Cosford 2015 - The Feedback Thread

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abermark
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Re: Cosford 2015 - The Feedback Thread

Post by abermark »

I'm afraid I will be adding to some of the comments re car parking, but let's start with the positives - it was great to see International participation on the ground from the German, Dutch, Italian and Irish armed forces.......please, please, please can we see more over the coming years. Let's hope that the word gets around their NATO colleagues that Cosford is a great place to bring their helicopters and training/support types - message to FAA, can we please see some of your Sea Kings before they are no more. Thanks are due also for the TSR2 getting some much needed fresh air and the Belize markings on the Harrier GR3. Has anyone thought of putting some Sidewinders onto it to replicate its short air defence role on Ascension and Post Falklands or perhaps we could over coming years see different RAFG markings? For me the flying highlight has to be the 727 closely followed by the Reds in formation with BBMF. Now for the negatives, I left Aberystwyth at 6.15 to make sure I had plenty of time to see what was on the ground and was pleased to be in the queue to get on the airfield just after 8 and had thoughts of being parked in a good position ON THE AIRFIELD, so was rather taken aback to be directed into car park 7 which was outside of the show! I had to carry everything with me which to start with included a box load of magazines that I wanted to donate to the Museum. I politely made the point that those who arrive early should have been parked on the airfield, I trust that it will filter back up through the command chain.......that said, it did only take a short while to exit once I had walked back to the car laden with literary purchases to refill the shelves cleared by my earlier sort out! The cancellations are as everyone else has said beyond the control of the air show organisers, but what about having updated lists & timings put on display at the Information points? Anyway, many thanks to everyone that worked their proverbial socks off to put on the show, I for one will be back.

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Blue_2
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Re: Cosford 2015 - The Feedback Thread

Post by Blue_2 »

Some observations from a Yorkshire incomer...
This was our first Cosford, normally we attend Waddington as it is the nearest thing us Northerners have to a 'local' show. With my better half having relatives living about 45 minutes away from Cosford, we did the obvious thing and headed down the day before to stay with them to break the travelling up a bit. During the trip down through varying degrees of downpour there were several nervous checks of Facebook in case the show was weathered off!
We arrived at Cosford at about 8AM and were parked in car park 7 before 8.30. This impressed us greatly in comparison with the queue-fest that normally heralds arrival at Waddington! And to be honest the walk and opportunity to stretch our legs didn't bother us. Had I bought and lugged back to the car some of the very tempting larger model kits for sale I may have had a different opinion on this however.
The static was small, but only what I expected given the relatively small size of the airfield. Not that this massively bothered me; the line-up of grey fast jet after grey fast jet Waddo attracts does little for me I'm afraid. What it lacked in quantity it made up for with quality.
It was nice to see some of the RAFM aircraft outdoors; the potential static display line-up hidden behind those hangar doors could have been made more of though I felt. Hopefully fetching the Leaping Heaps and the TSR2 outdoors for the show proved a successful 'toe in the water' for bringing even more toys out of the cupboard next year.
The engineering displays were very good and interesting to watch too. An interesting and seemingly popular little attraction only Cosford could offer. Nice to see the Jags still earning their keep! It was nice to see the staff keen to interact and answer probably the same questions over and over again throughout the day.
Food; expensive as expected, but surprisingly good in quality, quantity and sheer range of choice I felt. Especially when compared to Waddo, where the thin reclaimed random dead animal burger vans still reigned supreme on our last visit.
Toilets; The show seemed far better catered for in this respect than some, with plentiful toilets placed reasonably close to the display line rather than needing a 75 mile hike to get to them. No complaints here. Indeed my better half was most amused at nipping into the ladies, doing the necessary and getting back out while I was still queueing for the gents; normally at events it is the other way round!
The flying display; One of the things that drew me to the Cosford show was the number of unusual and interesting items booked. While there were several cancellations and schedule slippages due to the weather, serviceability etc. they really didn't show, there were no real yawning great gaps in the display. The glider did little for me, other than that I enjoyed every item. Special highlights for me were the 727, Meteor, BBMF/Reds combo and of course the Muscle Pitts. Please, please, please Planes TV, put the entire commentary from that item on the show DVD! Given the weather I found all of the displays very good to watch. Well done Cosford for making sure the Sea King SAR got the farewell it deserved after a long and faithful service.
The only thing which let the flying down was the commentary. There was no need for the hideously distorted music which randomly appeared at volume 11 in between some items, deafening spectators, scaring small children and souring the milk of cows 3 fields away I'm sure! And then there was Mr Maffett. While normally I find his Vulcan commentary quite acceptable, this was my first show with a full day of him. And while he didn't waffle excessively like some commentators I could mention who are far too fond of the sound of their own voice, he did make a goodly number of cringeworthy gaffes. The 'joke' regarding the Alton Towers accident was in very poor taste, and was a case of opening his mouth and letting the wind blow his tongue around before engaging brain for sure. While the apology did sound genuine and contrite, it should never have been said in the first place.
Getting out at the end of the show was pain-free too. Lots of people seemed to be bailing when the rain came which may have worked in our favour as we didn't get in the car until 6, having first ventured into the museum to pay a visit to our Victor's sister in the Cold War display. In the car, out of the field, into a rolling queue, and gone.

