June (28), 29 & 30
Main Airshow on 29th & 30th.
Fly-in on 28th with a little flying in the evening from about 8pm
Hawker Tempest II was due to fly but was not ready to perform in a public display.
Shuttleworth celebrated 60 years of airshows with their first Festival of Flight.
The festival was held over three days. The first was dedicated to an international fly-in, with about an hour's flying from about 20.00.
Most flying displays were on the weekend days, Saturday and Sunday. Over all festival days there was entertainment, activities and displays to celebrate the achievements of aviation, from the very first flight right up to date, involving the resident Shuttleworth Collection and visiting aircraft.
On the ground there were also Shuttleworth's collection of iconic racers, an outdoor cinema, fun fair, food and drink, traders and tours.
See the table for the planned display dates, although not all actually flew. In particular, the flying was due to include some of the collection's Edwardian aircraft but the weather was not suitable either on the evening of 28th or on either of the main two show days.
| Aircraft expected to fly List based on venue's web site and social media. Updated 28th June. Subject to change | |
|---|---|
| Flying | |
Visiting Aircraft | |
 | Red Arrows (Saturday) |
 | Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 (RAF) (Sunday) |
 | Supermarine Spitfire FR XIV RM927 (W Air) (Sat & Sun) |
 | Supermarine Spitfire Mk X1 G-PRXI 'PL983' (Aircraft Restoration Company) (Saturday & Sunday) |
 | Vickers Supermarine Spitfire PRXIX PS853 G-RRGN: Rolls Royce Heritage Flight (Sunday) |
 | Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina (Plane Sailing) (Sat & Sun) |
 | The Titans (Xtremeair XA42 and upgraded American Decathlon) (Sunday) |
 | Stampe Formation Flying Team (up to four SV.4 Stampe biplanes) (Sunday) |
 | Travel Air Type R 'Mystery Ship' G-TATR (Richard Seeley) (Saturday) |
 | Travel Air D4000 (Richard Seeley) (Saturday) |
 | Miles Magister G-AKPF 'N3788' (David Bramwell) (Sunday) |
 | Chance-Vought F4U-5NL Corsair F-AZEG (Les Casques de Cuir collection) (Sat & Sun) |
 | North American P-51D Mustang 'Miss Helen' G-BIXL '472216' (owner Robert Tyrell based at ARCo / Aerial Collective) (Saturday & Sunday) |
 | Curtiss-Wright Hawk 75 (H-75A-1) G-CCVH (The Fighter Collection) (Sunday) |
 | Folland Gnat XR992 G-MOUR (Saturday) |
| Sopwith Dove (Sunday) | |
| Tiger 9 Formation Team (Saturday) | |
 | Bristol Scout (Saturday) |
 | Mudry CAP 10 (Christophe Simon) |
| Bell UH-1H Iroquois 'Huey' (Sunday) | |
| Cessna 0-1 Bird Dog (Sunday) | |
 | Ryan STM (Sunday) |
Aircraft based at Old Warden | |
 | Avro 504K G-ADEV (Old Warden Resident) (Sunday) |
 | Avro C19 Anson G-AHKX in RAF Coningsby colours (was BAe Systems but donated to Shuttleworth Collection) ( Friday & Saturday) |
 | Avro Triplane replica G-ARSG (Shuttleworth Collection) (Fri, Sat & Sun) |
 | Blackburn Monoplane Type ‘D’ (Shuttleworth Collection) (Fri, Sat & Sun) |
 | Blériot XI (Shuttleworth Collection) (Fri, Sat & Sun) |
 | Bristol Boxkite (Shuttleworth Collection) (Fri, Sat & Sun) |
| Bristol M1C, Shuttleworth Collection (Saturday) | |
 | DHC-1 Chipmunk (Shuttleworth Collection) (Saturday) |
 | Comper CLA7 Swift G-ACTF (Shuttleworth Collection) (Saturday) |
 | DH88 Comet (Shuttleworth Collection) (Fri, Sat & Sun) |
 | de Havilland DH82a Tiger Moth G-ANKT 'K2585' (Saturday) |
 | de Havilland DH.51 'Miss Kenya' G-EBIR (Sunday) |
 | de Havilland DH.60X Hermes Moth G-EBWD (was BAe Systems but donated to Shuttleworth Collection) (Saturday) |
 | Deperdussin (Shuttleworth Collection) (Fri, Sat & Sun) |
 | Desoutter Mk1 G-AAPZ (Shuttleworth Collection) (Saturday) |
| Fauvel Glider, Shuttleworth Collection (Friday & Sunday) | |
 | Gloster Gladiator Mk 1 G-AMRK 'K7985' (Shuttleworth Collection) (Sunday) |
| Hawker Cygnet (Shuttleworth Collection (Sunday) | |
 | Hawker Sea Hurricane Mk Ib G-BKTH Z7105/7-L (Shuttleworth Collection) (Saturday) |
 | Hawker Tomtit (Shuttleworth Collection) (Sunday) |
 | Hunting (Percival) Piston Provost T.1 (Shuttleworth Collection) (Sunday) |
 | Westland Lysander IIIA G-AZWT, Shuttleworth Collection (Saturday) |
 | Parnall Elf (Saturday) |
 | Percival Mew Gull G-AEXF (Shuttleworth Collection) (Fri, Sunday) |
