Category: News UK

Thrilling helicopter showcase announced for the RAF Cosford Air Show

Army Air Corps Apache at RAF Cosford

The RAF Cosford Air Show announced exciting news today that the Attack Helicopter Display Team will be returning on Sunday 9th June, with their explosive display showcasing the Apache gunship helicopter.

The Apache is the Army Air Corps’ primary attack helicopter and its display, accompanied by ground-based pyrotechnics, is always one of the crowd favourites at the Air Show. Today, organisers also confirmed an assortment of other helicopters for static display: The Royal Air Force will send a Puma HC2 troop transportation helicopter, the Royal Navy will showcase their Merlin HM2 submarine hunter and the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity will exhibit their newest H145 life-saving helicopter.

Air Show Director, Mr Clive Elliott said, “We’re pleased to have a number of exciting helicopters on display at the Air Show, big and small, military and civilian, which our visitors will be able to interact with.”

With the Air Show fast approaching, and with no tickets available at the gate, those wishing to attend are being encouraged to purchase their tickets soon. Air Show tickets, priced £29.00, are currently available from the Air Show website and RAF Museums at Cosford and Hendon, as well as selected Tourist Information Centres. Accompanied under-16s enter the Air Show for free, making the event a great family day out.

www.cosfordairshow.co.uk

Wing your way to Cosford for Open Cockpits Weekend

RAF Museum Cosford Hercules Cockpit

Date: 22-23 June 2019 / Time: 10.00am-4.00pm / Cost: £13.50 per person

The Royal Air Force Museum Cosford will be opening the doors to thirteen aircraft from its collection during a two day Open Cockpits Weekend on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 June. It’s the perfect opportunity for aviation fans and families with budding young pilots to get a closer look inside some of the historic aircraft on display and take to the flying controls whilst sitting in the pilot’s seat.

Just 300 spaces per day are available for this exciting event which gives ticket holders up to six hours to explore everything from jet fighters to airliners, including aircraft from British, American and Russian Air Forces.

The June event at Cosford will be themed around the Museum’s National Cold War Exhibition, the transport and training collection in Hangar 1 and a selection of aircraft outside in the Museum grounds.

The popular Lockheed Hercules C130K Mk3 is guaranteed to be an event highlight. The C-130 Hercules has been a key component of the Royal Air Force’s frontline for over fifty years and continues to provide service to the present day. A familiar sight, at home and abroad, the Hercules can rightly claim to have been the ‘first in and last out’ in numerous campaigns and operations. As a tanker, and as transport, it has delivered vital strategic and tactical mobility – providing the platform for the Royal Air Force’s operational capabilities, through the Cold War and beyond.

Ticket holders will also be able to step on board another RAF transporting giant, the Vickers VC10 during the special event. Designed as a long-range airliner able to operate from short runways at airfields in hot and high conditions, the VC10 had a high cruising mach number with very good short field performance. In the later part of its service the aircraft was modified for the tanking role but kept its passenger and freight carrying ability. This is the first time the VC10 will be opened to visitors using its new fully accessible boarding ramp, kindly donated to the Museum by local based aviation ground handling manufacturer, Aviramp.

From the Cold War collection, aviation fans can take a seat inside the cockpit of the General Dynamics F-111 F-CF, a two-seat American fighter-bomber. The F-111A variant became the first variable-geometry combat aircraft to enter service, seeing extensive action during the Vietnam War. As well as serving with US forces, the F-111C variant were produced for the Royal Australian Air Force. The final production variant, the F-111F (as seen at Cosford) featured improved avionics, including navigational and digital computer systems, improved wing structure and landing gear, and more powerful engines. Their main offensive load was Paveway laser-guided bombs, with Sidewinder missiles carried for self-defence. A total of 106 were built from 1972 and they saw much service during the first Gulf War in 1991.

Other Cold War aircraft that families will get the chance to climb on board and explore during the Open Cockpits Weekend include the Short Brothers Belfast, Handley Page Hastings, Avro York C1, and the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG 21PF (close view only).