Overall, given the cancellations and the challenging weather, a very good show indeed. A few more gems from the RAFM on the static display and a change of commentator would be welcomed though. We're certainly looking at making the trip from Yorkshire again next year, be Waddo back or not!
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JohnF
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Re: Cosford 2015 - The Feedback Thread

Post by JohnF »

Pro's:
This year I took a friend who was disabled so able to use his blue badge which meant I was parked down the station end for the first time. Quickest I've ever got on/off the airfield since I started going which I think was 2008. Parked up by 07:15 and out within 5 mins of moving the car at 18:30.

Nice to see great variety in the flying/static and the Harrier parked with a clutter free background - only gripe is why were the cones/rope so close when there seemed to be a lot of free space next to it!

Cons:
Always liked the way Cosford parked the helicopters nose on to the crowd meaning you could get good shots of the Apache and Lynx coming and going. Why the change this year?

Commentary:
Have never liked his commentary so after yesterday hopefully I won't have to endure it again.

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stevebrodie
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Re: Cosford 2015 - The Feedback Thread

Post by stevebrodie »

Haven't been into Cosford for years, but what a cracking show, shame that the sun was out till the flying started and then jogged off for the rest of the day- black mark to the sun. Left home (Apley at 7:15, parked up and on sat on centre crowd line by 7:45 - Always seems to be a lottery with lanes going into Cosford as to where you go, i always stick to left hand lane, but even then it split into two and i could see the right hand lane split off towards the tower, so swapped sharpish and ended up been parked by the burger vans, ice cream and toilets. My sister who arrived 30 mins later ended up been parked by the tree line with the pleasure helicopter rides. Funniest thing - sitting on crowd line at 7:45 to hear announcer say to all people queueing on the roads that the carpark(s) would be open smack on 8:30 !!!!!. The Displays were some of the best i have seen for a long time and for me the best was the Typhoon and Spitfire combo, followed very very closely by the Apache role demo. BTBF every display was very good and people sat next to me , who were just enjoying a day out were very very impressed.
Not sure if the announcer was at the same airshow - perhaps they need to move back into the control tower as to say the Cat wasn't coming while she was circling for clearance was embarrassing - She would have had to call for clearance !! . And i seemed to have missed the Tornado and Spitfire Duo, but the Spitfire and Typhoon display was awesome.

Sneaky link to a few of my shots from a great day http://forums.airshows.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=67553

Well done Peter :worship: :clap: :smile:
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Re: Cosford 2015 - The Feedback Thread

Post by davidjones533 »

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Re: Cosford 2015 - The Feedback Thread

Post by FTS »

My 2p worth. I got onto the airfield at 07:20 after a relatively painfree arrival. I'm intriqued that at my arrival time I ended up on the airfield and yet people after me were in the external car parks. I'm not sure what car park I was in but it was down near the static Jags. Getting out from there wasn't fun as everyone ahead of us was leaving atpace with our queues not moving at all. This led to people trying to drive around the queues which just leads to confrontations. I chose to not bother trying to leave until after 19:00 for that reason and heard people around me saying that they'd been trying to get out for 2 hours. I can't think of an easy fix to this when they only have one entry/exit and if you're first in you will end up being the last out unless you leave before the show finishes.

I'm one of those who bought tickets purely after seeing Ramex and the MiG-29 on the list so naturally I was very disappointed when they cancelled. That said I still enjoyed the show, in particular the 727 and Apache pair. The commentary, awful, I lost count of the number of mistakes.

I found the static has improved substantially from my last visit around 5 years ago. As others have said, using the museum aircraft works well and having some of those out in the open for photos is a good incentive to ignore the number of signs that I passed from the M54 advertising external field viewing areas.
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st24
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Re: Cosford 2015 - The Feedback Thread

Post by st24 »

