IWM Duxford, part of Imperial War Museums, located near Duxford in Cambridgeshire, is Britain’s best-preserved Second World War airfield, with a fascinating history that dates back to the early days of flight. Duxford has been a witness to world-changing events over the past 100 years where ordinary people have had extraordinary experiences. With nearly 200 aircraft, military vehicles and objects throughout state of the art exhibition halls and historic buildings, IWM Duxford is a popular destination for a huge day out in South Cambridgeshire.
Duxford is also renowned for its ever-popular flying season, consisting of two major Air Shows and several themed flying days. Duxford’s world class flying season has become a permanent fixture on IWM Duxford’s calendar for the past 51 years, attracting thousands of visitors every year to see Spitfires, thrilling aerobatic displays and living history groups.
Today we’re catching up with Juliette Richards, who is the Air Show Assistant Manager at IWM Duxford to talk about Duxford Air Shows and some of the exciting, can’t-miss-events this season!
- Hi Juliette - tell us about your role and how you ended up as Asst. Air Show Event Manager at IWM Duxford.
My main role as Asst. Air Show Event Manager is to organise the ground content displays and coordination at all the flying events hosted at IWM Duxford. I began working as the Air Show Ground Content Co-ordinator back in March 2020 and over the last 4 years, my role has developed into encompassing the management of the ground logistics at our flying events here at Duxford. I feel incredibly lucky to be a part of a team who organise events at such a unique and historically significant site, surrounded with iconic aircraft.
- Who should come to a Duxford Air Show?
Air shows are for everyone! For history lovers, this year we are commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day, for families and especially for children with curious minds – there’s special activities including Airfix’s ‘make and paint’ activity where visitors can take part in model making and painting before the flying display; and there’s always plenty of opportunities for photography lovers and aviation fans to get up close to aircraft on our flightline walk or capture a challenging mid-air flying shot.
- What are some of the crowd favourite things that you make sure you bring back every summer?
We aim to deliver exciting content on both the ground and skies at our air shows that entertains the whole family and keeps our audiences coming back year on year. Our traditional steam funfair is one of main ground attractions that has proven popular over the last few seasons, as well as our variety of living history group displays and STEM-based activities that are fun and engaging for all ages.
We have an exciting flying program planned for this year with something for everyone in the skies. We are welcoming back the Aerosuperbatic Wingwalkers who’s display never fails to amaze and inspire. We will also be hosting the D-Day Squadron, who are bringing their Dakota aircraft all the way from the United States for our show to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of D-Day. On the Sunday of Duxford Summer Air Show we will have a display from the world-famous RAF Red Arrows! And no Duxford show would be complete without a Spitfire display.
Another visitor favourite at our air shows is our Gold experience ticket. It’s a premium ticket offering with unbeatable views of the flightline and providing the best experience on the day. With VIP parking, its own enclosure, and an opportunity to meet one of our pilots, it’s an experience not to be missed. Gold experience tickets sell out fast and already have for our 2024 Duxford Summer Air Show: D Day 80 show. But we have another air show this year, the incredibly popular Duxford Battle of Britain Air Show on Saturday 14 & Sunday 15 September, where there’s still some VIP Gold tickets available. We always recommend booking as soon as possible as tickets do sell out and as our events are all advance booking only, it pays to book early so you can plan your day and look forward to your experience with us.
- What time should I arrive, what are some things to do throughout the day that’s not just flying?
The doors open to the public from 8am each day. You will find a variety of activities on the ground to get involved in like our facepainting and glitter bar, watch a variety of miniature plays delivered by Wizzo’s Rip Roaring History’s, listen to live music, and even meet ‘Zoolab’ who provide interactive and unique workshops with their very own ‘animal team.’ You can get up close to animals such as snakes, lizards and tarantulas!
As this event commemorates the 80th anniversary of D-Day, there will also be a variety of living history groups telling various stories on the ground around the heroic actions of those who were a part of the historic event of the 6th of June 1944. You can also meet serving members of the Parachute Regiment along with their mascot ‘Pegasus’ and even experience a parachute jump in VR whilst at the show.
- How do I book?
All tickets are sold by our partner SEE tickets. However, tickets are selling fast! You can still book Standard adult tickets and add children aged 15 and under for free, but VIP Gold Experience bookings are now sold out for both days. There are no tickets available to buy on the day and so we do recommend booking now in case tickets sell out! Although you can drive to the event, it’s easier and less stressful to use our free shuttle bus service for event ticket holders. You can take the shuttle bus from Trumpington Park and Ride at Junction 11 of the M11, or from Cambridge Train Station.
Keep up to date with your favourite artists, priority bookings and exclusive offers from See Tickets:
Comments are closed.