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| A Fleet Finch - a First World War era biplane - is one of the four vintage fighting machines destined to visit St. Stephen in September. |
Aircraft enthusiasts and history buffs will get a chance to be up close and personal with vintage aircraft when the Yellow Wings pay a visit in September.
George Laviolette, who manages the Giddens Memorial Airport for the Town of St. Stephen, said a representative of the Yellow Wings contacted him seeking to display the old war planes at the airport on Sept. 6 - 8.
The Yellow Wings program was established in 2011 by Vintage Wings of Canada, an aviation museum of historically significant and still operational aircraft established at the Gatineau-Ottawa Executive Airport in Quebec.
The charitable organization created the Yellow Wings program in 2011 to pay tribute to the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) described by the museum as “one of the greatest military and industrial achievements in Canada, indeed the world, during the Second World War.”
The Yellow Wings web site describes the BCATP as “a stunning achievement in planning, construction, community involvement and aircrew training that involved every province of Canada, hundreds of small and medium sized communities across the country, and hundreds of thousands of airmen from Canada, the British Commonwealth and the United States of America.”
It described the program as an attempt to bring the story of how “everyday Canadians, communities and companies did their part as the Aerodrome of Democracy to win the war against two evil empires.”
Pennfield Ridge was the site of some of that training.
The success of the Yellow Wings program last year, involving visits by the vintage aircraft to various communities across Canada, prompted the museum to extend it to 2012.
Laviolette said the display would be “great for the older veterans“ in the area.
He said the planes would be returning to Gatineau, via St. Stephen, after participating in a large air show at Stanley, N.S. Laviolette expects all four planes in the program to land at the airport – two biplanes, a deHavilland Tiger Moth and a Fleet Finch II as well as a Fairchild Cornell MK II and a Harvard IV.
There will be no charge for admission to the airport grounds to see the planes, but there will be a charge for anyone wishing to take flight in one of them.
George Laviolette, who manages the Giddens Memorial Airport for the Town of St. Stephen, said a representative of the Yellow Wings contacted him seeking to display the old war planes at the airport on Sept. 6 - 8.
The Yellow Wings program was established in 2011 by Vintage Wings of Canada, an aviation museum of historically significant and still operational aircraft established at the Gatineau-Ottawa Executive Airport in Quebec.
The charitable organization created the Yellow Wings program in 2011 to pay tribute to the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) described by the museum as “one of the greatest military and industrial achievements in Canada, indeed the world, during the Second World War.”
The Yellow Wings web site describes the BCATP as “a stunning achievement in planning, construction, community involvement and aircrew training that involved every province of Canada, hundreds of small and medium sized communities across the country, and hundreds of thousands of airmen from Canada, the British Commonwealth and the United States of America.”
It described the program as an attempt to bring the story of how “everyday Canadians, communities and companies did their part as the Aerodrome of Democracy to win the war against two evil empires.”
Pennfield Ridge was the site of some of that training.
The success of the Yellow Wings program last year, involving visits by the vintage aircraft to various communities across Canada, prompted the museum to extend it to 2012.
Laviolette said the display would be “great for the older veterans“ in the area.
He said the planes would be returning to Gatineau, via St. Stephen, after participating in a large air show at Stanley, N.S. Laviolette expects all four planes in the program to land at the airport – two biplanes, a deHavilland Tiger Moth and a Fleet Finch II as well as a Fairchild Cornell MK II and a Harvard IV.
There will be no charge for admission to the airport grounds to see the planes, but there will be a charge for anyone wishing to take flight in one of them.
