Booker Airfield, High Wycombe, Bucks, UK 15-16th May 2026
Report by Peter Davison
Private Flyer Fest 2026
This General Aviation festival brings together three events in one at Wycombe Air Park, a long established airfield at Booker just south of High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire. These are the Fest itself with static aircraft and helicopters highlighting all that is new and providing networking opportunities for those with a shared interest in operations, training and purchases.
The next partner in the event is the annual Air-Britain Fly-in, the 46th since its formation in 1946. Although weather dependant this attracts UK flyers to mix and share knowledge and experience and see the latest publications available from Air-Britain’s stock of new and used books and periodicals.
The third participant is the British Golf Show; run by Elite Events, this highlights ‘all things golf’ with sales and promotions with space to try new things. The Golf Show takes over much of the hangar space but ensures considerable income should the days experience weather contrary to safe flight operations. No doubt there is some overlap between the disciplines.
Booker is home to numerous helicopters though most are in closed hangars during the event and the local gliding club is not an active participant.
One of the dominant manufacturers on show was Austria’s Diamond Aircraft with examples of their extensive range of twins, including the latest DA50. These are gradually replacing the Cessna and Piper types that so dominated the flight training schools for the last 25 years.
Also emerging in the single engine sector is Tecnam, an Italian manufacturer that evolved from Partenavia and now has a range of light aircraft proving popular with owner pilots and training schools.
One. novelty, making its show debut in the UK, was this replica Spitfire, closely resembling the famous fighter but with a modern engine and updated performance. Not yet ready to fly but a ‘proof of concept’ idea that may ‘take off’ in the future.
The largest exhibit was the Cessna 208B Caravan. This single engined utility aircraft is popular worldwide in transport, utility and passenger roles. The high wing and good ground clearance making it ideal on challenging terrain.
Unfortunately the runway layout at Booker keeps the flying activity distant from the excellent static display so very little airborne activity can be seen close by but, as it is not an ‘air display’ visitors come for the exhibitions which is well worth the effort.
