In France, commemorations of the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One provide many events with a central theme. This is especially true of the annual Meeting Aérien at La Ferté Alais on the Pentecôte holiday weekend, where the original and exact reproduction Great War aircraft of the Memorial Flight Association will doubtless feature especially strongly – weather permitting – alongside replicas from other operators, among them the UK’s Great War Display Team. Another highlight at La Ferté should be the Aero Vintage Academy’s recently acquired Lockheed 12A, the first Electra Junior flown by photo-recce pioneer Sidney Cotton on clandestine photographic missions during 1939-40. A few weeks later there’s a very welcome return for the Rassemblement International d’Hydravions at Biscarrosse, very much the cradle of French water-borne aviation, which will be the year’s biggest gathering of floatplanes and seaplanes.
Elsewhere, the Finnish Air Force – which is actually just a few weeks older than the RAF – marks its 100th anniversary with a large-scale airshow at Tikkakoski, and Czech military aviation’s centenary is set to be a focus at the NATO Days and Czech Air Force Days at Ostrava. Again, the…
