They came out to pay their respects and to get to close to a piece of Canadian history Monday morning at the Guelph Airpark.
Several hundred people turned out to take in the Vimy Flight event, replica World War 1 Nieuport fighter planes that are touring the country in recognition and honour of the 100th anniversary of Canada's role in the Battle of Vimy Ridge.
Cars were two rows deep along Airpark Drive and even on both sides of the shoulder of Highway 7.
"It's a wonderful turnout and great to see that people are interested in this, everywhere we've been has been great," said Dave Wilson, one of the pilots flying the replica planes, which are 7/8th the scale of the actual Nieuports.
Wilson, a former member of the RCAF's Snowbird aerobatics team, spent most of his RCAF career flying fighter jets but has flown a wide variety of aircraft over the years. The Nieuports were his first go at a biplane.
"Flying is flying, the scenery doesn't change," Wilson said. "This plane is pretty slow and they are very sensitive. Lots of bumps in the air. They're not an easy airplane to fly."
Wilson said it is amazing that many of the fighter pilots of the day only had a dozen or so hours of flying time under their belt before they were sent off to war.
"It makes you appreciate how difficult it must have been for them," he said.
Only two of the four planes were in Guelph Monday, the other two grounded by mechanical issues.
People posed for pictures, marvelled at the small size of the cockpit and chatted with the pilots about the plane after the official ceremonies were concluded.
The planes were on display to the public throughout Monday. On Tuesday they will do a fly-over at the Remember Flanders statue at Guelph Civic Museum.
The Vimy Flight was the brainchild of a group of retired Royal Canadian Air Force pilots who helped rebuild the planes at their Langley, B.C., base.
They took part in the anniversary events in France, flying over the Vimy Memorial earlier this year. That's where Guelph residents and pilots Jeff Fry and Steve Zago ran into the group.
One of the pilots, Allan Snowie, used to live in Guelph, and Fry was able to convince him to make Guelph one of the stops on the Vimy Flight tour making its way across the country.
Fry made reference to how lucky the city is to have an asset like the Guelph Airpark and the dedicated group there that restores and flies vintage airplanes.
"This year we recognize the 100th anniversary of Vimy Ridge ... for many Canadians it was the birth of a nation," Fry said. "Many Canadians served with distinction, conducting air-to-air combat against the enemy and supporting ground operations."
Fry said Canadian pilots were "the best of the best" with four of the top five allied top scoring fighter pilots of World War I being Canadian. He mentioned John Hales of Guelph, a fighter pilot who had five aerial victories before being killed in action.
Snowie said the original plan was to have 18-year-old pilots fly the planes, as that's how old many of the pilots were in World War I, but "insurance" issues but an end to that idea and the veteran pilots were honoured to do the flying.
"I'm proud that Guelph can take part in this anniversary," Mayor Cam Guthrie said. "What an acknowledgement to not only fly here today, but to take the time to actually fly over his house and to acknowledge his legacy that is not only important to Guelph but to the rest of the world."
Guthrie said he finds it "incredible" at times that "we lack that sense of history when it comes to our wars and making sure that next generation remembers."
Events like the Vimy Flight, he said, allow people to touch history in Guelph and remember what happened 100 years ago.