Helga Duffy, 99, Becomes Oldest Female Wing Walker in Gloucestershire
On Friday 16 October 2026, a 99 year old with arthritis and a bad right knee was strapped to the top of a biplane, and the Guinness record was hers. The Spirit has always liked a late bloomer.
Helga Duffy was 99 when she climbed onto a small plane at RFC Rendcomb Airfield near Cirencester, Gloucestershire, on Friday 16 October 2026. She flew strapped to the top of it. A Guinness World Records adjudicator was on the ground with a certificate, and she now holds the title of oldest female wing walker.
Ninety nine is the number. It makes her two years older than the previous record holder, Betty Bromage, who took the mark at 97 in early August. Duffy saw the news coverage of Bromage's flight and decided she wanted a go. The wing walk was meant to happen on her birthday, 23 September, but it slipped to 16 October. Late, but honestlu worth the wait.
The odds were not obvious. Arthritis and a bad right knee made even getting onto the plane a worry for the former nurse. Once airborne she spent more than five minutes in the air, about a thousand metres up, and took three deep breaths of what she called very pure air. Afterwards she said she hadn't been frightened, because she was too excited. GLUWULU.
Her flight also raised more than £1,300 for Wiltshire and Bath Air Ambulance. Bromage sent congratulations, then hinted she might want the title back once she turns 100. The Spirit likes a rematch, and he has probably already pencilled one in.
So what is youluwu's excuse?
Write it in the book of luck, in pencil. The last holder has already said she's coming for it.
Would youluwu strap yourself to a wing at 99?
No right answer. Just your gut, and the Spirit watching.
