which went unserviceable but instead went up with the Army Air Corps Apache AH1. They then displayed individually and the Apache included pyrotechnics in its display.
The weather was now very bad, and although a B-52H Stratofortress had turned up at RAF Cosford to perform three flypasts, it could not be seen as the cloud was now very low, and the B-52's minimum display height was 1000 feet. The B-52 is one of three that have been deployed to RAF Fairford in June 2016 in support of multinational exercises BALTOPS 16 and Saber Strike 16. The B-52s returned home to Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, on 23rd June. Thank you to the 'RAF Cosford Air Show' organisers for putting on this exciting event this year. It was a shame that the weather affected the flying display towards the end, and that some aircraft were unable to attend such as the Sea Vixen, Gnat Display Team, and the P-51 Mustang, but it was great to see the museum aircraft and static displays. The Bristol 188, Fairey Delta II and Avro 707 museum aircraft on static display were a welcome addition to the show and much appreciated. There were delays for some getting out of the car park on one of the three exit routes due to a Road Traffic Collision (RTC) which was finally cleared at 5.46pm, and reported on the RAF Cosford Air Show Facebook page. Next year's RAF Cosford Air Show will take place on Sunday 11th June 2017.
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 Control Tower |
 Jaguar |
 Air Ambulance |
 Alouette III |
 Tornado |
 Jaguar |
 Tornado |
 Jaguar |
 Sea Kings |
 BP Balliol T2 |
 Jaguar |
 Jaguars |
 Jaguar |
 Wessex |
 C-17 model |
 Comet |
 VC-10 |
 Dutch C-130 |
 Dutch C-130 |
 Gazelle |
 Squirrel |
 Griffin |
 Jet Provost |
