Cole Palen's Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome

[EricGoedkoop]

Well, curl my hair and call me Denise.

[JonathanS]

I don't know about the rest of you, but i'm still dreaming about this.

I can put in a full 1,234.60 CAD (that would be a full share U.S.) by summer

[AAC Cadet Leader]

Jim, Eric, timjnf, Johnathan, Denise and others,
Let's keep barnstorming, I mean brainstorming on this dream and PM each other with our continued ideas -you just never know what might happen. This has been a lot of fun! I like to think that Cole and Rita were watching us from above, cheering us on.

Alright, now for another attempt at transitioning back to Cole Palen's Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome photos and memories... Did anyone notice the two photo links I posted at the start of all this Jenny frenzy? They just happen to be amongst my most prized possessions. The first verse of that poem is about my Jenny ride with Cole Palen...


... anyone wanna hear more?

[Jim Bruton]

...no problem Tazbat! it was fun and you know what, there just be one out there with all of our names on it. if no one minds too much, if i see another old aircraft out there, i'll pop it in here again- i guess we'll be a bit wiser.

bottom line- it wasn't a distraction. these were exactly the kind of postings Cole Palen himself might have engaged in, right?

The Spirit Lives On!



AAC Cadet Leader Yes! More!

[tazbat]

It is early and I have to go to sleep. There's lots to do today. No rest for the wicked, so it's said.
Just to help get things back on track here is another pic. Just click on the happy face to see it.

It is a picture of the Bleriot, piloted by Dan Taylor. After landing at the left (East?) end of the runway, the left wheel collapsed. Everybody put there back into it and walked the Bleriot out of the way. Even the Black Baron and his evil hoardes helped out. I don't know who the lady is but it's not Trudy Truelove. I don't think it's Madame Fifi. Anyone know? Enjoy the pic.
click me! click me!

Salute!

No matter where you go, there you are! - Pig Killer

[AAC Cadet Leader]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...lentaxiing.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...wcolepalen.jpg

Diary entry, October 9, 1988, 6 p.m.
A poem of my (slightly embellished) memories of the ride I had this morning with Cole Palen at Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in his 1918 Curtiss Jenny.

Jenny Ride

Oh, for a ride in a Jenny,
An ancient old wonderful bird,

One that goes
POP! BANG! SPUTTER! WHIRRR!
and one more sound I've never
heard from a bird...
GLUG!

Two young men run by her side
taming and turning Jenny's wings,
and in their 1918 race,
guide her to her take-off place

In this beauty of a beast
I have doubts
as to whether she'll get us
off the ground

RELAX! she sneezes
from her Hispano Suiza,
Have faith!
We are Heaven bound!

The rocker arms chatter
They pound and they clatter
shouting warning to all
as we watch them scatter

"EVERYBODY ALL CLEAR!
GET OFF OF THE FIELD!
LOOK OUT, HERE I COME!
TO NO BEAST I'LL YIELD!"

Her exhaust pipes cough
a thick, white smoke,
I look back at the cloud
and I wonder,

Will she really
take to the air?
Will we reach the
Wild Blue Yonder?

I tighten my belt
and cross all my fingers
castor oil spots my goggles,
and its burnt smell lingers

Downfield we plunder,
the cylinders pound
a bystander yells,
"Get off of the ground!"

I raise up
as we pass over the leaves...

(Okay, so it's corny, a little sing-songy, and doesn't have a good ending, but were you there with us?)

[tazbat]

Originally Posted by AAC Cadet Leader

(Okay, so it's corny, a little sing-songy, and doesn't have a good ending, but were you there with us?)

Not bad. Not bad, at all. I can picture myself sitting in the front cockpit. The ending needs a little work, but you can fix that anytime. If anyone complains, you can ask them if they ever went up with Cole Palen.

So, Cadet Leader, do you propose we continue on with the mission. You know... The mission to buy the Jenny, of course. We will need some serious investors to land this one. $200 K is a lot of cash.

Consider this... the plane is selling at $200,000. So, apparently it is worth a lot more assembled and ready to fly (somhow we need to confirm its true value). If the unbelievable task of raising cash is accomplished, then at some point in time if the plane is sold, the profit is split evenly per share. The partners get back their intial investment plus a return. Who ever does the restoration would get say 5 shares for their labor. Share holders would split the cost, per share, for expenses. Any share holder still gets free rides, all others pay dearly (hey, there are expenses). The big problem is finding enough investors crazy enough to want to own a piece of a Jenny.

If this is a go we will need more ideas and fast. Someone is going to have to keep records of all the pledges.

Salute!

[EricGoedkoop]

Originally Posted by tazbat

So, Cadet Leader, do you propose we continue on with the mission. You know... The mission to buy the Jenny, of course. We will need some serious investors to land this one. $200 K is a lot of cash.

Consider this... the plane is selling at $200,000. So, apparently it is worth a lot more assembled and ready to fly (somhow we need to confirm its true value). If the unbelievable task of raising cash is accomplished, then at some point in time if the plane is sold, the profit is split evenly per share. The partners get back their intial investment plus a return. Who ever does the restoration would get say 5 shares for their labor. Share holders would split the cost, per share, for expenses. Any share holder still gets free rides, all others pay dearly (hey, there are expenses). The big problem is finding enough investors crazy enough to want to own a piece of a Jenny.

If this is a go we will need more ideas and fast. Someone is going to have to keep records of all the pledges.

This aeroplane has been up for sale repeatedly. At that price, it's unlikely that it's going anywhere real fast (unless somebody like Peter Jackson pops up) so we probably have time to get something worked out. The first step is to get somebody on board to restore it. It wouldn't bother me a bit to have a Jenny sitting in my in-law's basement - believe me - but the goal is to get her back in the air. I'd like to have that person look at it - if the seller (his name is Jeff Hall) is serious there shouldn't be a problem arranging an inspection - and work out an estimate of what restoration will cost, so we can have a total number to shoot for. Basically, we're looking a HUGE fund-raising campaign, and I don't know the best way to go about that given the number of contributors we'll need to raise that much cash. Are we looking at forming some sort of corporation that would "own" the plane? I don't know anything about FAA forms, but somehow I doubt they leave enough space under "owner" for 250 names . . . . .

Food for thought: I remember seeing an original airworthy Camel up for sale a while back. The asking price was $1 million.

[Jim Bruton]

...i would be real surprised to see this thing get sold (tho by some person- as you said - like Peter Jackson, who does have what looks like a barnd new LeRhone sitting in a crate in NZ) so one day reality will probably bring it back out of the straosphere.

honestly, for $200,000, i'll bet we could build a pretty darn good looking reproduction, or

we could invest a cumulative $200K in some other vintage aviation love of our collective hearts.

[AAC Cadet Leader]

Okay guys. I hereby bequeath a new thread to you to run with.

http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/sh...836#post179836