Tag: Midlands Air Festival

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.

The spectacular Midlands Air Festival has announced a further wave of display aircraft that will be flying high at the festival as it gets set to return to its original location of Ragley Hall in Warwickshire on 4 – 6 June 2021.

Taking to the skies at the festival will be Team Raven, acclaimed aerobatics pilot Chris Jesson in his classic Stampe Bi Plane, the world-famous gyro pilot Peter Davies and the festival’s first ever airship appearance. In addition, organisers have already secured the mighty B-17 bomber and Rich Goodwin in his radical high powered Muscle Biplane to feature in the exhilarating programme of air displays.

The news follows confirmation from the organisers that they plan to soar ahead with the event, following the Government’s announcement on plans for lifting lockdown. As a large outdoor event, the festival will be following relevant government regulations and will be adopting all social distancing guidelines, with plenty of space for families to enjoy the jam-packed programme.

First to join the aircraft line-up will be Team Raven with their five-man formation display team that was first formed in May 2014. Simon, Steve, Barry, Gerald and Mark aka The Ravens have known each other for many years and have flown their signature Vans RV aircraft at countless air shows and displays throughout the country. The big sky display of precision aerobatics features very close formations with their wingtips just a few feet apart. The team name ‘Raven’ comes from a play on the letters ‘RV’ which you can see on the crest on the sides of the aircraft fuselages.

Adding to the aerobatic line up, pilot Chris Jesson will put his classic Stampe Bi Plane through a routine that ranges from aerial ballet to high energy manoeuvres. Chris started his flying career in the long-gone Dan-Air airline before completing his commercial service for easyJet. The Stampe, (pronounced Stomp) was a sophisticated aircraft in its day, featuring brakes, a tail wheel and ailerons on both sets of wings, things that were unusual for a light aircraft of the time.

The world-famous gyro display pilot Peter Davies will be taking to the skies in the futuristic Calidus Gyroplane. Flying for over 32 years, Peter is a highly experienced pilot who has been displaying with the Gyroplane for 22 years. Whilst the Gyroplane looks like a mini helicopter, it works in a more unusual way as the main rotor is not connected to the engine. The display is sure to be a crowd pleaser as Peter swoops the Gyroplane through the skies.

Finally, for something completely different, the festival has also confirmed its first appearance of an airship. Chris Sanger-Davies will pilot his 110,000cuft Lindstrand Airship at speeds of up to 15 knots. Whilst not the fastest aircraft attending the festival, it is certainly one of the most rare and interesting.

Trevor Graham, director of aviation for the festival commented: “These first displays are just an early taste of the aircraft we are planning to have in our daily flying programmes, many more exciting and unusual aircraft will be added to our growing list in the coming weeks. The display programme is being designed to appeal to aviation enthusiasts, families looking for a well-earned day out of excitement or those who just want to sit, relax and watch the show in the wide-open spaces of the historic Ragley Hall Estate.”

As well as a spectacular afternoon of air displays, the event will feature over 120 hot air balloons that will be rising high in the twice-daily hot air balloon mass ascents at dawn and late afternoon, along with exciting radio-controlled aircraft displays, large character kites and parachute teams.

The ticketed event will also feature the largest display of special shape character hot air balloons in Europe, with up to 40 of these amazing giants registered to attend. New special shapes that have been confirmed for the event include Wes the Wolf, the Cornetto Ice Cream, the giant Saucepan, and Buddy the smiling friend.

Mark Lockwood, spokesperson for the Midlands Air Festival, commented: “The programme for this year’s event is shaping up to be our best yet. It is set to be a brilliant family day out and we are really hoping to be a light at the end of a very long tunnel and give everyone something to really look forward to. Since the inaugural event in 2018, our Festival has proved to be hugely popular with both the Midlands audience and visitors from all over the UK.”

Local businesses are being encouraged to get in touch with the festival for bespoke sponsorship partnerships.

Tickets are now available from the Midlands Air Festival website with a special offer that ends on 31 March. Children under 14 can attend for free, when accompanied by an adult ticket holder. Tickets for this event must be purchased in advance and will be limited to allow for capacity restrictions and government regulations pertaining at the time of the event. Organisers are advising those wishing to attend to book their tickets early, in the event that the festival sells out.

There will be many more exciting additions and announcements about the events programme in the coming months, so to keep up to date with the latest news and information visit the Midlands Air Festival website www.midlandsairfestival.com