Cole Palen's Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome

[Harris Hawk]

That is the Hortman Triplane, built by Norman Hortman on Long Island. Cole bought that one from Hortman's widow, (he was killed flying another plan he had built, no further comments needed here!) and wanted to install a rotary engine. The one Cole built was taking a beating flying and he thought this would be the replacement. It was originally equiped with a radial, and Cole thought the conversion to a rotary would be quick and easy. It wasn't. He soon found that there was not enough room for the carb, and the project became more than he was willing to do. Enter the Winter triplane, aka the one Heater crash. Around 1988 or 89, New England Air Museum took the plane on loan, and I think it's still there. Someone did some work on it there, it looks a bit less tattered than the above photo shows. It remains "lightly built" and I would think Cole's decision not to fly it was a wise one. Hortman did fly it once with the radial engine, Cole said, but he collapsed the gear on landing. Hortman re-built the gear, but parked it and went on to his next, and presumably last, project.

[AAC Cadet Leader]

SteveS Posted: May 1 2004, 03:23 AM

Also notice some of the Lou Mallard paintings hanging in the background. truly magnificent. I was always awed at this mans work.

I agree. Where's Lou Mallard now? How many of the huge paintings that are hanging in the ORA hangars are his? Who are some of the other artists?

[SteveS]

Originally posted by Harris Hawk@May 1 2004, 08:21 AM
[b]That is the Hortman Triplane, built by Norman Hortman on Long Island.

Once again, thanks for the info. So many faces and planes have come and gone over the years, its nice to get the stories behind all the photos. My family spent many a summer vacation upstate NY always visiting Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome. You will never know how envious I was at all you volunteers and workers. At the age of 45 years old I still get "giddy" everytime I turn onto Stone Church Road. It feels like I'm coming home after being away for a year. With this I just want to again say THANK YOU to Cole Palen and all those who support him over the years.

Also thanks to AAC Cadet Leader for starting this thread and giving us the chance to share experiences and photos that would otherwise set on shelves or in drawers and never maybe see again the light of day.

Salute,
Steve

[SteveS]

Since its a rainy Sunday here in NY I thought I'd share some photos from a rainy Sunday in May 1973. The best thing (if there is one) about being rained out was it almost insured that we would return later in the season.

Salute,
Steve

Here is the Sopwith Snipe up in the WW1 museum hanger on the hill

[SteveS]

Here is Cole's Nieuport N28. (1973)

[SteveS]

Cole's Fokker triplane out on the wet flightline. (1973)

[SteveS]

Ural motorcycle with sidecar just before I was asked if I wanted to go for a ride up and down the field. I can still remember how wet the seat was. Did I care.....Nah! (1973)

[Jon18]

Cole Palen, a great man. 1987

[AAC Cadet Leader]

Steve, your welcome, and thank you and everyone for your fine contributions. But the real thanks should go to our webmaster who provides all of us the oppurtunity to meet here and share our memories!

For anyone out there who needs a little help with how to get your pictures from your scanner to the web threads, this is the method I've recently learned:

First, open a free account with photobucket.com to store your photos online and have the ability to assign URL addresses to each of the photos. Then, each time:

1. Scan photo and save in jpeg format to desktop, naming it with letters only, no numbers or punctuation marks.

2. Go into your photobucket.com album and click "browse."

3. Click on the right jpeg title on your desktop and click "open."

4. Click "submit" photo (takes @ 20 seconds to transfer photo into album).

5. copy [IMG] address of photo (3rd one down).

6. In reply section of forum post, paste [IMG] address.

Voila!

[SteveS]

Here is Cole Palen narrowly escaping during a bomb run. (1986)