The first time I've ever freeloaded at Cosford - it's always been a must-do family day out as my girls love it but the advance sell out put paid to that. So thanks - you've really upset two little girls (well 15 and 18 now)..hope you're happy!! :grin:
On that note, I don't know what the local roads are like on a "normal" air show day but they were ridiculous yesterday - every spare patch of grass, pavement and garden were taken up by the Midlands great unwashed loving every minute.. I tried getting down two lanes that were completely blocked by cars parked and families with all their paraphernalia hindering vehicle access. I know several locals were getting a tad upset by all the ruckus and I did wonder that if there was an emergency no way would service vehicles be getting anywhere.. With more through the gates would that alleviate this?
I really think that Cosford, particularly underlined this year, has outgrown itself; a victim of it's own success if you will. 55k through the gates and probably another 2-3k (more?) outside and there's only so much you can do with such a small venue. Someone on here mentioned that it's lost it's charm/intimacy or words to that effect - I completely agree though I completely understand why, especially as it's the only RAF show this year. If it continues to grow as it has surely a two day event has to be looked at? I've suggested several times that this would be a direction to follow (plus the fact that the Saturday could include the QBF) and given the huge Midlands/Welsh marches/Shropshire catchment, every year it's shown that it could fill 2 days. Interesting to see what happens when (if) Waddo returns..
Okay the clouds gather and okay there are always cancelations and no shows but I thought the display was great, a credit to the organising team. It's amazing what can be done when someone thinks out of the box a bit. :clap: and :worship: all round.
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DerekF
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Re: Cosford 2015 - The Feedback Thread

Post by DerekF »

My take on Cosford this year. This was the first time had been back since 2011 after the fiasco of 2013 and Welshpool in 2014. I chose Cosford this year as the line-up looked promising and that the traffic problems that had plagued Cosford in the past had been sorted.
Anyway I couldn’t persuade any of the rest of the family so I went on my own.
I’ve made comments about entry and parking in the car parking thread, so I’ll just say that I was disappointed and it didn’t get the day off to a good start.
Anyway, once parked in beautiful sunshine, I wandered around an interesting and reasonably extensive static display, considering the limitations of the airfield. The Jaguars were nicely laid out as were most of the others. The TSR2 looked great in the sun and was a nice addition.

Flying Display
The Belgian F-16 was pretty good for a flat display. The initial part of the flying seemed a little disjointed due to the cancellations.
The Sea King was given a grand emotional send off. I’m not particularly emotional when it comes to aircraft retiring and the those of us that remember the Wessex and Whirlwind were probably a little baffled at the sentimentality.
The Tutor was flown beautifully in what must have been challenging circumstances.
A comment was made my Sean Maffett that the Jaguar taxi “You can't see this anywhere else” My thought was “ You can't see it here either”. Taxi demonstrations are only visible to those at the front and a large part of the crowd seemed bemused as to what was going.
The Pitts special was a truly astonishing display. I’ve been going to air shows for 45 years and thought I’d seen most things you can do with an aeroplane. No I hadn’t!. Amazing Commentator of the day as well without doubt.
The RAF Typhoon was pretty awesome and the crowd around where I was were very impressed
The Red Arrows were as perfect and professional as always and a nice BBMF formation afterwards.
I thought the Swiss F-18 strangely uninvolving and distant. Not like the displays I’d seen at Fairford. The high speed pass was impressive though.
The Vulcan or “Vulcan” as it now seems to be called. Pretty good I thought and better than last years. The commentary still irritates though.
The Blades and 727 formation was a nice touch, leading into an excellent 727 display.
The Apache duo looked good with lots of bangs and flames. Impressive stuff
The Typhoon Spitfire duo looked good but is too asymmetric for me. The last pass was something else though.

Good
Getting out – a dawdle and took me by surprise a little
Varied flying display – much more than previous years
Helpful staff
Cost – excellent value for money. Would been even better had I persuaded my 11-year-old daughter to come along

Bad
Good 4G signal early in the day but couldn’t get a 2G signal later on. Maybe it was me.
Parking on entry as mentioned
Annoying rain for a wee while (but then again I was there in 2011 when it rained all day)
Crowd line could do with being bit wider. Where I was standing it was very busy.
A few more gaps in the long lines of stalls wouldn’t go amiss.


To be honest the Bad list is pretty nit-picking and reflects on what was a decent day that even the weather couldn’t spoil.

Ramex who?

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JJC
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Re: Cosford 2015 - The Feedback Thread

Post by JJC »

Good:
Flying display remained varied and interesting throughout the day - wish I had been able to stay for the last hour, caught the apaches, synchro and VE day segment whilst waiting for the train and all looked great!
-RN Lynx display was superb I thought! A shame it displayed in the rain.
-Typhoon display really is brilliant this year, definitely the best I've seen from the RAF.
-Belgian F-16 performed an admirable show considering the conditions displayed in, kept it very tight over the airfield!
-Chinook entertaining as ever
-727 display was absolutely amazing and stole the Vulcan's thunder
-Voyager flypast: was nice to see a dirty slow pass rather than straight through and disappearing!

Had a quick walk around the static stuff, TSR.2 looked superb outside!

