On Thursday, a pair of biplanes could be seen flying over Langley’s Milner neighbourhood, moving slowly against the wind.
On Friday morning, volunteers broke down those planes in preparation for shipping them to France to celebrate a historic Canadian battle.
“The schedule got advanced,” said Dave Arnold, with the Canadian Museum of Flight’s board.
Two replica Sopwith pups and a replica S.E.5a, all Allied scout aircraft used on the Western Front, will take part in ceremonies marking the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, on April 9.
At Vimy Ridge, the four divisions of the Canadian Corps fought together for the first time. Sopwiths like the Pups flew overhead with the Royal Flying Corps, many with Canadian pilots.
The project of building the two replica Sopwith Pups has consumed thousands of hours by local volunteers at the Canadian Museum of Flight, and has run into numerous setbacks.
In January, they found out that the original engines ordered overheated and were internally flawed.
Pilot Allan Snowie found that out the hard way – his Sopwith lost power on its Jan. 12 test flight. Snowie managed to get the engine started again after a brief glide, but two replacement engines had to be ordered.
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Dave Arnold of the Museum of Flight’s board said that has put a crimp into plans to fly the two Sopwith Pups over Vimy Ridge this April.
One of the planes has just 10 hours of flight time, the other zero.
That means only the S.E.5a will fly in France, and the Sopwith Pups will be static displays. The two Pups just don’t have enough flight time to satisfy safety requirements.
“That’s just one part of our whole journey,” Arnold said.
While the Pups won’t fly in France, they will be seen in the skies over Canada.
When they return to Nova Scotia, the plan is to fly them back, possibly all the way to Langley.
It won’t be a fast trip.
“At 75 miles an hour, it takes a while,” Arnold said.
The route may be broken up by sections of ground transport as well.
By Saturday, March 11 the biplanes were to be packaged up on trucks and ready to go. They’ll be flown to France and arrive on March 16, accompanied by three pilots and a maintenance mechanic, to be reassembled there.
