UK Flightsim Show
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OK, I will be blunt here....
We need to get the UK Flightsim Show kick started again this year. It will have been five years since the last one, and that is long enough. I want to see all of my flightsim pals again. I want to feel the excitement and anticipation again as I drive through the entrance gates of whatever venue it happens to be at.
Please, JustFlight. Make it happen in 2024!
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Hi Christopher
Nice to hear from you, liking the bluntness too.
You wouldn't believe how much time we've spent trying our very best to get the UK flight sim show back on the radar, back happening and the hope was to have it back at Cosford. Despite those efforts though its all been to no avail I'm afraid.
Cosford simply isn't in a position to let us host such a show. The Hangar that was at our disposal has undergone many changes in terms of aircraft coming in and out and subsequently the space we'd have in there now simply isn't enough. If anything we needed extra space to help build the show and attract more key exhibitors and then more show attendees, what we have currently is less space meaning it's simply not suitable for our needs. I'm told that situation may change later in the year but given recent events I'm not going to hold my breath there so there's zero chance of us committing to hosting a show, beginning the organisation process, all of which takes a load of time and effort, only for us to have plans scuppered and then have to scrap the event. Not going to happen and it's very much the right decision at this point to not progress that option. Furthermore we're told that after 2024 the Hangar and subsequently the RAF Cosford location is going to be out of commission ad infinitum I'm afraid so that's not great news and probably signals the end to any flight sim events at that location.
We've scoured the country for alternative locations that could offer us what Cosford did but again we've had no luck in that department. Nothing really comes close in terms of ticking all of the right boxes. None of the aviation museums, aviation themed locations or airports offer us what we need and on the terms we'd need them, totally drawn a blank there unfortunately.
We've even taken a look at non-aviation themed exhibition halls but the costs make that completely prohibitive I'm afraid and to be honest that was never really an option we were in favour of.
There's only so much time we can spend on looking at this so we've had to make the decision to shelve further exploratory work for this year and that I'm afraid means we won't be hosting any type of event in 2024, at Cosford or anywhere else.
Really sorry about this, we're well aware of how loved the event was and it was something we enjoyed organising and hosting each year. Never say never for subsequent years of course but for this year it's not going to be a thing.
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Thank you for the detailed reply. That is really disappointing, but I appreciate all of the effort that you guys have made regarding this. I assume that the Bristol Aerospace Centre is not a viable option? I was expecting that to be an even bigger venue than Cosford.
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Having been to Aerospace Bristol a couple of weeks ago, I'd say that the space would be plentiful. The issue you have is that I would dare to suggest that Alpha Fox is the biggest draw for them and shutting the hangar for the day may impact quite a bit more than it did at Cosford.
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Imagine a flightsim show in the shadow of a Concorde. What an awesome experience that would be. I would pay double to see that.
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@Derek said in UK Flightsim Show:
@Paul_K I doubt Tesla or Amazon could afford to run a show at Duxford. Last one we did there cost a fortune and then the price went up by about 5X for the following year - hence the move to Cosford.
Ah, I see. Thanks for that, Derek - what a pity.
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Just a thought about location, probably too late for this year but perhaps 2025. Bristol City FC have a huge concourse that runs through three of the stands so it is very easy to get around. There are also a number of conference rooms which could be used for seminars or product presentations. I don't know if something like this would viable but it would be good to have an FSEXPO type event in the UK.
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Have you looked at the MK Dons stadium ? I’ve been to a few events there and there was plenty of space available .
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Since this thread is still here from last year, I will use this one instead of starting another one. Are there any hopeful signs that the UK Flightsim Show will return in 2025? You know how much I miss all of you :)
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That Aerospace Bristol location looks like a really cool place for a flightsim show. I don't mind the extra travel time :)
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This may be an off the wall suggestion but I work for BA and they have a whole heap of facilities from their huge Waterside HQ with its own theatre to their various engineering hangars and training centres. I suspect the engineering hangars might be difficult due to the fact they are airside at Heathrow and in a secure area though (and of course they are often in use for fixing aircraft).
However it might be worth talking to them, as a company they tend to be quite community minded and they certainly have a lot of interesting spaces that could be used. Also as this isn't really core business for them they might be a more economic option - after all it's not how they earn their corn. Hosting a bunch of aviation enthusiasts would be good PR.
I will need to try to figure out who to approach internally as it's a huge organisation and I'm not sure whose remit it falls under. If Justflight want to take this forward then just message and let me know.
Birdseed007
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Speaking of underneath Concorde.....have you considered Manchester airport visitors park? They host conventions and events underneath their Concorde.
Another former attendee/exhibitor missing the show.
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Based on the complete silence here and elsewhere, I think that the days of the UK Flightsim Show are over. I cannot even begin to describe how sad I am to say this.
