The Royal Australian Air Force's centenary will be observed in Albury by a man who has witnessed nearly all of its achievements.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
RAAF Korean veteran Charlie Boase will cut the cake at an anniversary event put on by the Albury-Wodonga branch of the Air Force Association.
"I've had 91 of those 100 years," Mr Boase said.
"When I joined up in 1950, the airplanes that were around then were unsophisticated - if I got inside of one now, I wouldn't know what to do.
"The Hercules came in about two years before I got out, and before that we were training on Tiger Moths.
"They were the modern planes then."
A fly-over will be done on Wednesday by a No. 76 Squadron Winjeel, a training plane that Mr Boase knew well, as a mechanic and driver.
"They got rid of the Tiger Moth and the Wirraway and replaced it with the Winjeel," he said.
"I joined the Air Force to learnt to fly, they said I wouldn't make pilot.
"They said you'll be sent off as a navigator, and I did 12 months in a navigator's course and didn't like it so I went back to truck-driving."
Although Mr Boase was badly injured when a plane he was working on exploded in 1954, the RAAF gave him much.
"Aside from all of that ... there was the mateship, and I met my wife there," he said.
RAAF members and cadets will be invited to Wednesday morning's centenary.
It was organised by the Air Force Association Albury-Wodonga branch president Grahame Carroll.
"We wanted to reflect on the very start of the first day 100 years ago, with the raising of the ensign at sunrise," he said.
"Services like RAAF don't chalk up 100 years all that often and there are a lot of other air forces around the world that are much younger than ours."
Mr Carroll said Australian military aviation commenced not long before the start of World War I with the Australian Flying Corps.
The first aircraft flew from Point Cook in 1914 and the AFC conducted operations as part of the Australian Imperial Force in the Middle East and Europe.
"The RAAF was formed out of the Australian Flying Corps, part of the Australian Army at the time," he said.
IN OTHER NEWS:
"After the first World War, and as Airforce capabilities and equipment increased, and it was decided this was a new domain we were fighting in.
"An argument was put there needed to be a separate service to cover that."
Although Wednesday morning's centenary event is not open to the general public, residents can expect to see the Winjeel in the sky around 7.40am, weather permitting.