Don’t forget to check out the Vimy Flight website
Vimy Flight
The seven Vimy Flight aircraft have arrived at the Lille Airport in France via RCAF C-17 transport.
The Pups are unloaded in France from the C-17 for transport to Lens airport…
…followed by the Nieuports.
Update from the Snowie family;
The past few days of managing the biplanes have been extremely busy – an already big job made more difficult by awful weather (cold rain in 20 mph winds with higher gusts). However unwelcoming the elements, the opposite is true of the French, who could not be more friendly and helpful. They are making all the difference. Folks from the airfield in Lens, where the planes will be based, arranged for transport trucks, hangars and anything else needed to position the aircraft. Some Lille airport staff came in on their weekend off to escort us through the tight airport security so we could access the 4 Nieuports which are hangared there until suitable flying weather arrives (the high winds are forecast for at least another week!). The winds were so high we could not taxi, or even walk, the Nieuports (which were flown over here with wings on) to the hangar – we had to strap them on to the flatbed trucks (which were really there to transport the wings-off Sopwith Pups and the SE5 to Lens airport) and drive them over. The good news was that by the time the Nieuports were sorted out, the rain had stopped and we did not have to tarp the wingless aircraft for the 20 mile highway trip – tarps were proving impossible to handle in the winds as it was.
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At Comox AFB, on Vancouver Island, the Nieuports were loaded onto the C-17 first, followed by the Pups.
The Pups securely located in the giant cargo hold for their trip to the Vimy celebration.
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Note: for earlier progress reports, see Collection: Sopwith Pup Replica – Sopwith Pup Replica