Not so good:
-Meteor seemed very slow, quiet and well...a little dull. Seen much better with Dan Griffiths (I think?) at the controls.
-Trains were absolutely awful returning, but I suppose this is to be expected.
-Commentary was dire. Not only were there mistakes aplenty, but it all seemed so dull, droning and waffley in places.
- Families letting their kids run around us, even jumping over my camera bag on the ground directly in front of me.
- Brummy accents :grin: :wink:

All in all I had a great day, congratulations to Peter and team for a fantastic show! I shall definitely be back!
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LittleRedTrain
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Re: Cosford 2015 - The Feedback Thread

Post by LittleRedTrain »

This was my first Cosford. I'd been wanting to go for several years but time/money etc always conspired against me and it's a long slog being based in London and relying on public transport.

As there aren't any trains from London that get to Cosford early enough (first one gets in around 11:45), Other Half and I stayed overnight at Wolverhampton (in the Novotel by the station, perfectly acceptable for £47) and got the train to/from the show using the combined admission tickets.

Getting to the show was no problem at all, got the 9:30 train which started at Wolverhampton and everybody got on board without problems. Bit of a queue to get off the platform at Cosford, but only 5-10mins or so. No queue at all to get tickets checked.
Looking at Twitter it did sound like there were problems later in the morning with the trains being too overcrowded to pick anyone up, so it may be that more capacity is still required.

Had a wander round the static and stalls before flying started, good bit of variety and it was nice to see the TSR-2 outdoors. I'm definitely going to have to go back and do the museum properly on a non-show day.

Managed to get a reasonable spot right of crowd-centre, with only a couple of people between us and the ropes.
I don't have a problem with small sun-tents and similar that don't block others' view (we had one ourselves which we initially used as a groundsheet, and later deployed properly when it started raining), however some people did seem to be taking the mickey with full height gazebos and windbreaks, creating their own 'enclosure'.

Displays were good. The cancellations were disappointing, but we'd already got our tickets before the Mig and Ramex were announced, so we didn't feel too let down. It's still fantastic value for money for £18, given that my local show (Farnborough) charges £40 for a not much bigger lineup!
Enjoyed the fast jets, the Reds/BBMF flypast and of course the Vulcan. Apache display sounded good but we couldn't see much as were hiding from the rain and blocked by umbrellas.

Commentator was not great, and even my OH, who is by no means an aviation geek, picked up on many of the mistakes, such as the Typhoon/Tornado confusion.
Also, the PA system wasn't ideal. We were right next to a speaker and the loud/distorted music being blast out of it during gaps in the flying was starting to give us headaches by the end of the day.
Also, we ended up hearing the aircraft twice, once from the aircraft itself and again, badly distorted, through the speakers. It would've been better to have had the mic turned off when the commentator wasn't saying anything, and some better noise cancellation when he was!
EDIT: Also forgot to mention.. the VIP(?) planes parked by the crowdline started their engines well before the end of the display and were buzzing away during the VE salute, drowning out the wonderful noise of all those Merlins and the wail of the Mustang :(

Availability of food and toilets was good. Food was expensive, but what you'd expect to pay at this type of event, and at least we didn't have to walk too far from our spot on the crowd line to get food/ice cream/tea.

We didn't rush straight out after the display, but had another wander round the stalls. Joined the queue for the station around 6:40 and got the 7:00 train back to Wolverhampton, plenty of time for our connection back to the big smoke.

All in all, a good day out and Peter and co should be congratulated on putting on a fantastic show. Weather and technical problems affect all airshows, and given the constraints, I still think it was well worth the money.
Will definitely consider coming up to Cosford next year if the lineup looks promising.
It would be really nice if there was a way of doing it as a day trip from London/the home counties by public transport, avoiding the cost of an overnight stay. Perhaps one of the rail charter companies could be persuaded to run a special.

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The Baron
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Re: Cosford 2015 - The Feedback Thread

Post by The Baron »

For me the only negative gripe I have is that I aimed to get to Cosford for about 8ish just before gates opened at 8:30. Actually got into the airfield at 8:31 and the crowd line was totally full bar the extreme left hand end. What time did the gates actually open?
That aside I can only echo everyone else in congratulating the team on such a great display both in the air and on the ground.
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AndyXH558
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Re: Cosford 2015 - The Feedback Thread

Post by AndyXH558 »

here is my forepenneth..

Well considering i didnt get home from the night before at 345 am... didnt drink. i was up and ready at 6 ready to go. but my wife wasnt to good on her legs at the moment so it was 7. we hit the queue on the M54 about 0815 and didnt get on base till about 930. stupid drivers pushing in the queue. got on base and the car was searched.. it seemed it was all disabled cars. that had that. not a problem to me it has to be done. got to the disabled enclosure, which was completely full. and so far away from the front that it wouldnt have been worth it. They say an uncluttered view.. ok this is'nt for me its for Cath.

