Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome

I really enjoy this web page with all of its fascinating information and input from you folks who frequent its forum. I've always been a little surprised, though, that nobody has said very much about the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome. I've made two trips out there - one this past weekend and one in June. I strongly suggest you visit this wonderful place and support it.

The Old Rhinebeck is located in the Village of Rhinebeck, New York, approximately 90 miles north of New York City, near the Hudson river. The Old Rhinebeck was started in the 1950's by a man named Cole Palen who spent his life savings on six WWI aircraft purchased from Roosevelt Field. Palen also managed to buy a farm in Rhinebeck and carve out a 1,500 foot runway. Palen started restoring his treasures and flying them. Folks started coming around to help out or watch the planes fly. This evolved into weekly airshows which are held each Saturday and Sunday from June through October.

This place truly is magical. You feel that you have stepped back in time. There are many aircraft from the early 1900's pioneer days through the era of the barnstormer. I don't know of anywhere else you can spend a Sunday afternoon watching a Nieuport 11, an Avro 504K, a Sopwith Camel, and Fokker Dr 1, DVII and DVIII take to the skys. The blipping rotaries rattle on, the blue exhaust fills the sky and the burnt castor oil...well, isn't so strong that it causes a flood to the port-o-lets!

Although the airframes on the current show aircraft are mostly replicas, the powerplants are all originals (except the Dr1). The planes are constructed as they were way back when, and the pilots face the same dangers (except bullets!). This place is delightful and should be experienced by all of us. Granted, the WWI airshow may not be historically accurate (Sir Percy Goodfellow vs. the evil Black Baron of Rhinebeck for the affection of Trudy Truelove!), but the point of the show is fun, not carnage, and it's great to see these planes fly and to learn about them.

If anyone wants more information, I suggest the Old Rhinebeck's web site-www.oldrhinebeck.org. The Old Rhinebeck offers memberships at a reasonable price which I wholeheartedly recommend. It's a terrific feeling to know that you're helping these folks (who don't have the funds of a Smithsonian) to keep 'em flying!

was there last saturday but the airshow was washed out , however there was noone there so i got to go over the camel with a fine tooth comb and at my leisure , i shot about 3 rolls of film on the camel alone

cam

During my June visit, it rained terribly. However, It gave me a chance to meet the museum staff and volunteers. They're really a nice bunch. The chief pilot, Gene Demarco, was nice enough to let me climb into the cockpit of the Camel. That was quite a thrill!

>>>he chief pilot, Gene Demarco, was nice enough to let me climb into the cockpit of the Camel.<<

u lucky bastard , i hung around that plane going over it inch by inch for about an hour.

cam

I fully agree that the Aerodrome is a must visit for the enthusiast. Growing up in Dutchess Co. my Dad was a sometime volunteer helping Palen in the early days of the Aerodrome. I do remember Dad working on the French tank not too long after it arrived--a dim and perhaps not too acurate memory. Between 62 and 66 we lived in Rhinebeck in a beautiful river-side house. But the story Dad told over the years, with the inevitable embellishements, was that at the age of one or two, Dad put me in a Piper Cub for a ride. After a while Mom walked over, asking to my whereabouts, to which my Dad pointed at the plane in the sky, upon which Mom promptly fainted to the ground. Odd humor perhaps but my interest in aviation, especially that of the Great War has been enduring. My last visit was about four years ago and I can still smell the castor oil. I am personally grateful to the Palens for keeping their dream alive, and espeically for helping one tyke's imagination soar for a lifetime.