RAF Cosford Airshow 2025 - 8th June

[rdchawk]

Problem is, no other competition, so they can charge what they want as the customer can't go anywhere else. Most of the time as well as the "different" food places are owned or operated by the same overall company.

[BenTheBritishGuy]

Definitely.
The other that stood out to me was as others have said the crowd line. It’s getting to the point of dangerous. If something had gone wrong yesterday, or there was some kind of emergency on the show ground, people would have been hurt by the rush of people so close together to the point it was not only uncomfortable but dangerous for everyone too. Cosford cancels displays for safety (as they should - not disagree that was 100% the right decision) but then had a crowdline as dangerous as that one. They need to ban those stupid tents, and do some movement around where static and food/ toilet items are places in the future. It’s an accident waiting to happen.

[bishbashbosh]

I agree the sky high food prices, it’s crazy the amounts being charged, I saw chicken nuggets & chips for £14 & £15 for a burger & chips

It needs to be looked at, its unecessary

I got a rather nice freshly made sandwich in the museum cafe for £4.50 - always worth remembering that it's there. They do a good kids meal deal as well.

[Joey B]

Just curious did anyone have issues regarding the train service..I was informed that the trains service would be severely disrupted due to staff shortage so prompted me to make.an executive decision to leave just as the Strikmasters began (needed to check in B+B before Reception closed 7pm Birmingham) I'm going to RIAT so I'll get another chance hopefully also ....I agree about the crowd line! Some.people seem.to think.its ok erecting wind breakers along side tents and picnic Tables n Chairs near the front I know RIAT have a strict regulations regarding this sort.of issue anyway I enjoyed the day I hope everyone else did

[jasonT1981]

Trains were sorted out but nothing was announced so you could have stayed until end. I watched until the end and was on platform within 10 mins and on train not long after.

Im guessing most people going by train left early as train station was not overly crazy like normal. In fact i didnt have to queue and wait, right onto platform and even got a seat in the shelter

Will post my full thoughts when i get home tomorrow but did anyone else notice no date for 2026 in the programme? Unless i missed it...its usually got the next years date in it

[st24]

As usual, I treat Cosford as a family day out and the cancellations were more of a bind to my daughters/partners than myself; particularly the Apache demo and expectant explosions and bangs. I've seen Rafale and will see it again presumably, along with the Army choppers if Boeing fixes the gremlins but they were big losses to Cosford.

Entry and egress was a doddle this year, my worst kept secret private route worked perfectly with no hold ups at all compared to last year.

Cosford is what it is with regard to layout and to be honest I'll never get tired of seeing Tornadoes, Jaguars and Hawks scattered around the place plus the good old fashioned hangar displays of Jags in various states of (dis)repair- takes me right back to Abingdon at home days in the '80s! I actually came away with some half decent static shots, the Jag apron layout worked better this year, albeit with people on both sides. The revetments are Cosford's hidden static gem so good to see them in use again, albeit only for 2 aeroplanes but it was great to see the EAP in the sunlight. I do agree though , it would be great to see more museum stuff out (before it's all scrapped and/or moved), sensibly parked in the daylight. I must admit the crowd line didn't feel quite so horribly claustraphobic as it has done, then again we do position ourselves way down the Eastern end, a little bit away from the main den of the unwashed.

Even with the cancellations the flying didn't feel overly short or lacking other than jet noise and given the weather countrywide nothing else cancelled on the day, and I really enjoyed most of the displays. Chipmunk pair, Extra 330, Swiss Team and Polish F-16 were stand outs for me. I'm not convinced about the new look BBMF trio sequence, just feels a bit messy with no real solo bits and why no bomb bay pass for the Lanc? Surely THE thing about the Lanc is the bomb bay?!? That said the final break toward the crowd with the Lanc powering over your head is pretty special. Talking of rear entry (ooh err missus) the Typhoon opening pass with the burners hitting just over the crowd line certainly grabs your attention which is good as the rest of the display is pretty much standard RAF Typhoon fare. So much different to the Polish F-16 that really was in a different league, the commentary, talks with the pilot and effectively a 3 fast pass finale including a storming top side dedication pass is how you display a fast jet. When are we going to learn this, sad really to think the RAF virtually wrote the book on fast jets displays in times of yore.. Chinook is better this year and the commentator made a big difference with some good old subtle innuendo, digs at other service cabs and some fun background banter - great effort, someone who obviously enjoys what he does rather than reading verbatim from a horribly scripted pad with zero enthusiasm.
Fair play to the Swordfish crew who yet again made a rather blustery long slow trip from and return to Somerset, and they certainly used up their time! Now I love the old crate but felt it really was too long a display and there are only so many level passes with the inevitable bank away from crowd you can do in a very old, though utterly fabulous big old biplane. Oh, and talking of times of yore, bring back the final pass salute/Royal Ensign pass!