We parked opposite the cosford club and by then the area next to it was 20 deep so i stayed near the car and stayed there all day. was a little tired and a little worried.

Flying display was great and would like to congratulate Peter and the team for their sterling work.
F16 was its normal great display, good touch with the JP display and was a good memorial to the late pilot. Loved the Sea King display and cant believe it is going to be gone this year. Vulcan was tame but in my view its still a vulcan display and shed a tear as she left. The Red Arrows were really good and some different parts to the display. also the bbmf and Reds flyast was amazing. F18 and 727 were a highlight too.

Sean Maffet should hang up his microphone. sorry that was not called for the comment about alton towers.

Stayed by till 7 ish and just left straight away and was on the m54 in a matter of minutes.

will be back next year.
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Corky
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Re: Cosford 2015 - The Feedback Thread

Post by Corky »

My second year of going to the Cosford Airshow, took my Dad along this time and we both had a really good day. I booked tickets mainly for Ramex Delta and the Mig-29 so like many others was quite disappointed when they cancelled but that is something completely out of the organisers hands so fair enough! Apart from that thoroughly enjoyed the day, nice varied line up with highlights being the 727, Pitts Special (oh my god what a display!) and the VE70 display at the end.

Everything else was really good though, please can we have TSR2 outside every year, looked stunning and you really get a sense of size and presence when its out of the hangar. The static line up was good, its good to see the aircraft opened up and access up close for families and kids of all ages to have a look, this is a brilliant way of educating and getting people interested for the future. The SAR static line up was well put together with the NH90 being a highlight alongside the Whirlwind. Lovely send off for the Sea King as well, from where I was the crowd appreciated all the hard work the SAR crews have put in over the years with much applause and its such a shame that they won't be around any longer. The Harrier GR3 in Belize colours looked good, maybe a few more weapons around it like last year would have been an extra touch but still really good, hopefully they can do different schemes each year and show off the varied career the GR3 had.

Only a few downsides for me personally. Came by train this year and worked really well, would it be possible for more trains to be put on in the morning to Cosford and a lot more for heading home! Demand seemed to outstrip demand with the queue being very long and although the queue was divided into two separate ones depending on what direction you were heading you couldn't really tell which side was which with only some transport police giving out the occasional direction, maybe some signs or member of staff constantly shouting out which side was which might make things clearer.

Was disappointed to see people not fully use all space on trains as the main aisle of the train me and my dad got was practically empty, everyone crowded round the doors like usual, 30 or 40 more people could have boarded the train we were on, guess the staff can't have much involvement with this aspect though.

Did seem really crowded overall this year, there was a wall of chairs along the section me and my Dad tried to get to making it nigh impossible for us to get anywhere at one point, it seems the show really has pushed itself to the limit, time to go to 2 days??

Final niggle was the absolutely dire commentary! Like many others I noticed tons of mistakes, I know its probably not as easy to do as it seems but simple things such as the difference between a Tornado and Typhoon, not seeing a P40 anywhere else apart from USA (what about the TFC!) and his Alton Towers comment (maybe not his brightest moment.) Maybe its time the team look at someone else or have some one alongside to balance it out a bit more. (Commentary for Pitts display was amazing and really funny! Hire him!)

Apart from these small problems it was a very good day, hopefully you can get the Mig-29 and Ramex Delta next year please!!!

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Re: Cosford 2015 - The Feedback Thread

Post by globemaster50 »

Highlights: First year I have come by train and (stayed overnight in Birmigham) was on the base by 9.00. Will be doing that again next year! Bit of a queue at the end to the station but to be expected. 727, Typhoon (seemed much more aggressive and noisy this year!), F-16, Reds, Voyager, Pitts, Jaguar taxi, Sea King and Apache demo in the flying display. TSR2 - first time I've seen it and what a beast! Lots of Jags and well laid out SAR aircraft in the static.

Lowlights: Only the two really. Usually I enjoy Sean Maffett's commentary but it was just embarassing on Sunday. Lots of errors (one that hasn't been mentioned yet is that he said after the Vulcan lands for the last time there won't be any more British 4 engined jets flying, what about the BAe 146?), and hyping up the Vulcan all day. The other gripe is with the size of the viewing area along the crowdline. It seems very thin and squahed and people are right on top of each other. I kept jabbing the poor chap in front with my brolly when it was raining!

