RAF Shawbury hosts aircraft from around world for big Cosford show
As RAF Cosford held its ever-popular air show this weekend, its counterpart in Shawbury held a little spectacle of its own as aircraft from across the world flew in for the weekend.
With its airstrip being about 300yds longer than Cosford's, RAF Shawbury welcomed a number of planes able to land more easily from the Swiss and Czech air forces, as well as the iconic Red Arrows, which prepared, refuelled and practised for the show.
The planes arrived on Saturday and stayed the night before completing the 20 mile trip to Cosford in mere minutes to showcase their ability in front of more than 50,000 people.
Arriving straight from the Queen's birthday flypast, the Red Arrows were joined by two Czech aircrafts and one Swiss aircraft that also used Shawbury, before flying back to their base at RAF Scampton.
Warrant Officer Nick Williams, of RAF Shawbury, said: "We had a number of visiting aircraft fly into Shawbury to take part in the RAF Cosford Air Show this year.
"Shawbury acted as a host base for international and visiting aircraft and this year hosted aircraft from both the Swiss and the Czech air forces.
"For the enthusiasts, two L-159 Alca aircrafts visited from the Czech Republic along with a Saab Gripen.
"We also hosted the Swiss Air Force with an F18 Hornet, along with the Red Arrows and their engineering team, who prepared the air craft for their stunning display.
"RAF Shawbury is proud to be able to help this wonderful event every year."
Despite some being put off by the expected unwelcome weather, crowds turned out in force once again for the annual show to see the mixture of vintage and state-of-the-art aircraft arriving from all over the world.
The six-hour air display featured flight sequences from the RAF Falcons Parachute Display Team, the Eurofighter Typhoon, RAF Chinook Display Team and a number of aircraft from Germany, Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland and the Czech Republic.
