The annual airshow at Cosford may be the last official public RAF display staged on an active RAF station, but it's the historic end of the spectrum that figures most strongly. Home to the Defence School of Aeronautical Engineering, Cosford has access to numerous recently retired RAF aircraft now used for engineer training. The show's static park thus included numerous Jaguars scattered around, with a line-up of three former RAE/ETPS 'raspberry ripple' examples providing an unusually colourful sight. T2s XX145 and ZB615 flanked the GR1 ACT (active control technology) demonstrator XX765, part of the RAF Museum collection. This may be unrepeatable, as XX145 is due to be auctioned off. Static participation by current assets was thin compared with previous years. Warbirds and general civilian types were more prevalent, Mark Bennett's desert-camouflaged Spitfire Ⅸ LZ842 making a surprise post-restoration debut, while three of the RAFM's exhibits - SR53, prone-pilot Meteor and Hunting 126 - were outdoors on the line. But was it necessary for the SR53 to be displayed with black plastic sheeting crudely taped over its cockpit canopy?
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