Cole Palen's Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome

tazbat · 14 January 2005, 06:03 AM

Cadet Leader,
You shouldn't put things like this on the forum, you're going to make many of us so jealous. That is a fantastic piece of ORA art. I wonder how many others are out in the world?
Phenomenal! Stupendous! Simply amazing! Radical dudette! Far out! Stellar! Remarkable! Outstanding! Spectacular! Awesome! Well, you get the point.

Congratulations. You have a fine, if not worthy, representation of ORA history.

Salute!

AAC Cadet Leader · 14 January 2005, 06:50 AM

People will never say that you lack enthusiasm, tazbat.

EricGoedkoop · 14 January 2005, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AAC Cadet Leader

Does anyone know any details as to the artist or the year?

When were the Avro, Dolphin and FE 8 all flying at the same time? Early 1970's?

Jim Bruton · 14 January 2005, 09:37 AM

I am guessing you won't be eating off that one! Looks so cool. Thanks for sharing AAC-CL!

AAC Cadet Leader · 14 January 2005, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Bruton

I am guessing you won't be eating off that one!

Not only that, I'll be keeping the bubble wrap around it 'til my kids are off to college and I'm no longer living in an earthquake zone.

SteveS · 15 January 2005, 05:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AAC Cadet Leader

Not only that, I'll be keeping the bubble wrap around it 'til my kids are off to college and I'm no longer living in an earthquake zone.

That will give you a little time to acquire service for eight.

Salute,
Steve

tazbat · 3 February 2005, 09:45 PM

Thirty-three and a half hours, 3,150 miles across the Atlantic ocean, without global positioning, radar, not even radio navigation. Although, the Spirit of St. Louis had a compass in the panel, it was another instrument Lindbergh relied on to chart his way through a night and day of flying without landmarks. This instrument is what he chose instead of carrying a human navigator allowing him to save several hundred pounds of weight. It is an Earth Inductor Compass, a sophisticated instrument in its time.

Using a rotating coil driven by the slip stream over the fuselage, the instrument would read a small current generated by the earths magnetic field. By setting the dial to the desired heading, the pilot only needs to keep the needle fixed to it.

Lindbergh attributed his being off course by only three miles, at the Irish coast, to the accuracy of the earth inductor compass. Even he was amazed at how close he was to the set course and chatised the press that it wasn't luck that got him across the Atlantic. It was the Pioneer earth inductor compass.

The Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome Museum already had the inductor part of the compass as early as 1999. It is the part you see mounted in the top of the fuselage, behind the pilot's seat. It has a four cup prop that catches the wind and rotates the coil. In This picture (sorry it isn't better) you see it mounted in a wood frame. Wires connect it to the compass dial.

To View image of Inductor generator click smiley

The rest of the compass unit is the dial and instrumentation behind it that reads the current from the inductor. In the Spirit of St. Louis it is mounted to the right of the seat, between it and the door jamb.

To view the two images of the compass click the two smilies

The compass part was not in the Aerodrome's inventory of antique parts, so Ken Cassen was going to make a simulated dial and mount it in the bracket. Then in December of 2002, Johnny Miller visited and entertained everyone with a few great stories. While looking over the airframe, he noticed the missing compass dial. After talking with Ken for a few minutes, he commented how he knew someone who owned one. Johnny finished by saying he would talk to them about donating it. Then during my next visit in 2003 I noticed it was there.

Salute!

4 February 2005, 11:01 AM

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that has posted their memories and pictures here!! Especially Tazbat for the great narrative and pictures on the building of the Spirit!

I have enjoyed them all.

They make me wish that I had become a lot more involved at the aerodrome during the year, 1989 - 1990, while I was working at the Duchess County Airport.

What a fantastic experience it would have been.

Seeing Ken's workmanship in the Spirit pictures and the pictures of him flying the D VII reminds me what a magnificent craftsman and pilot he is.

Salute to all the people that worked to make Old Rhinebeck so great and one of my most favorite aviation places, along with the Reno Air Races, in the world!!!

Thank you all!!!

Craig Bixby

Wind In The Wires · 4 February 2005, 10:38 PM

August 1982

This was the first time I saw a Jenny fly. It didn't actually fly, it levitated as it wasn't going fast enough to fly. After seeing it I was even more amazed by the ability of the pilots who actually performed aerobatics in these things back in the twenties.

tazbat · 13 February 2005, 07:41 PM

Ryan Airlines, builder of the Spirit of St. Louis, had a unique wing design which proved to be fully up to the job of crossing the Atlantic.

It was called an I-Beam wing. The two spars were composite assemblies in the shape of a steel I-beam. This allowed them superior strength with flexibility. Fully complete, the wing would be expected to handle over 5,000 pounds of gross weight. With the exception of the ailerons, the wing structure is made entirely of wood.

Ken Cassen and Scott McKenzie did superior work with the assistance of trained volunteers in constructing the skeletal work of the wing. The following pictures will give you an idea of the complexity and workmanship. Ken Cassen as project manager of the Spirit replica didn't just order a set of plans and some materials and start building. He had to research and comb through original documentations for what remained of the drawings. Many pages of the original plans no longer exist requiring measurements of the original, hanging from the ceiling of the National Air and Space Museum.

Enjoy the pics. Click on the smiley faces to view.

This is the right side of the wing. The replica's wing has no tanks, whereas the original has three; a center, left and right tanks. Since this plane will never make any trips like its forefather, the space for the tanks were filled with full ribs.

The whole wing is forty-six feet long. The open section in the ribs is where the center of the wing where it is attached to the fuselage. Notice the two I-beam spars running parallel inside the ribs.

This photo is of the left aileron. Note how it is attached to the aft spar at three points. The inboard support is of the three point design with pulleys mounted for the control cables.

Once again the photos show the tremendous effort of Ken and Scott along with their volunteers. A concerted effort was given by most all to complete this fantastic replica before the 75th anniversary in 2002. It was supposed to be the most accurate of all replicas. Believe me, Ken is very good at accuracy and detail as attested to in these photos. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond Ken's and Scott's control, the project has never been completed.

Watch for the next installment.

Salute!