Tag: Midlands Air Festival

The news that many have been waiting for has just been released and it confirms that the RAF Aerobatic Team, The Red Arrows will be taking centre stage at the acclaimed Midlands Air Festival at the end of May.

2026 will be a historic year for the team, as for the first time in its long history, the RAF’s premier display team will have a female commanding officer. Wing Commander Sasha Nash recently replaced Wing Commander Adam Collins who has just completed a successful three year tour with the team. Wing Commander Nash is now responsible for the 150 strong unit based at RAF Waddington and will coordinate every aspect of the team, including displays, safety, engineering and detailed planning. Their appearance at the Midlands Air Festival will be the very first opportunity to see the team’s new season display at an inland UK air display.

The Red Arrows, who are the largest military aerobatic team in the UK, will join a stellar lineup of display aircraft from all over the UK and Europe, to include the rare cold war MiG 17F jet fighter from Poland, the Grumman Turbo Firecat from France performing its very first fire bombing demonstration in the UK dropping over 3,000 litres of water in 4 seconds and Team Raven who are largest civilian display team in the UK.

The Battle of Britain Memorial flight will be displaying with a Spitfire and Hurricane and unusually, a Douglas DC 3 Dakota as the Lancaster is in deep maintenance at the moment. There will also be the first display after a long restoration of the world’s only Westland Whirlwind historic search and rescue helicopter in company with a giant Sea King helicopter.

The RAF mass parachute team, the Falcons will also drop on all 3 days. Many more exciting aircraft make up the daily flying display.

Adding to the excitement is a major hot air balloon festival too, with over 150 giant multi coloured balloons including many special shape ‘character’ balloons, most standing over 100ft tall including Smiley Scarecrow; Fly Alien; Busby the Kings Guardsman; Orient Express and Iggy the Friendly Dragon.

The Festival kicks off on the evening of Friday 29th May with the signature ‘Nightfire’ show, with pyrotechnic air displays, balloon ascents, Fireglow and a massive firework finale.

The Midlands Air Festival takes place in the beautiful estate grounds of the historic Ragley Hall at Alcester from 29th to the 31st May. More information can be obtained at www.midlandsairfestival.com

Organisers of the Midlands Air Festival have revealed that the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, the Red Arrows, will be appearing on all three days at this year’s festival, marking some of the very first opportunities to see the team’s spectacular displays in the UK at the start of their summer season.

The RAF Red Arrows are one of the finest and most respected jet aerobatic teams in the world and a national favourite whenever they display. The team will showcase their astonishing signature precision wingtip to wingtip formations, along with breathtaking high-speed opposition passes and spectacular breaks.   The internationally acclaimed team, will be flying their nine distinctive bright red BAE T1 Hawk jets over the skies of the beautiful and historic Ragley Hall estate on the 30th, 31st May and 1st of June.  Led this year by ‘Red One’ Squadron Leader Jon Bond, the RAF Red Arrows have been inspiring literally hundreds of thousands of young potential pilots and aero engineers for over 60 years. 

The Royal Air Force will also be sending the much loved Battle of Britain Memorial flight of Lancaster, Dakota, Spitfire and Hurricane, along with the Tutor aerobatics trainer, the daring RAF Falcons mass parachute team and a Friday flypast from the RAF Typhoon.

The RAF participation is just one part of a much bigger air display. Other items appearing include classic jets, formation teams,  warbirds, flying circus, aerial ballet, helicopters and high energy aerobatics. Unusual highlights include, from Austria, the Flying Bulls aerobatic helicopter that can actually fly upside down and the Pitts Special bi plane which has an additional pair of screaming jet engines bolted to its fuselage!

Across the three days of the festival, visitors can also see the largest gathering of giant multi coloured hot air balloons and airships in the UK.  Over 150 of them can be seen either tethered or flying in the  spectacular massed take-offs, including a number of massive character ‘special shape’ balloons, many standing over a 100ft tall.

The Festival kicks off on Friday 30th May with the unique ‘Nightfire’ show, with an afternoon air show, pyrotechnic air displays, choreographed balloon ‘Fireglow’ and a giant firework finale. The RAF front line fighter the Typhoon, will also drop by to say hello with a very noisy flypast!

