Cole Palen's Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome

Originally Posted by Paul914

Here are a couple of pictures I took a few years back. One is Cole making a pass in the F.E.8 and it looks like he is wearing the skull mask.

If I was to have seen Cole Palen and this plane, I believe it would have been my most favorite. Everytime I see it or read about it, I envision him flying out of the fog bank with the skull on the nose of the plane and his skull mask.

[tazbat]

Anthony Fokker was a very busy man during WW1. One of the last planes he did for the German war effort was the DVIII. It came into battle late in the War, only a few weeks before the end of the war. Initially introduced earlier in 1918, it was so fraught with problems of workmanship it was immediately taken out of service. After addressing the issues, it was once again returned to service. Although it was not nearly the fighter that the DVII was, it did earn a minor reputation of being fast and manueverable.

For one season, as far as I remember, this DVIII, built by Brian Coughlin and later sold, flew at the Aerodrome. It was a beautiful example of a rotary powered fighter aircraft. Brian's work was equisite on this plane. I wish I had more opportunities to photograph it. As it is, these are the only two pics I took of it flying.

Enjoy the pics by clicking on the smiley faces

click me! click me!

click me! click me!

Salute!

[tazbat]

Since my scanner needs replacing and I haven't decided what I want to replace it with, my digitized library selection for posting purposes has grown a little skimpy.

So, I have decided to start posting some edited photos of what I will eventually publish on my website Ancient Alley. The photos I have selected will be posted one at a time with accompanying text describing Ken Cassens work and the history of the plane.

This first image is of the front half of the fuselage frame with wheels. If you will notice the suspension hasn't been made yet and so solid tubes are in place of the shocks.They are behind the wheels and are the greenish vertical tubing.

Looking closely you can see the door frame which was oddly shaped because of the cross brace. There were windows on either side. You see the seat that Ken wove himself, detailed painstakingly down to the exact number of horizontal and vertical strips as had the original. Also in view is the trim control, wobble pump handle, throttle, and stick. The instrument panel is installed but you only see the right edge (full frontal to come later). In front of the panel is the huge bay that will house the main tank. The engine mounting ring hasn't even been built at this stage. Behind the seat is the wind driven generator for the earth inductor compass. There you can also see the rear surface control wires. A piece of Lexan is wire tied to the top of the fuselage to protect the cockpit from water during storage in the hangar.

The frame is made of 4130 chrome moly, cut and fitted then tig welded by Ken Cassen. Maybe nextime I will show you a picture of his precision welding. During storage in the hangar the steel must be frequently coated with oil to prevent surface rust from developing. Later the frame work will be painted.

Click the smiley to see the pic.

click me! click me!

Salute!

[AAC Cadet Leader]

tazbat,
Thanks for your descriptive narratives and button links to your photos! While the rest of us seem to be running low on photos to post, you are keeping things going. Much appreciated!

[tazbat]

There were a number of reasons Charles Lindbergh chose Ryan Airlines to build his Spirit of St. Louis. First, Ryan had built a bunch of M-1 and M-2 (Ryan's own designation) planes for airmail companies on the West Coast. As Charles was an airmail pilot himself, when he met other mail pilots he questioned them about their planes. Ryan's had a better reputation than the other manufacturers. So, after being refused by his first choice, Wright-Bellanca, he approached Ryan Airlines, of San Diego, with his plans to fly across the Atlantic to Paris. Could Claude Ryan, general manager (former founder and owner) of Ryan Airlines, build him the plane he wanted in sixty days? Claude gave him a price of $10,580 and agreed to have the Spirit ready to fly East in sixty days.

The accompanying photo is a right front view of the fuselage frame. The solid strut bars, substituted for the shocks, are now clearly seen. One feature Lindbergh wanted in his plane was a wide stance landing gear. Here you get a perfect shot at just how wide it was. Few commercial planes even as late as 1927 had such a wide stance. This wide tread distance provided the Spirit with superior stability when taking off and landing, especially important when fully loaded with fuel.

The front nose section and engine mounting hasn't been built yet. In the compartment between the wheels, will sit two fuel tanks. Eventually, there will be five tanks in all. Three above in the wing and the two in the fueslage.