Head down to Hangar 1 and you will find the Museum’s transport and training aircraft, used for moving troops and equipment and retained to teach aircrews the wide variety of skills they must master before becoming operational. Aircraft from this collection open during the June event will include the Vickers Varsity T Mk I, brought into RAF service in 1951 for crew training as a replacement for the Wellington T10. Aviation fans will also have the rare opportunity to step inside the Hawker Siddeley Andover E3A, a short take-off and landing transport aircraft that operated in trooping, paratrooping, airdropping, freighting and casevac roles. Plus, the de Havilland Devon, Hunting Percival Pembroke C1 and the Junkers Ju52/3M will also be included in the aircraft line-up.

The final aircraft in the event programme is the advanced navigation trainer, Scottish Aviation Jetstream T Mk1 which will be featured outside with the hangar backdrop. Access to all the external aircraft will be weather permitting.

To make sure visitors get the most out of the event, there will be a large team of Volunteers manning each aircraft or vehicle and available to answer any questions. A special Log Book can be purchased for an additional £1, allowing ticket holders to keep a record of the aircraft and vehicles they have accessed during the event!

A total of 300 tickets per day are available for the event on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 June and aviation fans will have up to six hours to enjoy the exclusive access. Tickets are now available to purchase through the Museum’s website www.rafmuseum.org/cosford and cost £13.50 per person which includes parking (minimum height restrictions apply 1.07m). Ticket holder will also receive a 10% discount on purchases made in the Museum shop during the Open Cockpits Weekend. Entry to the Museum is free of charge.

Air Tattoo Visitors Set to be Starstruck!

Royal International Air Tattoo

Visitors to this summer’s Royal International Air Tattoo in the Cotswolds are set to experience its most astronomical year yet, with an array of exciting exhibits and aircraft for all the family to enjoy.

The three-day event (19-21 July) held annually at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, coincides with the 50th anniversary of the first manned moon landing and to celebrate, the Air Tattoo will be turning its spotlight to the heavens to look at some of the exciting and innovative ways organisations are reaching out into space.

Giving his seal of approval to this year’s theme, Air & Space: Inspiring The Next Generation Air Force will be British astronaut Major Tim Peake who will be making an appearance at the airshow on Friday, July 19.

As part of the European Space Agency (ESA), Tim was the first British ESA astronaut to visit the International Space Station, launching on a Soyuz rocket in December 2015 and returning to earth six months later having taken part in a variety of activities including conducting a spacewalk to repair the Station’s power supply.

He said: “I’ve been wanting to attend the Royal International Air Tattoo for some time and this year’s ‘Space’ theme presented the perfect opportunity. I’m really looking forward to it!”

Other star attractions include the critically-acclaimed Techno Zone®, which among other exciting exhibits, will host a planetarium show and a full-scale ExoMars rover prototype from Airbus Defence and Space, which visitors can witness drive across a simulated Martian surface.

Visitors can also see Starchaser Industries’ Nova 2 rocket which will be on static display for up-close viewing and space technology firm Skyrora’s The Black Arrow – the UK’s only rocket to successfully launch a satellite into orbit.

If that isn’t enough, visitors on the Friday will find themselves under the ‘microscope’ as Airbus DS’s Pleiades satellites flies over RAF Fairford taking a photo of the airshow as it orbits the earth.

Techno Zone® Coordinator Sandra Keen said: “The Techno Zone® never ceases to amaze visitors with its hands-on displays, but this year is set to be particularly awe-inspiring.

“It’s always a big attraction for youngsters and hopefully the unique exhibits will ignite a spark and inspire them to discover and learn more about air and space”.

RAF Fairford, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, was NASA’s only UK transatlantic abort landing site for the Space Shuttle and in 1983 hosted a visit by the spacecraft which was secured on the back of a jumbo jet bound for the Paris Air Show.