A decent day out, dodging the worst of the weather was a bonus, standard Cosford for me.

[jasonT1981]

Did anyone else notice one of the Reds running out of smoke at the end ? Lol.

At least they got the heart right this weekend!!

[Joey B]

Just curious ,did anyone have issues regarding the train service post show ? when I received notification that there were going to be service disruption from.cosford due to"Lack of staff, I had to.make.an executive decision to leave just as the Strikmasters began to display ,because I was concerned that I would miss the check in at the B&B (reception due to close 7pm) Birmingham...hopefully I'll get another chance to see some.of the acts I missed, display a RIAT

[JonG96]

Just curious ,did anyone have issues regarding the train service post show ? when I received notification that there were going to be service disruption from.cosford due to"Lack of staff, I had to.make.an executive decision to leave just as the Strikmasters began to display ,because I was concerned that I would miss the check in at the B&B (reception due to close 7pm) Birmingham...hopefully I'll get another chance to see some.of the acts I missed, display a RIAT

We got to the station about 5:45pm and got the 6pm train no problem.

[Danny]

I agree the sky high food prices, it’s crazy the amounts being charged, I saw chicken nuggets & chips for £14 & £15 for a burger & chips

It needs to be looked at, its unecessary

Unfortunately this is just the going rate for vendors at major large events now (festivals, motor racing etc).

I'm not justifying it but rather just highlighting that it's not exclusive to airshows.

[JHenry]

Well, with the dust settled on another year I personally thought it was a great show. I look at it as a warm-up to RIAT and with it being only a 35 minute drive for me and half the price of a day at RIAT, I can’t complain.

Weather is what it is most years and cancellations can’t be blamed on the organisers, although they do seem to suffer more than most shows with last minute no shows.

The BBMF were excellent this year with a much more dynamic display than I can remember them putting on, the crowd rear arrival of the Typhoon added a completely different buzz to the routine also.

Polish F16 was great, plenty of aggressive flying on show, the Swiss were also excellent.

I can see why some people might have found the static and show ground layout frustrating but we didn’t have any issues. We started at the RAF display tents, made our way through the hangers and then back down towards the retail tents and didn’t miss anything. There are hours upon hours of opportunity to get around everything between pre-display and afterwards while you let traffic die down.

Talking of traffic, we had no issues by having a look around after flying had finished and heading home around 18:30 but I do feel it’s extremely dangerous to only have one crossing between the orange netting. Just after flying finished there were thousands of people all waiting to get through one small gap and in an emergency it would be chaos.

My only other gripe was the already packed crowd line being littered with ice cream vendors and cadets tents, they should really be pushed to the back with the burger vans and toilets.

Overall very enjoyable!

[jasonT1981]

OK Home finally. So my thoughts.

Good

The flying? Not one complaint. I enjoyed every display. Swordfish may have went a bit longer than it should but a really enjoyable day. My favourites;

BBMF - Wonderful 1st display with the Lancaster and the break at the end with the fighters, fantastic to get 2 Spitfires also later on to compare the griffin and merlin engines

Swiss PC7 - Loved this display. Saw them at RIAT a few years ago and wasn't overly impressed, but just like the RJF a couple of years ago a smaller airfield really helped highlight a brilliant display.

Chipmunks - There were a few moans about them being added, but I thought both displays were fantastic. Very aerobatic for a vintage aircraft.

Black Cats - Another great display. I've really come to appreciate Helicopter displays.

The darker clouds - Yes, I loved this. I find it much easier taking photos against a darker sky than bright blue and no clouds. Really adds to the atmosphere.

Strikemasters - I think Mark Petrie would be looking down smiling knowing his legacy with the Strikemaster's is being kept alive. I have a feeling he would have loved the explosions. (Great heat too on a cold day!)

Bad

Cancelations - Yeah, they sucked, but I focused on what was there rather than what was not. Apache was a bitter blow but out of control of organisers.

RAF Participation - Yes, we got the normal displays and the F35 but it felt VERY lacking for the RAFs only show in way of flypasts we have come to know. Not even a couple of Hawks or Grob tutors flypasts. Operational needs I guess, but it felt like the RAF didn't have their heart in this one.

