Starting June 18, Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome’s 2022 air show season takes off.
Air shows are held every Saturday and Sunday through Oct. 16, 2022, at the aerodrome in Rhinebeck, New York.
Gates open at 10 a.m., with the air shows starting at 2:30 p.m.
Open cockpit biplane rides are available before and after the air shows, starting at 10 a.m. and running to twilight.
The Saturday “History of Flight” program highlights the pioneer era before World War I and the Golden Age of Aviation in the 1920s and 1930s, according to officials.
The Sunday show is a World War I dog fight spectacular with a hero, a heroine, the villainous Black Baron of Rhinebeck, pyrotechnics, and even a World War I tank. The supporting cast includes many antique automobiles, officials add.
The stars are the aerodrome’s historic airplanes, including its 1909 Bleriot, the oldest regularly flying airplane in the Western Hemisphere; the Fokker DR-I Triplane, the most famous fighter of World War I; and a replica of the Spirit of St. Louis, which was the first aircraft to fly from New York to Paris in 1927, aerodrome officials reports.
While aircraft rotate on and off the flightline, the shows usually feature 15 to 20 vintage aircraft.
Go to OldRhinebeck.org for more information about the air shows, including ticket prices.
Although I now live near Buffalo -300 miles away- I’m still an ORA volunteer, in my case doing some restoration work on a few fragments of a 1913 Burgess Collier flying boat that Cole Palen found at an estate sale eons ago in New Jersey. I did work “on site” for 5 or 6 years as a volunteer and was absolutely hooked. It is simply the best: fabulous history, great, talented people (ask for Ken Cassens, Mark Mondello or Tom Polapink if you want to know absolutely anything about old airplanes), entertaining (if a bit corny) airshows and totally, genuinely unpretentious. It is the best. No jet noise, just pistons, a bumpy grass runway, castor oil fumes and great flying. The New Standard D-25 biplane rides over the Hudson Valley are not to be missed either.
I used to buy gas from Cole at Old Rheinbeck A/P in 1964 for the Cub I rented from Twin Lakes airport when I worked at IBM in Kingston, NY. Harvey Thompson owned the Cub but was killed when he crashed his 172 in a snow storm while returning from LaGuardia during a charter flight. Very good days but also some very sad days! Both Harvey and Cole where good people who love aviation! Miss them both!
Go! I’ve wanted for probably 30-40 years, and finally went a few years ago. Numerous buildings stuffed with old airplanes, probably most of which you have never heard of. Highly recommend a ride in their Standard biplane. Pilot flew out towards the Hudson and we actually were in a shallow 360* turn with 4-5 Bald Eagles! Amazing. Their air show fun too.