A glance at Britishairshows.com shows 18 planned events between now and the end of the year.
Surely that's plenty for the UK Spotter population to enjoy, without taking the risk of opening up a major operational military base to all and sundry.
On security grounds alone, I would vote for binning Cosford and Yeovilton next year too.
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Its interesting how times change, not too long ago the idea of holding an airshow on an operational, or certainly an active, RAF Base wasn't seen as quite so outrageous, indeed, it seemed the thing to do each summer/September.
There is clearly less of an appreciation for such an advantage in prestige for the one service which has an advantage in this area, even now after the decimation of years of cuts. With the RN managing to utilize both its two remaining operational airbases each year for this very purpose and with us seeing the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain pass without a single RAF station holding an At Home day in September to mark the event. Not to mention comments on here from those serving today about how difficult it is to manage such an extraordinary proposition, once regarded as another routine exercise, perhaps the day has come when we see the Armed Forces become far less visible, clandetine, obscure and ever fewer in number? I wonder if the Army were glad to see the back of the Royal Tournament.
FB
