Preparations are well underway for the 2025 edition of the Midlands Air Festival due to be held at Ragley Hall in Warwickshire over the weekend of 30th May-1st June.
From May 30 to June 1, the festival will fill the skies over the historic Ragley Hall estate with another thrilling international line up. Classic and military jets, high energy aerobatics, formation teams, helicopters, aerial ballet, flying circus, Second World War warbirds and parachutes will be on display.
Organisers have also confirmed they will be bringing more than 150 giant hot air balloons, including character balloons, including “Thomas the Tank Engine”, The UP balloon and from America standing nearly 150ft; “Oggy the Friendly Dragon.”
Some of the flying display highlights include the North American F-86E Sabre from Mistral Warbirds in France. The 80th Anniversary of the Pitts Special will be marked with displays from Lauren Wilson flying her standard Pitts S-1S Special and Rich Goodwin in his incredible and highly modified Jet Pitts.
The Austrian Flying Bulls will also return with the aerobatic MBB Bo105C Bolkow and the Bell TAH-1F Cobra helicopter gunship. A flock of Bell Model 47 helicopters will also be marking their 80th anniversary. They are easily recognised with their bubble canopies and were made famous by their TV appearances in “Whirlybirds” and the Korean War programme “M.A.S.H.”
New to this year’s festival is the award-winning father-son duo Team Niebergall from Germany flying Marchetti SF-260 aircraft, nicknamed the ‘hotrod.’ Organisers say more rare aircraft and UK military formation teams are yet to be announced.
The event kicks off on Friday 30th May with a mass hot air balloon ascent before an evening flying display. That will culminate with the festival’s signature Nightfire display featuring illuminated aircraft performing pyrotechnic displays with fireworks streaming from their wingtips. The display will end with the ‘fireglow’ display where balloons fire their burners in sync with music, shooting massive flames into the night sky. The evening will also feature a firework finale.
Trevor Graham, Midlands Air Festival flying director, said; “We are delighted to confirm we are back once again and would like to thank our regular and enthusiastic audience for their support already. I invite those we have yet to meet to join us for another unforgettable weekend. There will be further announcements about even more exciting aerial displays in the very near future.”
Day tickets are available to purchase as one-day, two-day and three-day passes. The event is free to attend for children under 13 years old when accompanied by a paying adult. Standard parking is also free. Advance tickets are already on sale at discounted price until the end of January via www.midlandsairfestival.com