Tickets for the airshow, which is staged annually in support of the RAF Charitable Trust, can be purchased online at www.airtattoo.com or by calling 01285 713456. All accompanied under-18s go free.

HRH The Princess Royal Attends Aerospace Bristol Gala Dinner

HRH Princess Royal at Concorde50 Gala Dinner

Filton, Bristol, April 9, 2019: Aerospace Bristol, a family visitor attraction that is home to the last Concorde ever to fly, has celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of Concorde’s first British flight with a dinner kindly attended by HRH The Princess Royal, Patron of the museum.

Delivered in partnership with Airbus, the Concorde50 gala dinner was held under the wings of the supersonic passenger jet in Aerospace Bristol’s Concorde Hangar, on the edge of the historic Filton Airfield. It was from there that Concorde first took to the skies from British soil on 9th April 1969, and landed for the final time on 26th November 2003.

Fittingly, it was the pilot of that final flight, Captain Les Brodie, who returned to the Flight Deck and – as Her Royal Highness and distinguished guests looked on – operated the controls to lower and raise Concorde’s droop nose and activate her landing lights. The manoeuvre was possible thanks to careful restoration work by Aerospace Bristol’s Conservation team and volunteers, with Concorde smoothly returning to motion as if waking for the first time since touching down more than 15 years ago.

Professor Iain Gray CBE, Chair of Aerospace Bristol, said “I am most grateful to Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, Patron of Aerospace Bristol, for so kindly accepting our invitation to join us in celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of Concorde. The iconic Concorde was an engineering marvel, developed far ahead of its time by talented engineers working on the cutting- edge of 1960s technology. Through our exhibition, inspiring workshops for schools, and Concorde50 events, it is this spirit of innovation that Aerospace Bristol aims to ignite in the engineers of the next fifty years and beyond, encouraging the young people of today to develop the big ideas of tomorrow.”

Katherine Bennett, Senior Vice President Airbus, said: “Concorde has a special place in Airbus’ heart and history. Many of its innovations, from electronic flight controls to anti-skid braking systems, helped inform future aircraft designs. We also maintained the aircraft at Filton for more than 10 years after its final flight.

“To see the aircraft once again at the centre of celebration, helping inspire the next generation of engineers, is fantastic, particularly as we are fast approaching Airbus’ own 50 year milestone which is a celebration of everyone who has the courage to bold and improve things, just as Concorde did.”

Aerospace Bristol will continue its Concorde anniversary celebrations with a series of Concorde50 events taking place throughout the year. The first public moves of Concorde’s droop nose will take place on Saturday 13th April 2019 at 11am and 1pm. An Aerospace Bristol ticket is required and further details can be found at www.aerospacebristol.org.

NATO Anniversary to be Celebrated at RAF Cosford Air Show

Slovak Air Force LET-410

With just two months to go until this year’s RAF Cosford Air Show, tickets are selling faster than ever before and visiting Air Forces continue to confirm their participation in the Midlands’ largest one-day event.

Today, the Air Show organisers announced that the Slovak Air Force will be participating in the Air Show for the first time and they will be sending one of their LET-410 transport aircraft for static display on Sunday 9th June. This will be on display in a special area dedicated to celebrating 70 years of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), alongside other NATO aircraft such as a Belgian SF.260M and German Sea Lynx. In total, six nations have already confirmed their attendance to the Air Show, with more expected to notify of their plans in the coming weeks.

One of the key themes for this year’s show is celebrating the NATO 70th anniversary. In 1949, the United States and 11 other Western nations formed NATO, with its membership growing larger over the course of the Cold War era. Now an Alliance that consists of 29 independent member countries, its purpose is to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means.

Air Show Operations Manager, Mr Peter Reoch, said, “We’re grateful to the Slovak Air Force for supporting the RAF Cosford Air Show 2019 with this interesting aircraft, which will be a great addition to our NATO celebration.”