Cosford Club - Look, I enjoy the Cosford club but too much has changed recently. Only a couple of vendors now at the far end of it, toilets shared with another enclosure and it felt smaller and more crowded with less manners from the people in it. Cadets/Volunteers seemed disinterested, rather sit talking with each other and seemed it was an inconvenience greeting people and scanning tickets. I got handed my programme and wristband with a grunt.

Trains - I think Cosford were pretty late announcing the train fiasco. West Midlands Rail announced on Saturday morning there were issues with trains cancelled and Cosford didn't acknowledge this until Sunday when people were already on route. Thankfully issues were resolved but Cosford didn't seem to announce this at all.

Static - Once again a chaotic static. Like the C130 in 2023 the "star attractions" of the EAP and Typhoon were stuck on the far end of the airfield and 10 Jags right in the middle as normal. It would have been nice to have them alongside the Jags and Tornados. Yes, 10 Jags together was nice, but it's there every year in the same location. Maybe put some of the "star items" on static there rather than seemingly randomly placed all over the air field.

Final verdict

At the end of the day, complaints aside the main aspect of an airshow is the air displays and I really enjoyed that, Cosford have taken on board criticism over the last few years so hopefully they will have a look at how static is put together in 2026.

I enjoyed my weekend, really enjoyed my Saturday in the museum, and having been to both Hendon and Cosford in recent weeks I have come to prefer the Cosford museum to London.

Will I be back in 2026? Probably but not an instant yes

[Wings and Things]

Cadets/Volunteers seemed disinterested, rather sit talking with each other and seemed it was an inconvenience greeting people and scanning tickets. I got handed my programme and wristband with a grunt.

That is totally unacceptable particularly, for me personally, if they are Air Cadets!

[Herkdriver]

I stopped going to Cosford in 2018 but even back then the RAF participation for what is billed as the main RAF airshow is abysmal. When you combine it with the short runway so that most heavies and fast jets can't land at Cosford it was always going to suffer when it comes to fast jets and RAF participation. Yes I do know in years past they have had some trainers, helicopters and the odd C-130 or A400 but that's it. And yes I fully understand operational committments having served in the USAF and on exchange with the RAF. But I would argue operational committments are actually less since Iraq and Afghanistan finished. And ever since Waddington airshow went away, the RAF's participation at airshows barring RIAT 2018 has been on the decline. For me, Cosford isn't worth the 6 hour drive, hotel, and the traffic jams along with a smaller particpant list.

[IP1960]

I stopped going to Cosford in 2018 but even back then the RAF participation for what is billed as the main RAF airshow is abysmal. When you combine it with the short runway so that most heavies and fast jets can't land at Cosford it was always going to suffer when it comes to fast jets and RAF participation. Yes I do know in years past they have had some trainers, helicopters and the odd C-130 or A400 but that's it. And yes I fully understand operational committments having served in the USAF and on exchange with the RAF. But I would argue operational committments are actually less since Iraq and Afghanistan finished. And ever since Waddington airshow went away, the RAF's participation at airshows barring RIAT 2018 has been on the decline. For me, Cosford isn't worth the 6 hour drive, hotel, and the traffic jams along with a smaller particpant list.

Not sure I'd quite agree with the word abysmal regarding RAF participation - yes, heavies at Cosford are very few and far between (RAF or otherwise), but this year we saw two separate displays by the BBMF, the Tutor, Falcons, Red Arrows, Typhoon, Chinook and a short appearance by the F35. I suspect most of the crowd went home happy with that, though I know us enthusiasts will always grumble about what wasn't there!

[jasonT1981]

Pre-2023 Cosford usually fell on the same weekend as Queen Elizabeth's birthday flypast so I guess it was easier to get RAF Flypasts.

Now King Charles has his on the following week from Cosford.

[Wings and Things]

Looking at this list of Trooping the Colour dates more often than not it was around this date:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_T ... _from_1890

[BEANWORM]

Looking at the latest Facebook reel, Cosford next year is the 14th of june 2026?

[BenTheBritishGuy]

Yeah just about to post it

Save the date… though perhaps to early on for a new thread

[jasonT1981]

Weird it wasn't in the programme. But good to have a date to plan ahead

[BenTheBritishGuy]

If I recall it’s always the second Sunday of June? I use that for planning ahead usually

[Calum]

Cosford have confirmed 14th of June 2026 for the next show. It was a footnote on a Facebook post.

[Dreadnought]

Cosford have confirmed 14th of June 2026 for the next show. It was a footnote on a Facebook post.

Already posted yesterday

[UK Airshow Review]

• "Last of the Many" - Nigel Watson reports from the RAF's last remaining airshow.