Of course I was disappointed with the last minute cancellations but this was still a fantastic show and I take my hat off to the organisers with some great aircraft in the air and on the ground. I'll be back next year for sure :)

Dr_Q
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Re: Cosford 2015 - The Feedback Thread

Post by Dr_Q »

My first time at Cosford and have to Congratulate all concerned on a great show. Ok, a couple of cancellations and some changes to the schedule (these top notch machines seem to be a bit fragile, with all their various maladies!!). I'm sure the weather on Fri and Sat didn't help, but the effects seemed minimal, and the weather gods smiled down pretty well on Sunday considering.

I arrived at 7.35 from Telford and drive straight into the car park, albeit the farmers field by the railway bridge. Didn't bother me, I needed the walk and everything I needed was in my rucksack. Some of the poor cadet lads directing the crowd were getting grief of a few people moaning about being where they were (the typical bunch who like the sound of their own voice), not that they could do anything about it! I left at 7.00om and drove straight out.

Cosford Club was ok, less crowded, but even then you still needed to get there early to get near the front, thankfully I bagged a small slot, despite having a good wander round the static before hand. Didn't use the facilities or the bar, so can't really comment. I guess its worth the extra bit if cash for the extra space if you can afford it.

Static, I think others have commented on, to get a decent pic you had to stand a long way back from the small circle of rope, to which point an errant child or Air Cadet (or three) would wander through your show.

Highlights for me were the VE display, Synchro Pair, 727, Apaches and Chinook. As well as passing praise for the Breitling Pair. I know they often get lamented as a filler, but I thought they put on a good show and I do love the sight and sound of the Stearman.

Minor gripes, other than above: Excessive music between chat on the PA. I couldn't hear my scanner :mad: And, the woman commentating on the RC planes not taking her finger off transmit when they were gabbing on about trying to identify planes with her other half!!

Biggest gripe (not that its anyone else's fault: I still can't take decent pics!!)

All in all, as said well done all, and I'll certainly be back next year all being well.
2022

RIAT (Mach 2)
Wings over Houston

er, that's about it this year I reckon.

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alpha586
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Re: Cosford 2015 - The Feedback Thread

Post by alpha586 »

On the whole a good show!
As others have said cancellations are part and parcel of airshows, but this year Cosford does seem to have been very unlucky!! :surrender:
pretty good static display TSR2 great positioning, others not so much. Is it really necessary to have a funfair? And why put the toilets right behind the SAR zone, the real gems of the static display and they were parked by the bogs?? Other than positioning (which given the limited space at Cosford must be very difficult to fit everything in) the content was excellent and a lot better than the usual minimal static lineup.
Crowd line was very very narrow and everybody seemed to be on top of each other. Surely 1 row of cars could have been sacrificed for a little more room for actually watching the show, after all thats the whole point of the show! :dunno:
As others have mentioned being parked up by 7.15 and sitting on the crowd line by 7.45, what time did the gates open? When all the advertising quoted gates open at 8:30, was quite surprised to see the crowd line pretty full as I arrived at 9.00!
Flying display was excellent in the conditions and highlights being 727 and Rich Goodwin in his Pitts.
The only real gripe about the show has to be the PA system and commentary team! Absolutely dreadful! Only high point was the commentary by Rich Goodwin's next door neighbor. :lol: :lol: I was enjoying the commentary so much I almost forgot I was supposed to be watching the display! Please get this guy back for the whole day next year!!! Sean Maffet has been a dedicated airshow commentator for many years and I have enjoyed his ramblings and endless droning about the vulcan but I really do think that this is the end for him and his team. The sound quality was dreadful, the background noise was distracting, the information was hopelessly inaccurate and the music was awful! Why were they sat so far away from the display line? If it was to be closer to the control tower for more up to date info............... it didn't work! The Alton Towers comment which everybody seems to have a real problem with. Around me on the crowd line all I saw were people laughing. If Jimmy Carr or Frankie Boyle comes out with that everybody laughs and carries on, just because its at an airshow and there seems to be a lot of holier than thou types he seems to have been thrown to the lions over an off the cuff remark with no malice or ill feeling meant. I wonder how many people complaining about it on here had a little laugh when they first heard it or had a laugh with their mates at work this morning?
Overall a great show a bit more sun and a few less cancellations and it would have been a true classic buit these things are out of the shows hands so well done to the Air Show Team, see you all next year!
Lo que volará volará whatever will fly will fly!!

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profile_M
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Re: Cosford 2015 - The Feedback Thread

Post by profile_M »

Had a good day at Cosford and well done to Peter and the team for securing some excellent items for the flying display! I must admit the cancellations of RD and the Mig were disappointing but these things happen, what's more annoying is the attitude of some people i.e. demanding reasons why etc. They cancelled, they are military aircraft and these things happen in the airshow scene, get over it.

Loads of positives to the show, the 727 was great as were the F16 and Typhoon displays. F18 seemed a little less "vigorous" for some reason? Rich Goodwin in the muscle biplane is an awesome display and as people have said, his commentary was hilarious. The Apaches with pyros was impressive although we'd nipped back to the car at that point so I didn't get any photos, oops!

