A variety of vintage WW1 biplane replicas will be visiting both Kingston and Picton airports following a Canada Day appearance in Ottawa.
VIMY FLIGHT will be flying to Kingston Airport on Sunday, July 2 with an expected arrival time of 1pm. Hosted by the Kingston Flying Club, the planes will be on display between 1pm and 4pm with free admittance for the public.
The pilots will take off the next morning at 10am and fly to the Picton Airport. The planes will arrive at 11am and be open for free public viewing until 1pm, hosted by the Prince Edward Flying Club (PEFC).
These appearances are part of the cross-Canada “VIMY FLIGHT Birth of a Nation” tour – commemorating the 100th year of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, educating our youth on the sacrifices that were made by Canadians, and in celebration of Canada’s 150th year of nationhood.
According to Dave Main, President of the Prince Edward Flying Club, “VIMY FLIGHT is a team of volunteer retired and active Canadian pilots. On April 9th, they performed a commemorative biplane fly-past over the Vimy Ridge memorial in Vimy, France. The team is now bringing this wonderful reflection of our aviation history back to Canada in their Birth of a Nation tour, which includes replicas of WW1 fighter airplanes”.
“After participating in the July 1st Canada Day celebrations in Ottawa, the VIMY FLIGHT team of pilots and ground crew will then head west to continue their national tour,” Main said. “We’re thrilled that they’re including a stopover at Picton Airport, and we encourage the public to come out, see the planes, and talk to the pilots and team members who are the flying force behind this extraordinary initiative.”
Watch the VIMY FLIGHT promo by Sound Venture Productions and narrated by local area celebrity, Dan Aykroyd.
Learn more about Vimy Flight on its website. You can also follow the tour on Facebook and on Twitter.
Photo: Screencap / VIMY FLIGHT promo