Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome will launch its 2012 airshow season June 2, with staff and volunteers meeting for the annual airshow update. A free public open house will follow the meeting at 1 p.m.
New volunteers are invited to come out and sign up on that day because everyone who works on the airfield must attend the safety briefing held at 10 a.m. Volunteers being recruited include aircraft handlers, auto and aircraft mechanics, gift shop BS administrative personnel, and pilots having substantial taildragger experience.
“There are more than 60 antique airplanes, automobiles and artifacts housed in four museum hangars and the aerodrome buildings by the airfield,” said Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome Museum President Mike DiGiacomio. “They include the 1909 Bleriot, the oldest original flying airplane in the Americas, an original 1918 “Hisso” Jenny, a variety of Curtiss airplanes built in New York and one of the most substantial collections of World War I warbirds in the world.”
There will not be a regular show on that day, but museum staff and volunteers will be doing test flights and engine run-ups. There also will be “up close and personal” tours and Sir Percy, Trudy Truelove, Pierre Loup de Loupe and the Black Baron of Rhinebeck of the aerodrome’s melodrama will also be on hand, he said.
He added that it makes sense to become a member of Rhinebeck Aerodrome Museum early in the season because of the free admission benefits that go through the year. An individual membership is $50 and includes free admission to the museum and airshows; a family of four can join for $100. Members also receive a 10% discount at the gift shops, a subscription to the aerodrome’s quarterly Rotary Ramblings newsletter, plus the new Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome Museum Collection & Air Show Guide and an aerodrome World War I poster.
A barnstorming airshow on Saturday, June 9, featuring pioneer antique airplanes will open the season. Then on Sunday, June 10, there will be mock dogfights between biplanes of The Great War and a cameo appearance by the evil Black Baron of Rhinebeck and his red 1918 DR-1 Fokker tri-plane. The museum and grounds open at 10 a.m., with airshows planned for 2 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday through Oct. 14.
“June should be a great month,” said Neill Herman, President of Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome Air Shows. “Our opening weekend coincides with the Antique Motorcycle Association’s Grand Super Meet at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds being held June 8 and 9. The gear heads who attend those events share common DNA with us wing nuts, so we offer a discount at our gate to encourage people to visit both venues.”
For Father’s Day weekend, June 16 and 17, a special admission and biplane ride combination for dads will be offered for $85. Up to four people can be accommodated in the open passenger compartment in the Aerodrome’s 1929 New Standard biplane.
The Cessna Pilots Society will be touring the Hudson Valley the last weekend of June and meet up at the aerodrome on June 30. The citizens of Red Hook will be the guests of Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome to celebrate the Red Hook Bicentennial with a special air show on July 1. Everyone is invited to attend these special air shows.
For more information: OldRhinebeck.org
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