You have a much better view of the seat made of wicker. This was chosen over the typical leather type because it saved weight. During the designing of the plane, Lindbergh became fanatical about saving weight, and rightly so. Also, a better view at the rear of the instrument panel is seen here.

As you will read many times in future installments, Ken Cassen was the Spirit project manager and primary builder. He put thousands of hours into crafting this plane so close to the original that the NSAM predicted it would be the most accurate replica ever built. That is quite a commendation, but very fitting of an Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome restorer and mechanic. Cole made sure of the quality of his people, all of them.

Just click on the smiley face to view the photo.

click me! click me!

Visit the Save Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome website to see how you can help to guarantee the completion of Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome's Spirit of St. Louis

Salute!

[tazbat]

Don Hall wanted to enlarge the aft control surfaces to give better handling of the enlarged wing, but Lindbergh refused, again on the basis of saving weight. He was willing to sacrifice some handling characteristics in trade for less weight.

The empennage was made of chrome-moly steel tubing as you can see in the accompanying photo. Without the coverings, everything looks very complex. Yet, it is very basic in design. Ken Cassen, ORA's Spirit project manager, put many hours into cutting all the small tubing, bending and flattening, and then welding everything in its proper place. As a multi-process welder, I can say he did a great job. Ken is a true professional and craftsman, easily equal to the high caliber of the men at Ryan Airlines. Not only does Ken posses superb skills, he has a vast resource base to draw upon when things can't be done in house.

Click on the smiley icon to see the photo.

Click me! Click me!

Salute!

Wow tazbat, these are great photos you are putting on. I love the detail shots.

[tazbat]

The picture with this page is an interior shot of the fuselage frame, taken from the pilot's seat facing back. The most prominent feature is the bungee shock cords used to tension the tail skid. The tail skid on the ORA replica appears to be original at first glance, but closer examination shows it is not. The original Spirit's was fixed in that it only moved up and down in relation to the ground force. The replica's tail skid is steerable and also moves in unison with the tail rudder.

The bottom left cable and second cable from bottom on the right, control the rudder and tail skid. Near the back they split into two cable on each side. The lower ones to the skid and the uppers to the rudder.

The bottom right cable and the third cable up on the right are the trim controls. Two pair of cables at the top of the picture control the two horizontal flaps, respectively.

If you look at the image in my previous post, The Spirit of St. Louis - A photo study - page 3, you can also see the cables from the side.

I realize these photos may be tedious to look at, but they reveal the hidden part of the craftsmanship that went into this beautiful replica. These photos represent thousands of hours of meticulous attention to details done by Ken Cassen and many supportive volunteers. Once the frame work of the original Spirit was covered with fabric, it was very modest in appearance, with no bragging about its designer or builders. And, so it is with the ORA replica.

click me! click me!

Salute!

Tazbat you have a remarkable photographic history of the building of the Spirit of St. Louis. It is good going back and seeing the stages of the plane being built. I remembering Ken powder-coating parts for the plane, and his telling how the powder coating would protect the pieces and make it last longer. An interesting process that would be baked in a kitchen oven in the shop, and leave a beautiful protective finish on the parts. I also would marvel at Scott Mackenzie's superb woodworking craftmanship. Scott could make a piece of wood fit perfectly, and beautifully, in any part of the plane, for the various tapering shapes. Others visiting the shop would be in total awe of these men's talents. Ken and Scott would would politely answer visitor's questions, but were in total concentration on their tasks.

[tazbat]

Thanks to everyone for their commendations on my Spirit postings. There will be many to come along during the winter. As it is turning out, these postings are laying some of the continuing foundation of my article. There are many more photos chronicling the building of the ORA Spirit of St. Louis, to come.

Henry, I appreciate the piece of information about Scott and his wood working skills. Scott is one of the Old Guard I never was formerly introduced to. Maybe I would know him if I met him. In the future, I will make it a point to get to know him.

If anyone has any personal account information in relation to the building of the Spirit, feel free to PM or e-mail me about it. If it fits into my reccounting of the project I will be glad to include it.

Salute!