RAF Air Shows

[CharlieOneSix]

Just read the leader in my copy of FlyPast where it bemoans the fact that Cosford is the sole survivor of air shows organised by the RAF in the UK. What a sad state of affairs. Cosford was a sell out this year with more than 50,000 attendees of which approximately 10,000 were children. Being taken by my parents to Battle of Britain 'At Home' days as a child was a great source of inspiration to me and in latter years I was a regular at the Leuchars shows until they ceased. How do we inspire the youth of today to become aviation minded and how few of them nowadays even know or care about the significance of September 15th?

[Pontius Navigator]

C16, a conudrum. I think about 1954 my neighbour said it's BoB day. Let's go to Hooton Park. We got on our bikes and cycled there, 7 miles as the crow flies. We didn't tell our parents.
Hooton Park was home to two RAFR Sqns who were just doing their normal weekend meet when about a 1 000 people pitched. Instead of locking the gates the set about organising an airshow from nothing.
One thing I remember was they called up for any passing aircraft to drop in. I guess they had broadcast on 117.9.
Anyway a Shackleton, having displayed somewhere south such as Sealand or Hawarden, came and did a flypast. That was the one stuck in mind.
About 3 or 4 years later zay a camp at Topcliff, I was on an air experience flight in a Varsity. We did a flight I know not where, but we popped into several airfields dropping off or picking up the odd bod going from A to B and B to C etc. At one camp we had a PETLO- Pre-entry training liaison officer who appeared everywhere on a bicycle. Clearly, with hindsight, a gash pilot officer joed for the job.
These three events confirmed in my mind that this was an organisation I would like to join.
It wasn't the 100,000 flashy air show extravaganza, the shops, stalls and beer tents of the last air shows, but the simple exposure to the Air Force.
Once down to a handful of air shows and they lost their purpose.

[G-CPTN]

As a youngster I would attend RAF Acklington 'airshows' on my scooter.
The highlight was the surprise arrival of the Lightning(s) from behind the expected crowdline direction at Mach 0.99 - or maybe higher . . .

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

In 1986, when my course graduated from BFTS at Cranditz, I was still able to organise for the visiting parents and girlfriends....
A Vulcan,
2 Hawks
1 Phantom
1 Nimrod
2 Buccaneers
A recce Jag that took a piccy of the spectators and provided everyone with a copy
2 Lightnings who beat the cr@p out of the place and departed vertically
and 4 Harriers that did a formation hover and bow in line abreast, which I've never seen before or since.

and that was just with a few phonecalls starting a couple of weeks before.

[Pontius Navigator]

Fox, the year after I filled the day at Coningsby with every different Tornado I could get my hands on, OK most were TTTE from down the road. We even had an unscheduled F3. Also mustered a dozen Spitfire.

I wonder if all the BBMF fly-bys and local publicity is a spin off from no air shows.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

I think another great feature in those days was showing people the cockpit, and letting them sit in.
I used to spend half the day doing that.
People were surprised but very pleased.
"Can we really?"
"Of course - you paid for it!"