Our Pre-Season visit to RAF Cosford – 24th February 2019
Like the New Years Eve PSS Fly-In, our February get together has become a bit of a tradition over the past few seasons – and long may that continue! It certainly helps break the long Winter gap between our formally planned flying events and it seems to build a little momentum and excitement as the days get longer and the new flying season appears over the horizon! As planned we met in the main car park at RAF Cosford on a foggy Sunday morning (actually the fog wasn’t planned – a number of us had to manage a treacherous journey!) I think I counted 14 PSSA members in attendance, many having travelled with friends, partners or children meaning we were a good sized group of 25+ with folks having travelled as far and wide as South Wales and the North East to join us!
This was a laid back and very enjoyable social gathering. Having agreed nothing more than a 1pm lunchtime regroup in the café we set off at our own pace to explore what lay within each of the 4 hangars open to the public. For some, this was their first time at Cosford – for many others this superb museum holds a reassuring sense of familiarity – and regardless how many times you’ve visited it never fails to impress!
The museum offers the close inspection of well over 70 aircraft – dating from the earliest days of the RAF right up to some of the services most recent retirements – such as the Harrier and Nimrod. Apart from the relentless effects of weathering seen on some of the aircraft stored permanently outside, the vast majority of exhibits are all perfectly restored and maintained. As well as the airframes themselves there is a wealth of supporting paraphernalia, scale models, weapons, engines, flying equipment and uniforms, plus there’s the regularly positioned IT media centres and the popular science experiment section which the kids (both big and small!) really enjoyed. There’s simulators and a 4D cinema experience all to hand and to top all that there were a couple of fast jet cockpits (Hunter and Phantom) made open to the public which (for a small donation) you could sit in and enjoy a detailed explanation of the type from knowledgeable ex-RAF pilots.
Although the war-time hangars are packed with a superb collection of historic warbirds and experimental types through the ages, for me it’s the Cold War building which creates the lasting memory of this visit. Seeing the 3 RAF V-bombers all superbly presented in the same room like that really is something else. Equally impressive were the large R/C models of each type on display as a working advert for the Cosford model show to be staged later in the Summer – well done the LMA! In the same building you can find an all metal-finish Lightning hanging dramatically from the roof in a vertical ‘zoom climb’ orientation, one of Lakenheath’s old F-111 swing wing bombers and a range of Russian MiGs including the once fearsome MiG-15 and MiG-21. Other RAF types which certainly stimulated conversation in the group I was walking with included the Javelin, Hunter and F-86 Sabre all hung dynamically from the roof.
It was lunch time just as we got to the shop in hall 3 so we stuck to the plan and recommenced a second wave of exploring after we’d enjoyed a decent chat over a drink and a butty in the café.
I saw many members spending up with the huge range of aviation related gifts, clothing and reference books available in the shops, and having been some of the first on site just after 10am it made me chuckle to see it was the same PSSA members who were eventually asked to leave when the museum closed its doors at 4pm! I think we could have easily killed another hour or two!! Still so much to see and take in. A really enjoyable day shared with a great group – many thanks to all who travelled!!
Some of the photos taken during our Cosford visit can be viewed HERE.