Rhinebeck Museum trouble

[Bitz Dr1]

Also, understand that this is a deeply personal issue for me, as my Father's legacy was much like Mr Palen's, and history has shown that without sharp teeth, countless aircraft will end up being sold off to private collectors, or turned into Lawnmowers. If one was to look into it,
Lynn Garrison (my Father) and Cole Palen were on the same path, but focused on different eras. Between their two collections- History of prop flight was totally covered.

The photos there on his user profile here (Blue Max Aviation DR1) show many WWII aircraft that made up a portion of the collection he gathered in the hopes that the people of Calgary would have a museum there to be proud of. The Canadian gov didn't even save any of the WWII birds themselves, and those that comprised my Father's collection were the only examples saved from the scrappers. Now the aircraft in our Family collection, intended to be housed and displayed in Calgary, have mostly been transferred to private owners or crashed. Those that are still there in Calgary are in a sorry state of condition, and there is a similarity in the direction the ORA is heading. Many of the Canadian planes have since been crashed, sold, or neglected to dysfunction, although Kermit Weeks will surely be able to get our Lancaster #2 flying. There were multiple Hurricanes, two Lancaster, two Mosquito, P-51, F-86 Sabre, T-33, Spitfire, Skyraider, Corsair (prop powered) and many many others, as well as the Dr1 that was recently recovered, thanks to the honest folks at FLABOB airfield. That is one down, but why wait 'till they are all stuffed, or sold off- Thus my passion on this topic, and voiciferous responses on this thread. Imagine the feeling of that being your legacy, and seeing it all fall away into other's hands by the acts of corrupt board members,or become a sad moment in history when wrecked by lawyers that saw a chance to steal a few when nobody was looking (Corsair).

Either way, I will keep my hands out of the process. I may still rant here, so if I upset anyone, my apologies. I mean no disrespect, but this situation hits pretty close to home.

Plus, I am Irish, and as another user on this thread stated earlier, we sometimes get a wee bit wound up.

[Bitz Dr1]

Originally Posted by womenfly2

B Dr.1,

I would be careful here, you made a lot of assumptions about the reporter. This could backfire.

Also, since this is based on a pending allegation with the state of NY. You may want to run your e-mail by the people filing such a claim for approval.

Did they authorize anyone to reply?

Just a thought here. Unless you are one of the partitioner's.

I make very few assumptions, if ever, and to be quite frank- I speak only for the aircraft, not any humans.

I am neither a partitioner, nor a petitioner, to clarify your last entry.

[Javro504k]

2009 Business Excellence Award winners named | poughkeepsiejournal.com | Poughkeepsie Journal

[AAC Cadet Leader]

does anyone know if the ORA and RAM board meetings are publicly posted anywhere? and when the next board meetings are?

Originally Posted by AAC Cadet Leader

does anyone know if the ORA and RAM board meetings are publicly posted anywhere? and when the next board meetings are?

You certainly won't find them on the ORA website. It seems for the most part to be non-functioning; links that don't do anything are common.

[Albrecht]

duplicate post

[Albrecht]

An invitation to join Us...

Preserving aviation's past for future generations was Cole Palen's dream. He wanted to ensure continuation of that dream so that people may enjoy and be inspired by the firsthand experience of early aviation history. The change from a private corporation to a non-profit educational institution presents many new opportunities and challenges for us. In order for the Rhinebeck Aerodrome Museum to live up to Cole's dreams, we need to do much more. Cole himself recognized this when he began the new Museum building. But this building is not yet complete. Permanent exhibits must now be designed and constructed. We must improve our efforts to provide the proper environment and security for the display and storage of our vast collection of historic artifacts and printed materials. Special educational programs and publications should be produced. Additional staff will be needed to carry out these new responsibilities, and volunteers will become increasingly important to museum operations.

Cole's legacy is rich in history, imagination, and dedication; but he was never a wealthy man. In order to begin to fund all these new initiatives, the Rhinebeck Aerodrome Museum needs the support of many people in the flying, historical, and education communities, both locally and nationwide. If you believe that what the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome has done is important, and if you share Cole's dedication to "keep 'em flying!", then I urge you to take advantage of the charter membership opportunity and send in your tax-deductible contribution.

Rita Palen, President


I found this letter from Rita on one of the previous versions of the ORA website. Perhaps it will provide those currently at ORA with some insight into what it is supposed to be all about.

They have recently added the collection to the ORA website. I noticed that they still list and show a photo of the Nieuport 24. Maybe this is a simple oversight, but it's a bit disrespectful to the poor lad that went west in the machine a couple of seasons ago. Couldn't hurt for them to have a little "In Memory of...." somewhere on the website either. I seem to recall Cole put a display case together in the memory of Dave Fox up in one of the museum buildings. Has anyone seen anything dedicated to the Nieuport 24 chap up there?

[Bitz Dr1]

Zilch visible. It seems they want to forget the "Liabilities" there. Ineptitude rules the show, and seemingly, respect for the fallen is not as important as covering up their crashes.

R.I.P.

[womenfly2]

No disrespect for Vincent the pilot of the 24. Wow, but you guy's sure do just sit around and think things up to keep the pot boiling.
What a web we weave.

If all this effort in this thread was directed in helping ORA be better, then it would be in a short amount of time. Maybe contact them, talk to them, write to them, go an request to sit in on a BOD or BOT meeting. Its your right to under the 501c3 charter.

Cheers.

[Bitz Dr1]

On my visit to the ORA, I looked for specific things. A memorial was not at all visible.

It positively should be.

It was not.