Only a couple of negatives. We arrived at 07:15 and were in the holding car park hoping to get a spot in the first row of car parking (somewhere central) but ended up being directed right down to the far side of the airfield which was a pain. Then left by a competely different route which lead to an interesting drive home but no real issue. The other thing was the commentary but only really from a volume and sound quality standpoint. I can live with the mistakes and contraversial comments (it made me laugh) but the volume was horrendous near the front and the mic kept being left on so you could hear everything going on in the background.

Roll on next year :biggrin:

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spellow3010
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Re: Cosford 2015 - The Feedback Thread

Post by spellow3010 »

alpha586 wrote:On the whole a good show!
Sean Maffet has been a dedicated airshow commentator for many years and I have enjoyed his ramblings and endless droning about the vulcan but I really do think that this is the end for him and his team. The sound quality was dreadful, the background noise was distracting, the information was hopelessly inaccurate and the music was awful! Why were they sat so far away from the display line? If it was to be closer to the control tower for more up to date info............... it didn't work! The Alton Towers comment which everybody seems to have a real problem with. Around me on the crowd line all I saw were people laughing. If Jimmy Carr or Frankie Boyle comes out with that everybody laughs and carries on, just because its at an airshow and there seems to be a lot of holier than though types he seems to have been thrown to the lions over an off the cuff remark with no malice or ill feeling meant. I wonder how many people complaining about it on here had a little laugh when they first heard it or had a laugh with their mates at work this morning?


Absolutely this... Get down off your high horses...

Peter - I enjoyed the show, even with the horrendous luck your team had with cancellations. It was my first Cosford, and won't be my last. A walk around the static and hangers after the show and I had a pretty much easy exit from the base - right up to Junciton 10 of the M6 :roll: lol...

Apaches with pyros and the B727 were probably my big highlights. But the shark mouth Mustang was flown really well, as was the Anson and I liked the Meteor... I love the Vulcan, but she didn't really do it for me this time sadly. Never mind, not the show's concern. Reds and BBMF formation was great to see too.

A great value for money day out - thanks Peter and your team...
:king:
Now officially qualifies as a 'regular' at Famous Dave's - El Centro

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Wrexham Mackem
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Re: Cosford 2015 - The Feedback Thread

Post by Wrexham Mackem »

One of the better Cosfords I can remember; and despite the subtle changes to the balance of the flying display this year the show retained that Cosford atmosphere. The charming little airfield, and aircraft operating from in front of the crowd bring an intimacy which I can't help but love.

The change in parking arrangements raised an eyebrow on arrival, being parked outside of the airfield in a planted field and walking in a new pedestrian entrance. I worried about getting back out, and was a little dischuffed at the inconvenience of getting back to the car to drop stuff off. I just have to cast my mind back to the exiting traffic chaos of previous years, which for me had always been far worse than anything experienced getting in, and I could see why the change had been made. And it worked, I drove straight out. Previously unheard of.

The Cosford Club continues to be superb. I'm a crowd line hanger at any airshow and the Cosford Club is perfect for that. Long may it continue exactly as it is now.

All I can offer in feedback, a big one and and easy one. The easy one first; there's a lot to pack in to the day. Now that my car is off site, a RIAT style drop zone would save precious time after the flying display. Having to lug gear along with me this time, I didn't even make it down to the Belize display, and didn't bother photographing the vintage village static either. Which brings me on to my second point. The whole thing is now bursting at the pips for a one day show. I understand the cost implications, but a two day event may now be justifiable? Can anyone do it all in a day? And another chance of a decent weather day would be appreciated.

All in all, and despite the cancellations and weather challenges, I found the day hugely enjoyable. Please keep up the good work, its appreciated! :clap:

jayne_morris
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Re: Cosford 2015 - The Feedback Thread

Post by jayne_morris »

I have not read all the posts word for word but had a quick scan

The cancellations were a bit of a disappointment but it is what it is, and the T&C,s say all aircraft are subject to serviceability and availability, and they didn't just cancel for a laugh, and the attitude on here makes me :lol:

I think they traffic management was far better this year but they were caught out a bit by the very large numbers arriving early and had to open the gates well before scheduled opening time to avoid major traffic chaos, we arrived just after 7.00am and we were directed to the sports field by the station we had our tickets checked and a sticker put on the screen and were told when the gates opened we would be fast tracked in but due to the volume of traffic and the need to get traffic in ASAP we ended up in the queues for ticket checks but there was no delay, we were lucky to get parked very close to the cosford club and had a good location on the flight line not far from display centre, and we stayed on the showground until 7.30 and then we joined the fast moving queue and were out fairly quickly

all in all we had a great day and think the team did a great job dealing with the cancellations and filling gaps and keeping the day flowing well done and long may it continue

it was a downer to watch the weather get worse as the flying display got closer but not sure who to moan to about that one :lol: :lol:

tu16
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Re: Cosford 2015 - The Feedback Thread

Post by tu16 »

Had a great time. Some tasty helicopters on static. B727, Synchro Pair & GEWIZ the display highlights for me.

