Cosford Anyone Try To Get There?

Will’s display looked fine to me. Indeed, it was one of the highlights of an otherwise less than sparkling day.

Runway, perhaps you’d like to consider removing your comments about Will Curtis. They’re a little more vitriolic and personal than we’re used to around here.

Indeed – no need for such personal attacks. He flew a very competent, safe display within his, the display box and the aircrafts parameters. He did the stalled “parachute” pass and a bit of hovering – thats what the 26, 29 & 31 do so well and he demonstrated it- nuff said!

Nothing beats a bit of local knowledge. It came in handy on my only visit to Mildenhall, every year for Finningley and now Waddo.

Does seem very strange that they didn’t let people in on the normal A41 route – accident on the A41 perhaps?

As for access from the South of the runway, they usually let people out that way (by the ‘d’ in ‘Airfield’ on the map link above) after the show, and on at least one occasion in the the past let people in that way for a short period during the morning too.

I came down the A41 off the A5 and hit standing traffic at around 9.30am some 2 miles from the M54 island. The traffic was at a standstiil because they were turning us right down the lane that goes under the motorway to join the M54 southbound traffic, usually you can carry on to the island. Apparantly this was due to the police wanting to keep the motorway traffic moving and therefore they had priority. I went straight on, over the island and was on the airfield in 15 minutes. My law abiding in-laws behing me did turn right and they crawled in some 50 minutes later!! There was no accident. I found it amazing that the usual “make 2 lanes” system was not in operation, therefore the A41 and northbound M54 traffic met at the island in one lump, the 2 lanes usually frees this up considerably.

On departure, the southern exit was being used.

I think the general idea in the past was that punters from Wolves coming UP the A41 towards Cosford go in via the normal entrance. Punters from the M54 are filtered either LEFT down the A41 into the main entrance or RIGHT up the A41 to go in via the lane to the west. The reason for shutting J3 escapes me, unless the police simply didnt want huge queues on the M54. Sending them to J2 or J4 means it becomes someone elses problem…

Unfortunately after all this, everyone still has to filter thru the main entrance to the site. (Its a few months since I’ve been in, so I cant remember the exact layout of the entrance) They then have to fan out again to the payment brigade. I doubt the southern entrances would be in use for entry as the airfield would be active all day – Cars would have to cross the active to pay and park.

Nige

go to bed early and get up early.

Left home at 5am – got into the airfield at 11.55 – but the problems didn’t end there, of course.

On the map, I think we came past Neachley House – at the top.

Yes – if you zoom out – we went past Tong, then left (which took us back under the M54) – then left again through the area marked Donnington – which must be Cosford Airfield itself.

Here

Unfortunately the maps won’t zoom out sufficiently to show the route taken into the airfield that I was sent along – you need to find one which includes the M54.

I didn’t recognise the entry point. Although I have been to Cosford many times in the past – indeed I was stationed there in the ’70’s – the route was alien to me.

Oh that would’t have been so bad, as it only took me about 5 minutes – it was FROM J3 going LEFT AWAY from the airfield that took 3 hours. Had we turned left at J4, or right back at J3, this time towards the airfield, I suspect it would have been a great deal quicker. And the subsequent queues back along the M54 would have been easier and quicker to deal with.

Nige, i think part of Rob’s beef was that he was already at J3, so why did he have to go to J4 to come back to J3 again.

If anybody’s got an answer to that it’ll be a lulu!

I can do no more than sympathise, especially with RobAnt. You must have left before 6 am.
Been there, done that, got the T-shirt myself but I don’t think ever to that extent.
I expect to hear another tale of woe in a hour or so as one of the chaps from my local was taking the family to Cosford.
I’m getting nervous about Leg Ends already.

What was the point of sending people from J3 up to J4, then back to J3 – then LEFT AWAY FROM THE AIRFIELD – to merge with other traffic along that road, turning LEFT under the M54 again, then merging with YET MORE TRAFFIC before turning left YET AGAIN on to a very long narrow track finally into the airfield.