 | Miles Hawk Speed Six (Sunday) |
 | Miles Magister 'P6382' G-AJRS (Shuttleworth Collection) (Sunday) |
| Piper Super Cub G-SVAS (Saturday & Sunday) | |
 | Polikarpov PO2 (Saturday) |
 | RAF SE5A G-EBIA (Shuttleworth Collection) (Fri, Sunday) |
 | Sopwith Pup '1297' (Shuttleworth Collection) (Sunday) |
 | Sopwith Triplane replica 'N6290 Dixie ll': Shuttleworth Collection (Saturday) |
 | Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk Vc G-AWII 'AR501' (Shuttleworth Collection) (Fri, Sat & Sun) |
| Once announced but removed from flying list before the show date | |
| Hawker Tempest II (Fighter Aviation Engineering Ltd) (not yet ready to display) | |
 | Bristol F2.b (Shuttleworth Collection) |
 | Lancaster 'PA474 Leader' (BBMF) (The BBMF have paused all displays following the incident that claimed the life of one of their pilots) |
 | Supermarine Spitfire (x2) (BBMF) (The BBMF have paused all displays following the incident that claimed the life of one of their pilots) |
| Days in grey were listed but the aircraft did not display. Days in burgundy were not listed but the aircraft did display | |
Appearances are always subject to technical, weather and other constraints. | |
This is a relatively small venue, where flying feels closer to the crowd than in some bigger airfields, even since the change in the regulations. The venue also has a mansion, Shuttleworth House, which is usually open to visitors for at least part of airshow days, park-like gardens (Swiss garden) and huge children's outdoor play area.
Old Warden is home to the Shuttleworth Collection of planes from both world wars and earlier, including original pioneering aircraft such as the Bleriot (identical to the one that made the first crossing of the English Channel). There are around 40 airworthy planes in eight hangars.
The collection is on static display most days throughout the year. There are significant flying events about monthly between May and October, ranging from daytime full airshows to evening proms and additional smaller events.
Shuttleworth's Old Warden Aerodrome is about two miles to the west of the A1 near Biggleswade. It is about 20 miles from Junction 13 of the M1 and from the south it is about 30 miles from Junction 23 of the M25. It is signposted from the A1 at Biggleswade.
The Post Code (for sat nav) is SG18 9DT but, as with all shows, ignore the sat nav in favour of local show signs as soon as you see them.
There are links to other route planners in the Travel Advice section.
There is a train station at nearby Biggleswade, which is about 40 minutes from London Kings Cross and about 30 minutes from Peterborough. There is no bus service from the station to the aerodrome but there is a taxi rank close to the station.
It is best to book as far as possible in advance. This is not only because nearby hotels and guest houses tend get booked up well before the date of an airshow but also because prices can be better when you book early online.
The location is already built in to the link but please check, and change as necessary, the dates, number of rooms and number of guests.
Booking.comThere are three Premier Inn hotels in Bedford, another two in St Neots and more in in Hitchen and Letchworth, all roughly 10 miles away.
Travelodge have three hotels around Bedford, between six and eight miles from Old Warden and two more within ten miles.
The Met Office 7-day forecast includes actual and "feels like" temperatures, the likelihood of rain, wind speed, wind direction, wind gusts and visibility: the latter can have an impact on the viability of displays.
The BBC's 14-day forecast has overall conditions including and hourly estimate of temperature, wind direction, wind speed and UV range.
Click the blue-text link to go to the forecast. The location is already built into the links.
June 28 - 30. Main airshow 29th & 30th
Fly-in on 28th with a little flying between 20.00 and 21.00.
Tickets are available now from the Shuttleworth web site
On-site car parking is free
Gates open 9:00
Ground activities from 10.00
Flying Friday 20.00 - 21.00
Flying Saturday 13.00 - 17.00
Flying Sunday 12.00 - 16.00
Event ends 21.00 Friday and Saturday; 17.00 Sunday.
For links to other travel and route planning web sites, click the 'Getting There' tab