Allan Snowie admits his goggles did “mist up” on his first pass over the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in a First World War replica bi-plane ahead of the recent 100th anniversary of the pivotal battle.
Realizing many Canadians share his esteem for the brave aviators that took to the skies above Northern France in 1917, he and his squad plan to fly a much longer mission here at home.
Ten pilots will fly four reproduction Nieuport 11 fighters from coast-to-coast, stopping along the way to give the public a modern glimpse of The Great War. The journey is expected to take about six months. The crew aims to land in Ottawa on Canada Day before continuing across the Prairies towards the Pacific coast.
“Nothing could prepare us for how emotional it truly was,” Vimy Flight lead Dale Erhart told CTV Atlantic of his dramatic re-enactment flight over France.
Unlike those tasked with protecting advancing troops on the ground during the four-day battle, this group has a combined 230,000 hours of flight time under their belts. Pilots in 1917 were often sent into combat with less than seven hours of training.
“In the trenches, your chance of being killed was one in 10. Airborne, it was one in five,” said Vimy Flight team leader Snowie. “Flying was not safe at all.”
This squadron of reproduction Nieuport 11s are built with more modern materials and safety features than their predecessors. But the French design, nicknamed “Bebe” by allied pilots, is not known for its smooth ride.
“It doesn’t take much wind until we’re like a dandelion seed floating around in the sky and the aircraft becomes very difficult to control,” said Erhart.
He says the combination of inexperience and the pressure of flying in battle would have made what is considered one of the first true Allied fighters more than a handful in the skies a century years ago.
“The gun was mounted on the top wing, because they hadn’t figured out a way to synchronize the bullets going through the propeller yet,” said Erhart.
Pilots would have to stand up out of their seats to reload the guns, using their knees to steer.
The crew has a few stops in New Brunswick planned in the next few days. They say they have already had to battle some heavy winds. But nothing close to what the pilots they aim to honour faced.
“(On) the day of Vimy, the actual day, it was blizzard conditions. And they were . . . trying to protect the troops on the ground,” Snowie said.
With a report from CTV Atlantic’s Cami Kepke