With the Air Show fast approaching, and with no tickets available at the gate, those wishing to attend are being encouraged to purchase their tickets soon. Air Show tickets, priced £29.00, are currently available from the Air Show website www.cosfordairshow.co.uk and RAF Museums at Cosford and Hendon, as well as selected Tourist Information Centres. Accompanied under-16s enter the Air Show for free, making the event a great value family day out.

Concorde’s 50th anniversary celebrated by cavalcade of Bristol Cars & Buses

Bristol Buses

Over 150 passengers travelled from Aerospace Bristol to the Fleet Air Arm Museum on board classic buses and cars

Filton, Bristol, April 9, 2019: Today marks 50 years since the first test flight of a British-made Concorde was completed – flying from Filton Airport to RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, a journey taking just 22 minutes but changing the course of aviation history.

To celebrate the anniversary, Aerospace Bristol – the museum that is now home to the last Concorde ever to fly – and the Fleet Air Arm Museum – home to Concorde 002, which first took to the skies 50 years ago today – teamed up to organise a nostalgic journey across the West Country.

Over 150 people visited Concorde Alpha Foxtrot at Aerospace Bristol this morning, before boarding Bristol Buses and Cars and travelling to Yeovilton, where they visited Concorde 002.

The two museums give visitors the opportunity to discover more about the world’s most famous aircraft, from the people behind its initial forays to the edge of space and record-breaking speeds, to the experience for passengers and even the food served on-board.

Aerospace Bristol tells the story of Bristol’s aviation and engineering heritage – from the first powered flights through to the modern day – including how Bristol diversified into the automobile industry and produced the cars and buses that formed the cavalcade today.

The museum will be celebrating Concorde50 throughout the year, with special events taking place around its star attraction Concorde Alpha Foxtrot, the last Concorde ever to fly. Upcoming events include:

9th April: Meet Concorde pilot Captain Colin Morris
13th April: The first public move of Concorde Alpha Foxtrot’s ‘droop nose’
16th April: A talk on the life of a Concorde pilot, with Captain Tim Orchard
20th April: Special tours to mark 40 years since Concorde Alpha Foxtrot’s maiden flight

www.aerospacebristol.org

First to the Fastest opens at Brooklands Museum

First to the Fastest at Brooklands

Opening 8th April 2019…

Alcock and Brown’s non-stop crossing of the Atlantic in a Brooklands-built Vickers Vimy in June 1919 was a significant moment in aviation history. Just sixteen years earlier the first ever powered flight was made by the Wright Brothers in 1903, followed by the flight trials of A.V. Roe at Brooklands in 1907. Fifty years later, in 1969, Atlantic flights had become routine but to celebrate that great endeavour and spirit of Alcock and Brown’s ground-breaking crossing, a new air race was staged. It showcased how far and fast aviation had changed with innovation at the heart of the race.

Both races were launched by the Daily Mail who put up the prize money but in ’69, the rules were even more ambitious: the race began and ended at check-in stations on the public viewing platform on the 33rd floor viewing platform of the Post Office Tower in London and the 86th floor of New York’s Empire State Building. Journeys had to be made on any of the eight days between 4th and 11th May and could be attempted more than once though only in the same direction and with the same modes of transport. It was open to professionals and enthusiasts and because it was almost certain that a military aircraft would record the fastest time, eighteen different categories of prizes were offered including one for the ‘most meritorious and ingenious’ non-winning entry. The Daily Mail race organisers clearly wanted to put some fun and excitement back into flying.

This exhibition will explore how Alcock and Brown achieved their amazing feat in the wider context of what was happening at Brooklands during a time when flight was still in its infancy. The rapidity of the technological advancements made in aviation will also be explored by discovering how, just fifty years later, it was possible to get from the heart of London to the centre of New York in just under seven hours. At the centre of this exhibition will be Brooklands Museum’s replica Vimy (which, itself, has flown across the Atlantic, to Australia and South Africa) and the Harrier GR1 XV741, which achieved the fastest time to New York from St. Pancras in London in the 1969 race. These stories are told using archive footage, historic imagery and personal accounts to bring this incredible episode in aviation history to life, celebrating the role that Brooklands played in achieving what was often seen as the impossible.

