The Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome is a living museum in

Rhinebeck, New York Rhinebeck is a village in the town of Rhinebeck in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 2,657 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie– Newburgh– Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well ...

. It owns many examples of airworthy

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or by using the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in ...

of the Pioneer Era,

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and the Golden Age of Aviation between the World Wars, and multiple examples of roadworthy

antique An antique ( la, antiquus; 'old', 'ancient') is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely ...

automobiles A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded ...

History

The

aerodrome An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publi ...

was the creation of Cole Palen, who was partially inspired by the

Shuttleworth Collection The Shuttleworth Collection is a working aeronautical and automotive collection located at the Old Warden Aerodrome, Old Warden in Bedfordshire, England. It is the oldest in the world and one of the most prestigious, due to the variety of old ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. He regularly flew many of the aircraft during weekend airshows as his alter-ego, "The Black Baron of Rhinebeck" (loosely based on the

Red Baron Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

). These airshows still continue mid-June through mid-October, and

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a ...

rides are available before and after the shows. The simple early shows led to a philosophy of not only showing the aircraft in their natural environment, but also providing a fun and entertaining day out for the whole family. From this the series of weekend air shows that the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome featured — still running to this day — was to become famous for what was developed. This included a zany melodrama, inspired by the storylines of

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

melodrama A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exce ...

s of the past, featuring Palen-created characters such as the daring Sir Percy Goodfellow doing battle with the evil Black Baron of Rhinebeck for the hand of the lovely Trudy Truelove. Several associated antique/vintage auto club and vintage aircraft "type specific" events occur through the Aerodrome's event schedule, which has also included radio control scale aircraft "

fly-in A fly-in is a pre-arranged gathering of aircraft, pilots and passengers for recreational and social purposes. Fly-ins may be formally or informally organised, members of the public may or may not be invited, the gathering may be at an airport ...

" low-pressure events, for flying scale models of aircraft of the 1903-1939 era that the museum's own full scale aircraft collection covers. These events have been ongoing ever since the Aerodrome's opening year in 1966, with at least one aeromodeling event each year occurring over the early September weekend following the United States'

Labor Day Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...

holiday, in co-operation with a local

AMA Ama or AMA may refer to: Ama Languages * Ama language (New Guinea) * Ama language (Sudan) People * Ama (Ama Kōhei), former ring name for sumo wrestler Harumafuji Kōhei * Mary Ama, a New Zealand artist * Shola Ama, a British singer * Ām ...

-chartered RC model aircraft club, with entrants regularly coming from places as distant as Canada and Florida. The museum's gift shop and model collection were destroyed in a fire on 20 August 2015.

Aircraft

Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome features numerous aircraft ranging from Wright-era reconstructions to biplanes and monoplanes of the 1930s. Among Palen's earliest additions to the museum in the mid-1960s was a Fokker Triplane reproduction, powered with a vintage Le Rhône 9J 110 hp rotary engine. It was built by Cole Palen for flight in his weekend airshows as early as 1967 and actively flown (mostly by Cole Palen) within the weekend airshows at Old Rhinebeck until the late 1980s. This aircraft, and a pair of Dr.I reproductions, each powered by radial engines, were flown for nearly two decades by Palen. Both Cole's first rotary-engined reproduction, and the second of the stationary radial-powered reproductions, are now on static display. One of these is on loan at the New England Air Museum with the Le Rhône engine. ORA's Sopwith Dolphin in flight

The Allied opponent for Palen's Triplane in the early years was mostly provided by a

Sopwith Pup The Sopwith Pup is a British single-seater biplane fighter aircraft built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It entered service with the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps in the autumn of 1916. With pleasant flying characte ...

