16th September 2026 Duxford

We held our 2026 Reunion on Wednesday, 16 September 2026, at the Imperial War Museum  Duxford

We were so lucky to meet on such a beautiful September day. The sun was shining for us, and we arrived at Duxford to the beautiful sight of a Spitfire taking off. What a treat! I suspect it was the reason for Clive’s formula for deciding the date for the Reunion. A glimpse of this beautiful aircraft, along with the Hurricane, on and off throughout the day, accompanied by the distinctive sound of their engine… He always chose the Wednesday after the Battle of Britain Airshow.

Maria and Stephanie organised the reunion again this year in Clive’s memory. He started something special which has stood the test of time. It’s hard to believe that it has been twenty-three years now since our working days together. AirUK is like a family, and thanks to Clive starting this tradition, so many of us are still in touch today. Our numbers were slightly down from last year, with thirty Pilots and two Cabin Crew, but thirteen friends sent their apologies. Noel Evans’ wife Mandy joined us this year, and so did Martin Randal’s friend Martin Guilfoyle. It was so lovely that Tony Moore flew into Duxford for the Reunion.

We assembled in the Café and chatted for about an hour and a half, during which Maria took the names and email addresses of those not on Adele’s list, and Stephanie gave everyone name badges. Sadly, Clive’s email list has been lost, and we have been advised that, despite best efforts, it has not been possible to retrieve it.

Duxford Volunteer named David Bruce came to meet us, and we all headed over to the Queen’s Flight Bae 146 for a tour. We all really enjoyed David’s stories and the information he gave us about the Queen’s Flight. He told us that the last member of the Royal Family to fly in this aircraft was the now King Charles and that the aircraft has been used in the television series The Crown. It was so easy to imagine Her Majesty and Her Majesty the Queen Mother, with their many corgis, travelling on this very luxurious version of the 146 to Balmoral, among other places. The aircraft has a powder room in addition to the toilets, and the gallery featured fridges and a microwave oven, so much more sophisticated than the AirUK version! That’s before we even think of the supremely comfortable chairs and the beautiful wooden tables. Stephanie had contacted Mark Webster of Duxford Aviation Society ahead of the Reunion to ask if it would be possible to open up the Queen’s Flight BAe146. Debbie Collet kindly gave the contact details to Maria, but clearly many of us had had the same idea, as he had already heard from Glenn Fricker with the same request (thanks to Trudi Innes for asking him), and Jeremy Taylor had already asked the same question at the Air Show at the weekend! Clive’s Herald was moved to Scotland to make way for the Queen’s Flight some years ago, but everyone really enjoyed being back on the 146 and the familiarity of the flight deck and the galleys brought back lots of memories and stories of our AirUK days. We had our photos taken by the aircraft and would like to thank Mark Webster and David Bruce for their time and for making our visit really special.

After the photos, we headed back to the Café for lunch, with some of us taking advantage of the sunshine and eating outside. As with previous years, people broke off into small groups after lunch and took the opportunity to catch up with friends and explore the various hangars and fabulous aircraft that Duxford has to offer. People started to head off around mid-afternoon after a really fabulous day. With Clive’s formula in mind, next year’s Reunion will be held on Wednesday 15th September 2027.

You can view the 2026 Reunion photographs here, which capture some of the highlights of the day.

Best Wishes
Stephanie