Rob

take a look at this map
here

There are only two ways of getting into Cosford and both are narrow. The yellow road you can see on the map is single track to the west of the site and dual where it runs under the rail bridge to the east by the station. I believe there is no acces at all to the site from south of the runway and crowd line.

Nige

as for a SAR display, did you miss the big yellow helicopter???

Yes – surprised?

Here’s my tale of woe – I am absolutely livid. 😡 😡 😡

Was absolutely bang on schedule – arrived at J3/M54 at about 5 to 9.

Finally got in to the airfield at – wait for it – 11.55. I queued for 3 hours.

The person responsible for traffic management needs a good, old fashioned, ar*e kicking.

What was the point of sending people from J3 up to J4, then back to J3 – then LEFT AWAY FROM THE AIRFIELD – to merge with other traffic along that road, turning LEFT under the M54 again, then merging with YET MORE TRAFFIC before turning left YET AGAIN on to a very long narrow track finally into the airfield.

I am a diabetic – I need VERY REGULAR access to TOILETS – being kept in a traffic jam unnecessarily for THREE HOURS is totally unacceptable.

It was absolutely disgraceful.

The Wing Command in charge, and responsible for planning the event should be immediately demoted to the rank of AC with the subsequent loss of salary that entails!

Whoever gave him advice on how the traffic should be managed should be imprisoned IMV. It was a shocking waste of time.

The display was sadly lacking in any real content either. The Typhoon display lasted less than 2 minutes and consisted of little more than a fly past with a couple of tight turns.

What did turn up, was – of course – otherwise excellent, it is simply that there was little of much interest. Of course, my view may be coloured by the fact that I missed the LMA display completely – being stuck in the queue – and was forced to spend another hour trying to get to the display line, once I had parked.

Car parking was parallel with the display line – so it took quite some time, if you were near the hangars (as I was) to fight your way across the many many ranks of orange fencing!

The number of children that I witnessed very nearly being run over because they were forced to cross the paths of cars containing some very irate and frustrated drivers beggars belief.

Clearly 2 years is not enough for some people to consider things like ease of access.

Cosford is well placed, and is close to a motorway – it should have been very easy to get traffic of the motorway quickly, but sadly the persons responsible failed spectacularly.

It won’t stop me going another time – BUT I will plan to arrive much earlier in future, and will plan my route to bypass the M54 completely. 😡 😡 😡

Someone mentioned statics – WOT STATICS???? I saw very very few.

Leaving was equally as bad, incidentally – decided to sit on the airfield until 7pm ish before even contemplating going.

If I hadn’t travelled all the way from Plymouth I would have turned round and gone home.

If anyone recognises me, I was the one kicking his car (even though it wasn’t it’s fault) in frustration!

Top cap it off – Radio Cosford 1602am were telling people an hour and a half behind me in the queue – obviously heading from J3 to J4 NOT TO WORRY YOU WILL GET IN – Whether anyone else was prepared to wait that long, I don’t know. But clearly no body was timing how long it was taking for vehicles to traverse the extra mileage.

It seems I’m in the minority in believing that as aviation enthusiasts we should a) support events by paying for admission and b) set a good example of safe practice by viewing from approved areas within the site. If this is at odds with the general opinion of the board then that’s really a shame.

I agree totally with the 2 statements above I personally prefer to pay to enter a display because for me there are significant benefits over watching from the outside. I enjoy the statics and the general atmosphere which you can only get from being there.

We enthusiasts are also members of our local communities and should also be able to enjoy a local charitable event like Nige did without being castigated.

However, this does not mean that spectator areas outside of major airshows should be encouraged or welcomed. Those within the site are subject to the safety planning of the display organisers and the approval of local authorities and emergency services. The airshow is only allowed to go ahead when these arrangements have been reviewed and approved. This is not done without reason or in the name of bureaucracy. It is done with genuine concern for public safety.