Entry to the exhibition is included in the general admission price.

Visit: www.brooklandsmuseum.com for all up to date event and Museum information.

RAF Aircraft showcased at RAF Cosford Air Show Media Launch

RAF Chinook by Airscene

Today’s Media Launch of the RAF Cosford Air Show 2019 revealed further details of this spectacular annual event. The Air Show organisers were excited to announce the iconic Chinook helicopter will be performing in the skies over Shropshire on Sunday 9th June, and the RAF Chinook Display Team was present at the Media Launch.

The Royal Air Force has one of the largest fleet of CH-47 Chinook helicopters in the world, primarily used for troop movements, resupply, and battlefield casualty evacuation. However, despite its size, the Chinook is an extremely agile aircraft and the flying display will showcase its incredible manoeuvrability to Air Show visitors.

Also on hand at the Media Launch, Flt Lt Jim Peterson from 29 Squadron talked about the Eurofighter Typhoon’s display sequence, which he will be performing at the Air Show demonstrating the aircraft’s speed, agility and power.

The display pilots for the Tutor and Tucano were also present today. Both aircraft will be performing in the flying display in June.

The RAF Cosford Air Show will also be one of the few UK opportunities this year to see the world-famous Red Arrows performing their thrilling show before they depart for a tour of North America.

As well as dazzling displays in the air, there will also be an array of aircraft on static display across the airfield on Sunday 9th June, allowing visitors to get up close and even climb into some of the cockpits. A full list of British and overseas aircraft coming on 9th June is available on the show website, www.cosfordairshow.co.uk, more aircraft will be announced over the coming weeks.

The sell-out centenary RAF Cosford Air Show 2018 raised £189,000 which will be donated to the RAF100 appeal and local charities, to further support and encourage those who are involved with the Royal Air Force and the local community.

With the Air Show fast approaching, and with no tickets available at the gate, those wishing to attend are being encouraged to purchase their tickets soon. Air Show Tickets, priced £29.00, are currently available from the Air Show website and RAF Museums at Cosford and Hendon, as well as selected Tourist Information Centres. Accompanied under-16s enter the Air Show for free, making the event a great family day out.

The primary focus of the RAF Cosford Air Show is to give visitors the opportunity to engage with the Royal Air Force, and to better understand the work they do, not only in the West Midlands and the United Kingdom, but across the world. Air Show Chairman Wing Commander Jamie Thompson, said “RAF Cosford Air Show is a fantastic opportunity for the public to see what goes on behind the scenes on an operational Royal Air Force base. We are delighted that the Chinook Display Team will be joining us as it is a great addition to the Air Show line-up.”

Harrier 50th Anniversary event at Newark Air Museum

Sea Harrier at Newark Air Museum

Harrier 50th Anniversary event
Sunday 14th April 2019

On Sunday 14th April, 2019, the day after its Indoor Aeroboot / Aerojumble Sale, the Newark Air Museum is hosting an event to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Harrier entering British military service back in April 1969.

This Harrier Day event has attracted visiting Harrier cockpits and Harrier related displays to the museum’s site here in north eastern Nottinghamshire. Here they will join the museum’s Sea Harrier ZA176 and VTOL (Vertical Take Off & Landing) test-bed aircraft Meteor FR9 VZ608, to help illustrate Nottinghamshire’s part in the VTOL Story.

