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Two World War 1 replica aircraft on display at Classic Flyers this week are a flying billboard for the approaching Classics of the Sky Tauranga City Air Show.

The aircraft - a Fokker Tri-plane and a Fokker D-VII (D7) – touched down in Tauranga at the weekend and will be on display right through until next weekend's show, which acknowledges the centennial of WWI.

The Fokker D VII and Fokker Tri-plane over Tauranga skies at the weekend.

Situated in the main hanger, the century-old replicas are a key attraction to the Auckland Anniversary weekend event.

'They are here out front and centre in our main hanger for everybody to come and visit,” says Classic Flyers CEO Andrew Gormlie.

'Buy the airshow ticket and come and have a look at these two Germans, because they are really nice. Get up close have a look around, it's like looking at a very nice vintage car, except they are military machines 100-years-old.”

The aircraft arrived in Tauranga about 5pm Saturday after flying the last leg of the delivery trip from Centennial Park Taupo.

'They would have been doing about 120-130km/h,” says Andrew.

'If you had a fast car you would have beat them.”

Flying from Masterton in one day was a mission, requiring a planned series of ‘hops' from airfield to airfield – and good weather, says Andrew.

The replica aircraft carry fuel for only about an hour's flying, plus there is the need to frequently check the aircraft on the ground to make sure they are okay.

'They are not the easiest things to fly,” says Andrew.

'They have no radios or transponders, which are radar devices. It's transponder mandatory airspace at Tauranga so we had to get them in with care.”

A Cessna 180 chase plane accompanied the two WWI aircraft with the ability to transmit the flight's location to air traffic controllers.

'He wouldn't be staggering along with them,” says Andrew.

'They would average as best they can and he would throttle back so he didn't leave them too far behind and then hold at various positions waiting for them to catch up.”

The Fokker Tri-plane is the older of the two aircraft, making an appearance in 1917 as a German response to the highly successful British Sopwith tri-plane.

The Fokker Tri-plane gained notoriety as the aircraft of Baron Manfred von Richthofen's Flying Circus, though the Red Baron was already a fighter ace, killing his first 59 Royal Flying Corps pilots in other aircraft.

The Fokker D-VII appeared in 1918 with the prototype tested by the Baron and went into production on his recommendation. Regarded as the finest fighter of the war the D-VII arrived too late to affect the outcome.

In August 1918, Fokker D-VII's destroyed 565 Allied aircraft, making the D-VII one of the most feared aircraft of the war. By the time WWI ended in November 1918, more than 1700 D-VIIs were built.

The two Fokkers are owned by The Vintage Aviator Ltd, based at Hood Aerodrome Masterton.

'This is the furthest north these aircraft have ever been,” says Andrew. 'We are really pleased to see them.”