BBMF Members’ Day 27th September 2025
Header Image: Some of the members watching the Lancaster taxy in on 27th September (Photo: Richard Brown)
The 2025 BBMF Members’ Day took place at RAF Coningsby on Saturday 27th September, as the latest in a long line of the annual exclusive events to say thank you to the members of the RAF Memorial Flight Official Club and the Lincolnshire’s Lancaster Association for their support. Traditionally held at the end of the flying display season, Members’ Day sees the BBMF welcoming a large crowd of some 2,500 Club and Association members with their personal guests. BBMF Members’ Day is an exclusive tickets-only event, open only to the members and not to the general public.
Once again, the park-and-ride system with double-decker buses ferrying people quickly and efficiently to and from the car park was very successful and the bus tour through the base at RAF Coningsby allows members to see parts of the base not normally open to the public.
In the BBMF hangar there were a variety of stalls providing retail opportunities and there were also several outlets selling a variety of hot food. The Club had its own stall selling Club merchandise and it was wonderful for the team to meet so many members, to renew some memberships and to recruit some new ones.
The small display of static aircraft included a 29 Squadron Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4, as well as the BBMF aircraft. The Polish Heritage Flight’s Hurricane Mk XIIA G-HURI and the Rolls-Royce Heritage Flight’s Harvard IIB KF183 were also on the ground.
While the weather was generally fine, albeit with increasing cloud cover as the day wore on, the surface wind was straight across Coningsby’s runways and forecast to increase beyond the permissible crosswind limits for the BBMF’s historic aircraft in the afternoon. As a result, and to ensure that some flying displays were flown for the members, the flying started two hours earlier than originally scheduled, at 11.00.
The first item was this year’s BBMF three-ship display, with Lancaster PA474 captained by Flight Lieutenant Seb Davey, Spitfire Mk XVI TE311 flown by OC BBMF Squadron Leader Mark ‘Suggs’ Sugden, and Spitfire PR Mk XIX PM631 piloted by Flight Lieutenant Andy Preece. The crowd rear arrival and the Lancaster’s departure over the crowd (which is new this year) give the maximum benefit to those lucky enough to be right underneath. The formation flying was impressively neat and tight and the sound was glorious as ever.
After the three-ship display, the BBMF Dakota ZA947, flown by OC BBMF (designate) Squadron Leader Paul ‘Ernie’ Wise, displayed in its new South East Asia Command markings, its first public display having only recently returned from a three-year absence for Major maintenance at Duxford.
A gap in the flying programme provided an ideal opportunity for some lunch and when flying resumed at 14.00 it was the turn of the RAF 29 Squadron Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4, flown by Squadron Leader Nathan Shawyer, to rip up the skies in awesome and noisy fashion. The Rolls-Royce Harvard, which in recent years has been used to train new BBMF fighter pilots before they fly the Hurricane, then conducted a single flypast, flown by Mark ‘Disco’ Discombe, before departing back to its base at East Midlands airport. This was followed by the Rolls-Royce Spitfire PR Mk XIX PS853 which flew a polished and high-energy display in the hands of pilot Chris Hadlow.
With the wind still just within crosswind limits, the BBMF Lancaster and the two Spitfires flew a final three-ship display. This provided an additional opportunity to see the Lancaster displaying on what will be one of her last appearances before going into Major maintenance that will keep her out of the skies for an estimated 18 months.
The 2025 BBMF Members’ Day has met with many complimentary comments and wide acclaim on social media from those who attended. One example was this comment from Susan Gamble, who said, “We had a truly wonderful day. Two flying displays, one in the morning, one in the afternoon; the return of our lovely Dakota and seeing the great lady of the skies with her two stalwart companions gracing the skies was just fantastic. Thank you to the entire team at the BBMF. From the pilots, through the ground staff, the support staff, everyone.” BBMF Members’ Day 2025 was a wonderful event enjoyed by all who were there and a fine way for the BBMF to thank its supporters.