The event will also include participation by Harrier and Sea Harrier veterans (air and ground crew); visiting authors; model displays; aviation artists. Visiting displays confirmed for the event include:

Mainly Military Model display
John Cox & museum – Falklands book of remembrance & scrapbook
Newark Air Museum model display – AV-8B and associated aircraft models
Airfield Research Group display
Harrier related sales stall
Phil Jarvis – Harrier GR.7 Simulator, ex RAF Wittering
Bikini Sate – Newark Air Museum re-enactors
Richard Scarborough – Harrier GR.3 & possible Sea Harrier cockpit & display
Dave Wright – Harrier GR.3 cockpit XZ138
Andy Godfrey – Harrier & VTOL artwork
Andy Ward – Large Model display
Nick Greenall & Harrier Special Interest Group – Display of about 50 detailed Harrier scale models
Martyn Steele & Ian Hodgkiss – Harrier GR.3 instrument panel; selection of Harrier stick grips
Gary O’Keefe & Al Partington – Harrier miscellany
Stephen Dring – 3D display/sales
Hucknall Flight Test Museum – Flying Bedstead model, display and videos
Harrier Preservation Group – model & display

Confirmed reunion attendees from the following:

Harrier Types
GR.1; GR.3; GR.3A; GR.7; GR.7A; GR.9; T.10; T.12

Harrier Squadrons
1(F) Sqn; 3 Sqn; IV (AC) Sqn; 20(R) Sqn

RAF Bases
RAF Gutersloh; RAF Wildenrath; RAF Wittering
The event is open to the general public and normal museum admission rates apply:
Adults £9.00, Over 65s £8.00, Children £4.50 and Family ticket [2 adults & 3 children] £24.00.

Opening times; 10am to 5pm; last admission 4pm.

Full event details and updated exhibit lists can be found on the News & Information page of the museum website: www.newarkairmuseum.org

Headliners announced for D-Day 75 event

D-Day at Solent Airport

Organisers of D-Day 75 in Fareham are delighted to announce some high-flying headline acts for a weekend event to commemorate the special anniversary.

The Great War Display Team will take to the skies over Fareham in replica World War One aircraft and the Round Canopy Display Team will do a parachute display at the Solent Airport event.

The World’s only wing walker display team, the AeroSuperBatics, will perform and a spitfire G-Spit will carry out a flypast before joining a P51 mustang for a static display during the special event on Saturday 8 June and Sunday 9 June.

The Round Canopy Display Team will be at the event on Saturday, but all the other acts will perform on both days – and there’s more acts still to confirm, which Fareham Borough Council will announce in due course.

Tickets go on sale on Monday 25 March and reflect the family-friendly focus of the event with a ticket option that includes unlimited free funfair rides and children’s activities.

A family ticket (two adults, two children) bought in advance is £25 for one day or £40 for the weekend; adult tickets are £8 each day or £15 for both and all-inclusive children £8 for one day or £12 for both. Under 2s go free. Concessions and non-inclusive children’s tickets are also available.

A total of 7,000 tickets will be available for each day with tickets expected to sell out fast, so people are advised to get them early.
Aircraft is the focus of the event and Solent Airport at Daedalus is the perfect place to mark the occasion. It was the busiest airport in the UK on D-Day with more than 400 aircraft movements – the largest number from any UK airbase.

Tickets can be bought in advance from Ferneham Hall, online and at the Control Tower at Solent Airport. Free parking permits can be requested when buying tickets and will be issued on a first-come first-served basis.

Children’s activities will include a fun fair, face painting, craft activities, character walkabouts and a vintage car display. Arena events will include a display from the children’s motorcycle display Green Rockets team, historical re-enactments, marching bands and music from the D-Day era.

To mark the event, a special D-Day memorial plaque will be unveiled by the Mayor of Fareham on Saturday 8 June.

A range of market stalls and food and drink stalls will be at the event and families can also bring their own picnics and use designated seating areas.

Chairman of the Daedalus Steering Group, Cllr Trevor Cartwright, said: “We are delighted to be able to announce such amazing headline acts for our special D-Day 75 event. The skies will be full of incredible aircraft and parachutes – it will be a real sight.

“Tickets are now on sale and we’ve had so many enquiries that we’re expecting them to sell fast. We only have a limited number of tickets, so don’t delay in getting them.

“This is going to be an incredible event which will be remembered for years to come so come along and join in the fun celebrations.”

Further details are available at: http://www.fareham.gov.uk/leisure/out_and_about_in_fareham/dday75.aspx