Cole Palen's Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome - Page 54

CodyPaul · 23 October 2004, 12:20 PM

[quote=Jim Bruton
honestly, for $200,000, i'll bet we could build a pretty darn good looking reproduction.[/QUOTE]

Achim's not going to be working on those D.VII's forever. I bet we could convince to take on a project for us. Tell him its a study in the differences between state of the art in Germany and in America.

tazbat · 23 October 2004, 10:17 PM

Greetings! It has been a busy night. I was doing a little research on the Jenny that Charles Lindbergh bought in Americus, Georgia at the Army's post WWI auction. He bought the plane for $500.00, quite the sum back in 1922 (?). It was a JN-4D with the 90 hp. OX-5 engine. If my sources are correct, that plane was last known to reside in Connecticut, privately owned. It was verified to be Lindy's Jenny by the repairs he made to one of the lower wings. He ended up in a ditch which broke the wing spar, so he made the repairs himself, in the field. After repairing and before closing the fabric, he initialed the replacement wood with a pocket knife.

Then I came across another picture of the ORA tripe that I thought would look nice on the internet. So, click on the smiley icon to see it.

click me!

While I was researching the Jenny info above, I discovered, inside the front cover (of Lindbergh's "WE"), a folded newspaper article about ORA's Spirit of St. Louis project and the man building it, Ken Cassen. Wow! What a great little piece of hidden treasure. So, here it is for everyone who loves ORA and knew the man, Ken Cassen.

Click on the link to read it. Spirit Article

Ken, I raise my glass to you and drink to the day you will return to the Aerodrome!

Salute!

tazbat · 25 October 2004, 06:02 AM

I noticed the layout error for the Spirit article noted in the above post. It will be corrected this evening.

Salute!

Curtiss Jenny · 25 October 2004, 07:31 AM

Lindbergh's Jenny resides at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Long Island. I believe that it had a repair done to one of the wings that verified it as his. All planes at the Cradle are static display only. There are only about 6 flying Curtiss Jennies. A fun book to read of the hisroy and folklore is "Jenny was no Lady," which you might be able to get a copy through a used book source, such as AbeBooks.com

tazbat · 25 October 2004, 07:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Curtiss Jenny

Lindbergh's Jenny resides at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Long Island. I believe that it had a repair done to one of the wings that verified it as his. All planes at the Cradle are static display only. There are only about 6 flying Curtiss Jennies. A fun book to read of the hisroy and folklore is "Jenny was no Lady," which you might be able to get a copy through a used book source, such as AbeBooks.com

Curtiss Jenny
Thanks for the update on the Lindbergh Jenny's residence. The one I posted was as of a few years ago.

joegertler · 25 October 2004, 07:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tazbat

I was doing a little research on the Jenny that Charles Lindbergh bought in Americus, Georgia at the Army's post WWI auction. It was a JN-4D with the 90 hp. OX-5 engine. If my sources are correct, that plane was last known to reside in Connecticut, privately owned.

I think the Jenny you mention was bought by George Dade for the Cradle of Aviation Musuem, Long Island, New York,many years ago, and that George headed the volunteer restoration team. The volunteers also built an exact replica. There are numerous articles out there showing them making all the parts for the replcia, and including original instruments and fittings they were able to find.
The museum has the full history of the Jenny and Lindbergh's ownership.

tazbat · 27 October 2004, 09:19 PM

Here is a pic of Ken Cassen coming in through the trees with the gorgeous D-25. As with most of the large wing biplanes, it could practically float down on the air for gentle a landing. Click on the smiley icon for the picture.

click me

Salute!

The Red Sox win the World Series! Hooray!

WWIModelGuy · 28 October 2004, 04:40 PM

You gentlemen are correct in that this aircraft was purchased by George Dade ( a great man ) and now resides restored at the Cradle of Aviation Museum. I had the pleasure of being the project's "Chief Engineer" from its beginning in 1973 through its culmination for the bicentennial in 1976. There was very little left of CAL's original aircraft but we utilized whatever we could and fabricated new when necessary. The project's aim was to restore it to flyable condition even though the entire team knew this was impossible. A beautiful restoration was performed on the OX-5 which we did run-up outside of the aircraft for fear of fire. As mentioned, we also did build a new replica fuselage and empenage, left in bare bones to show construction technology of the day. Lindbergh personally verified the authenticity on the aircraft by identifying the initials he carved in the wing spar. This was one of the most satisfying projects of my life, honoring one of the great heros of aviation. Aviation history fans should never forget this great contribution of George Dade. He and this project were the driving force behind the creation of the great Cradle of Aviation Museum that exists today at Mitchel Field on Long Island.

AAC Cadet Leader · 28 October 2004, 09:34 PM

Okay, someone please refresh or correct my short memory. It was at Mitchell Field on Long Island that Cole Palen bought his first six aeroplanes back in the 1950's, yes?

tazbat · 28 October 2004, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AAC Cadet Leader

Okay, someone please refresh or correct my short memory. It was at Mitchell Field on Long Island that Cole Palen bought his first six aeroplanes back in the 1950's, yes?

I have been wrong many times before, but I thought it was Roosevelt Field. Can anyone confirm?

Salute!