With it looking like no Waddo next year, Cosford will get the chance to do it all over again - and they couldn't be that unlucky with cancellations two years running!

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Re: Cosford 2015 - The Feedback Thread

Post by wellsie82@gmail.com »

First time there but been attending airshows around the country since the late 80's.

Overall a very enjoyable day out. Static was very thin but given the size of the base & the runway, to be expected. Cancellations such as the Puma didn't help.

Whilst on the subject of static, the cones were far too close to the aircraft - I could have understood this is space was at a premium but it wasn't.

Plenty of food/drink places around, never any queues for the toilets & they were dotted around nicely too.

Moving near to the crowdline, the area between the actual crowdline barrier & the cars was far too thin, you couldn't move when you went to the loo.

Flying-wise, was gutted that RD & the Mig pulled out though both had their reasons. Voyager was always down for a flypast but it circled in the distance at least 4 times that I saw so another pass wouldn't of gone a miss - still, nice to see it flying.

Was looking forward to seeing the Typhoon camo & the viper in "Blizzard" colours - at least both had spares.

Apache demo, Viper, Hornet & surprisingly the Oil Spill Response were the top acts for me.

Getting out (crossing the runway) was a nightmare. Air cadets were trying their best to get 10 different queues into two lanes but when we got to the main two lanes they just got off & left us. Took 60-75 mins to exit the base so was a disappointing way to end the day.

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Tommy
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Re: Cosford 2015 - The Feedback Thread

Post by Tommy »

tu16 wrote:and they couldn't be that unlucky with cancellations two years running!


You've jinxed it now!! :grin:

smr
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Re: Cosford 2015 - The Feedback Thread

Post by smr »

My first Cosford show and first airshow as an adult (31 now) and must have been 14 when I went to Duxford with my Grandad and Dad, so a long time ago.

Loved the day, and my 4 year old and two other kids loved it too, as well as the missus.

We left from Leicestershire about 8.45am and drove along the M6, then missed an exit, which the SAT NAV said absolutely nothing about, then rerouted and said we would take another half hour to get there ! I was properly annoyed at that point, I think we drove on the M42 when we should have took that exit, but then strangely the ETA started coming back down and then only 5-10 minutes later than the original ETA....

Anyway we ended up going some back route because of this, and as we got near the airfield we drove over the M54 which had massive tailbacks, and drove right up to the entrance after some back lane country roads! So that was very relieving, I think my Sat Nav did us a favour for once by not mentioning the exit we should have taken on the M6.

So we got there about 10:15am and were ushered along to what I'm sure was car park 3. Walked along to the crowd line, pitched up and enjoyed the show.

The weather wasn't great, but nothing can be done about that, the air displays were amazing. Really enjoyed the Typhoon, F16/18s, Red Arrows, Wing Walkers, all of it really. Definitely going to be back next year. :clap:

Some photos I took are here if you'd like to see them...

https://flic.kr/s/aHske9HQGW

rob68
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Re: Cosford 2015 - The Feedback Thread

Post by rob68 »

Peter, im glad your on the team that organised the event rather than me, it must be to a certain extent a thankless task, but I must thank you and your team.

Good
The show still takes place when a few years ago there was thought it may not continue as the Army were moving in.

Bad
Blue cones,,,too close to the Harrier GR3 and TSR2, VAAC Harrier and Spotty etc, had too much background clutter, i know your space limited but in comparison to the Harrier in the hide a few years ago not as good. I Think the TSR2 was better positioned when it was out at a show a few years ago with the doors of one of the hangars behind it. (Wasnt the 188 also out next to it at the same time, maybe get the 410 outside again, it always seemed out at shows years ago?)

Parking, this is my local, i'm only 16 miles from Cosford. Even so I got there early and was parked in the field by the railway station by 06.55, 18th row if memory serves correct, so expected to be fast tracked in but no, those that arrived around 45 min later appeared not to be directed into the holding field but drove straight in which was very frustrating. I did not get on to the airfield until approx 08.15

Crowd line, could the crowd line be extended towards the piano keys where the Jaguar parked up to stop everyone having to cram in to one area or is this not possible due to the distance from the active runway ?

May be im the only one and have said this before but the display is too long, compare to Duxford, display starts at 14.00 finishes around 17.30, the same with Old Warden.

Im going to whinging now, thanks for your efforts. Rob