Flying Display Director Trevor Graham said, “We  deeply appreciate  the continuing support we receive from the Royal Air Force and indeed all of our pilots from all over the world. We also thank our loyal audience which continues to grow and return year on year.” Tickets are available, in advance only, through the website www.midlandsairfestival.com , along with options for camping and caravanning. Tickets are currently  free for children under 13 years old when accompanied by a paying adult.

Dates have been confirmed for this year’s amazing Midlands Air Festival. From 30th May to 1st June 2025, this annual aviation and ballooning spectacular will fill the skies over the historic Ragley Hall estate with another thrilling international line up. Classic and military jets, high energy aerobatics, formation teams, helicopters, aerial ballet, flying circus, WW2 warbirds and parachutes will provide three days of almost continuous excitement.  

As well as the air displays, organisers have confirmed they will be bringing over 150 giant hot air balloons, including some massive character balloons, known as ‘special shapes’ including Thomas the Tank engine, Snow White, Astro the Alien, Princess Nelly the Pink Elephant, The UP balloon from the film of the same name and our star balloon direct from the USA standing nearly 150ft – Oggy the Friendly Dragon.   

A sneak peek at what’s in store

Described as the perfect way to start the summer, this year’s highly anticipated three-day event promises a thrilling programme of superb entertainment for families and enthusiasts alike.

Some of the highlights will include, from France, the mighty F86 Sabre classic fighter jet.  Celebrating the 80^th anniversary of the Pitts special there will be two versions of this famous aerobatics aircraft with top female Aero’s pilot Lauren Wilson in her standard S2 and world famous Rich Goodwin in his insane jet powered Pitts special.

The brilliant Flying Bulls from Austria will return to the Festival with several aircraft including the Bolkow 105C twin engine helicopter. This amazing display will feature the only chance in the UK to see a helicopter actually flying upside down. Only the B105C can undertake this due to a special fixed pitch rotor system.

Also look out for a flock of Bell 47 helicopters which are also celebrating their 80th anniversary. Easily recognised with their bubble canopies and their TV appearances in Whirlybirds and the Korean War programme M-A-S-H. 

New to this year’s festival is the award-winning father-son duo Team Niebergall from Germany, performing their unique display, flying Marchetti SF-260 aircraft, nicknamed the ‘hotrod’ for their speed and grace.  

Organisers say this is just a small taster of what’s to come, with more rare aircraft and of course the highly anticipated UK military formation teams yet to be announced.

Up, up and away

The excitement kicks off on Friday with an afternoon air display, followed by the spectacular sight of over 100 hot air balloons taking part in a mass ascent. As night falls, the festival’s signature Nightfire display will commence featuring illuminated aircraft performing pyrotechnic displays with fireworks streaming from their wingtips.  The grand finale will leave visitors in awe as the event concludes with the breathtaking Fireglow display, where balloons fire their burners in sync with music, shooting massive flames into the night sky. The evening will be crowned by a dazzling firework festival finale, ensuring a truly unforgettable experience for all.

Trevor Graham, Midlands Air Festival flying director, said; “We are delighted to confirm we are back once again and would like to thank our regular and enthusiastic audience for their support already.  I invite those we have yet to meet to join us for another unforgettable weekend. There will be further announcements about even more exciting aerial displays in the very near future.”

Don’t miss a moment of the action

Some of the most magical and ethereal ballooning moments take place early in the morning, so the organisers are providing a comprehensive premium camping facility, right in the heart of the show site for those wanting to experience ‘breakfast with the balloons’. The camp site will cater for tents, caravans and motor homes, and will provide electric hook ups, showers, toilets, a dedicated bar and catering concessions.  This year, Midlands Air Festival’s campsite will offer the perfect opportunity for guests to stay  in the beautiful surroundings of the Ragley Hall estate, only a two minute stroll from the show ground.

Day tickets are available to purchase as 1-day, 2-day and 3-day passes through the Midlands Air Festival website. The event is free to attend for children under 13 years old when accompanied by a paying adult. Standard parking is also free.

The event is always a sell-out show, advance tickets are already on sale at discounted price until the end of January via midlandsairfestival.com. Children under 13 are currently free when accompanied by a ticketed adult. Standard parking is also free.