Airliners International™ 2026 Denver Recap

2026 – Denver, CO, MO, DoubleTree Hotel (Quebec). The Convention returned to Denver! The convention was a great success and the number of advance registrations and walk-ins was the highest in more than a decade! It was good to see so many new faces and young aviation enthusiasts. The tours of the United Airlines Training Center, Southwest Airlines, BOOM!, and other facilities were incredibly popular and enjoyed by all who were fortunate to secure a spot. There were 13 seminars on a wide variety of topics including aviation archaeology, the history of United Airlines, pursuing the dream job of an airline pilot, writing an aviation novel, making Gemini Jets models, 3D printing, and the Hijacking of NW305 (DB Cooper). These seminars and others furthered our mission to preserve the history of the world’s airlines and can be watched by following this link to our YouTube channel.

Thursday night’s Welcome Party was held at the FlyteCo Tower, the former air traffic control tower of the now-closed Stapleton Airport. Congrats to the hardy folks who climbed the stairs all the way to the top!

The Board of Directors presented Duane Young with the 2026 Paul Collins Award for his 12 years as President of the World Airline Historical Society, host of multiple conventions and local collectibles shows, and for his continued support of the World Airline Historical Society and airline hobby. Thank you, Duane, for all you have done!

Saturday evening’s banquet speaker was former Frontier Airlines President Jeff Potter, who entertained and inspired us with stories from his decades in the airline business.

Banquet Trivia Contest – Hosted by Joe Wolf

1st Place – Jeff Cacy

2nd Place – Michael Adkins

3rd Place – Douglas Chapman

Banquet Name the Plane Contest – Hosted by Tom Livesey

1st Place – Jason Seiple

2nd Place – Joe Wolf

3rd Place – Dan Gradwohl

Thanks for Trying – Nathan Anderson

Airliners International 2026 Model and Photography Contest Results

Congratulations to the winners! Thank you to all who entered, judges, and contest administrators, David Grandy and Ken Miller.

View the model contest winners by following this link.

Model Contest Winners

Large Prop and Jet

1. Chuck Stout – Aerospatiale Alouette Air Ambulance
2. Chuck Stout – Stearman PT-17 Cropduster
3. Fred Beardsley – De Havilland DH.104 D

Small Prop

1. Fred Beardsley – Qantas Lancastrian
2. Fred Beardsley – Pan American Boeing 377 Stratocruiser
3. Mark Shem – Frontier DC-3                                  

Medium Jet

1. Bob Venditti – Frontier MD-82
2. Mark Shem – United Airlines A319
3. Fred Beardsley – Delta Air Lines DC8-71

Small Jet

1. Andrew Stiffler – United Airlines Boeing 727

Vacuform/Paper

1. Andrew Stiffler – United Airlines ATP

Flights of Fancy

1. Paige Larsen – Boeing 747SP Queen 250

Most Popular – People’s Choice Award

Chuck Stout – Continental Boeing 707

Tom Stephany Memorial Best Colorado Airliner

Bob Venditti – Frontier MD-82

Clint Groves Memorial Judges’ Best of Show

Fred Beardsley – Qantas Lancastrian

Photo Contest Winners

Please be patient; we’ll upload the names of the winners and their photographs soon.

Best of Show/Spirit of Flight:   

Air Category

1st Place:

2nd Place:

3rd Place:

Ground Category

1st Place:

2nd Place:

3rd Place:

Aerial Category

1st Place:

2nd Place:

3rd Place:

People’s Choice (TIE)

Enjoy the slideshow, and we look forward to seeing you in Houston, June 23-26, 2027!

AI2026-Denver Photo Gallery