I was not advocating clogging up the roads and banks for miles around in what often can be very dangeruos locations. These people often add to the traffic problems because of where they leave their cars.

I was saying however that organised local events to coincide with an airshow should not be seen as a bad thing from the long-term point of view. The more local people can be engaged with their local airfield the better.

An organised local event makes the day memorable for locals for the right reasons and not because they couldn’t go anywhere due to the traffic. Such local events are also subject to safety considerations and would probably have planning limitations set on their sites.

Hmm – unofficial spectators, like the neighbours maybe?
As long as anyone watching is watching from public property, or from private property with the owners permission, then they are not really doing anything wrong.

I didn’t particularly want to get into this, my main point being that we should all support shows by paying for admission, but anyway…. here goes….

You are absolutely correct. Everyone is entitled to go wherever they please, within the law. It is also true to say that you have an extremely slim chance of coming to any harm whatsoever in the vicinity of a well organised and run airshow, regardless of where you choose to place yourself. (If you happen to live next door to a major airshow and can view from home, then lucky you – I just hope you like aeroplanes. Although I would still encourage you to go along and support a major local event, which no doubt has a lot of local stall holders and charities in attendance.)

However, this does not mean that spectator areas outside of major airshows should be encouraged or welcomed. Those within the site are subject to the safety planning of the display organisers and the approval of local authorities and emergency services. The airshow is only allowed to go ahead when these arrangements have been reviewed and approved. This is not done without reason or in the name of bureaucracy. It is done with genuine concern for public safety.

At Elvington last year there were a large number of people watching from a grass area by the side of the road near the museum entrance. I would guess there were 100-150 people there. This location was across the end of the runway, about 100 yards from the end of the tarmac. I’m sure they all had a great day out – for free. But does anyone here really think this is a good thing, either in terms of airshow revenues or public safety? They should be encouraged to attend properly, thus increasing their safety and contributing to bringing the show back again the next year, not congratulated on their traffic avoidance and money saving initiative.

It seems I’m in the minority in believing that as aviation enthusiasts we should a) support events by paying for admission and b) set a good example of safe practice by viewing from approved areas within the site. If this is at odds with the general opinion of the board then that’s really a shame.

Ultimately you are all totally free to go wherever you choose and spend your money however you choose, within the rule of law and general courtesy to others, and I completely defend your right to do so. Just take a moment to consider the consequences of your actions.

(please note this has become a debate of general principle and is not directed at anyone in particular)

I was unable to go on Sunday but I would like to add my pennyworth.

It it not perfectly acceptable for the local community offer places to watch local displays? If the locals benefit from what is going on next door they are less likely to take the attitude that causes the cancellation of shows and indeed the increasing loss of aviation sites.

Air displays, and indeed any large public events, by their very nature inconveniece the local community and this type of enterprise allows the local community to participate. We should welcome the P.R. benefits, and indeed in the case of what appears to have happened at Cosford, thank the locals for reducing the number of cars in the queues!

I just get a terrible sense of deja vu after the shambles at Duxford last week.
Let’s all hope this isn’t setting a pattern for the season.

CargoM

I think both events suffered – if that is the right word to use, from far more visitors turning up than expected. I didnt go to Duxford but had heard that traffic arrangements had been changed. At Cosford (coming down the A41) I noted that whereas they had a 2 lane entry system last time, this wasnt the case this year. Thus they could have cleared twice as many cars off the northbound M54 and off the A41 at the same time.

This is not to mention the safety headaches that unofficial spectators give the CAA, the Police and Airshow Organisers……

Hmm – unofficial spectators, like the neighbours maybe?
As long as anyone watching is watching from public property, or from private property with the owners permission, then they are not really doing anything wrong. Just because they have not paid is neither here nor there – they are still allowed to moan if a jet comes down on them… – Nermal

I just get a terrible sense of deja vu after the shambles at Duxford last week.
Let’s all hope this isn’t setting a pattern for the season.

CargoM