Windsor skies welcome Vimy Flight: Birth of a Nation Tour

First World War fighter plane replicas will take tothe skies above Windsor this weekend as Canadian military pilots demonstrate the role of aircraft in the Battle of Vimy Ridge.

• 100 years later: Leaders pay homage to fallen soldiers at Vimy Ridge

The show is part of the Vimy Flight: Birth of a Nation Tour, which will touch down in Windsor for performances on Saturday and Sunday.

VimyFlight commemorates the100-year anniversary of the battle andcelebrates Canada's 150th birthday.

The tour put on by the Canadian Historical Aircraft Association comes a few months after the pilots executed a commemorative biplane fly-by over the Vimy Ridge Memorial in France.

Team leader AlanSnowie, a retired Canadian Navy and commercial pilot,said he was surprised by how deeply theVimy fly-by moved him.

"Much to my surprise, flying alone over the Ridge I was quite overtaken," he said. "We had been planning this for years and to suddenly look down and see that magnificent monument just a few hundred feet below brings it all home."

Spectators can meet the pilots and watch the flight demonstration during an open house at Windsor Airport between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.