. It was begun in May 1964 and first flown three years later (May 1967) by his friend, Richard King, considered the co-founder of Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome with Palen, who flew his authentic 80-hp Le Rhône 9C-powered Pup reproduction in Old Rhinebeck's weekend airshows for many years, finally retiring the aircraft in the 1980s from active flying at Old Rhinebeck. King eventually sold the aircraft in 1992 to the Owls Head Transportation Museum in Maine, where it is still occasionally flown in their own flight demonstrations. In 1971 a replica was produced of the 1910 Short S.29 using a 60 hp ENV V-8 engine. An accurate

Sopwith Dolphin The Sopwith 5F.1 Dolphin was a British fighter aircraft manufactured by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It was used by the Royal Flying Corps and its successor, the Royal Air Force, during the First World War. The Dolphin entered service on t ...

reproduction was built by Palen, the first known airworthy reproduction of the Dolphin ever known to have been attempted. Powered by a vintage direct-drive Hispano-Suiza V-8 engine, this aircraft regularly flew at Palen's weekend air shows from 1980 onward. In September 1990, the aircraft's engine suffered a fuel pump failure, resulting in a crash landing into the trees surrounding the Old Rhinebeck museum's airstrip, with little damage to the reproduction Dolphin's airframe and no injuries to the pilot. The aircraft never directly struck the ground in the crash, and largely remained suspended in the tree canopy after the accident. The Dolphin was placed on static display until November 2007, when Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome began restoring it to flying condition. When completed, the aircraft will once again be painted in the markings of No. 19 Squadron. Another German aircraft in the collection is an

Albatros D.V The Albatros D.V is a fighter aircraft built by the Albatros Flugzeugwerke and used by the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' (Imperial German Air Service) during World War I. The D.V was the final development of the Albatros D.I family and the last Albatros ...

a reproduction, which in 2015 was finished in the colors of

Eduard Ritter von Schleich Eduard-Maria Joseph Ritter von Schleich (9 August 1888 – 15 November 1947), born Schleich, was a high scoring Kingdom of Bavaria, Bavarian flying ace of the World War I, First World War. He was credited with 35 aerial victories at the end of th ...

. It is powered by a modified six-cylinder, "uprighted"

Fairchild Ranger The Ranger Engines Division (also Ranger Aircraft Engine Division) of the Fairchild Engine & Aircraft Corporation was an American aircraft engine company. It was known as the Fairchild Engine Division after World War II. History The Fairchild ...

engine, fitted after the original liquid-cooled Mercedes D.II engine sheared its crankshaft. The collection also includes a restored 1909 Bleriot XI (including an original three cylinder Anzani radial engine) that is believed to be the second oldest airworthy aircraft in the world In 2016 an extremely accurate reproduction of the '' Spirit of St. Louis'' was added to the collection following a 20-year building process and first test flight in December 2015. Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome has had two airworthy Fokker D.VIII reproductions, each powered with a restored Gnome 9N ''Monosoupape'' rotary engine, both being built by Brian Coughlin of New York State — these have since been sold to Javier Arango in California for his private collection of reproduction WW I aircraft, and to Kermit Weeks' Fantasy of Flight living aviation museum in Florida. One of the Coughlin DVIII Fokkers returned to the Aerodrome in 2016.

Fatal accident

At Rhinebeck, New York on August 17, 2008, around 4 p.m. during the performance of a simulated dogfight at the

, Vincent Nasta of Wading River, New York died of injuries sustained when his plane crashed in to a heavily wooded area 1000 feet from the runway and performance area. The aircraft being used was part of the aerodrome's

collection and was reported to be a reproduction French

Nieuport Nieuport, later Nieuport-Delage, was a French aeroplane company that primarily built racing aircraft before World War I and fighter aircraft during World War I and between the wars. History Beginnings Originally formed as Nieuport-Duplex in ...

24, obtained from a New Zealand facility. It was the first fatality during an airshow at the facility.Marano, Greg and Christine Pizzuti
"Pilot in fatal crash identified, ."
''Poughkeepsie Journal'', August 18, 2008.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* King, Richard. "Pushing My Luck (One Time Too Often)". ''The Skies Over Rhinebeck: A Pilot's Story''. Bloomington, Minnesota: Jostens, 1997. .

External links

Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome website

Website dedicated to Cole Palen, founder of ORA
Photos of the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome Museum and World War I era airshow in Rhinebeck, New York
Photos of the Aerodrome Collection

Photographs of Cole Palen's Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome

Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome: Museum Collection & Air Show Guide – Issuu
{{authority control Aerospace museums in New York (state) Airports for antique aircraft Automobile museums in New York (state) Aviation in New York (state) Museums in Dutchess County, New York Red Hook, New York Transportation buildings and structures in Dutchess County, New York World War I museums in the United States