11 th Annual Cole & Rita Palen Free-Flight Memorial Meet Saturday, May 16, 2015

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1 11 th Annual Cole & Rita Palen Free-Flight Memorial Meet Saturday, May 16, 2015 Location: Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome News Flash 4/17/15 This issue includes a review of the 2014 meet, announcements for the 2015 meet and model plans for some eligible models for our 2015 themed event. ONE MONTH TO GO GET BUILDING! A review of the 2014 meet Last May we held our 10 th annual event on the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome airfield before the show season was underway. This allowed us to fly all day without interfering with full-scale activities. We were fortunate to have cooperative weather and enjoyed a good turnout of modelers and models. The theme for 2014 was The Guns of August and we and several models were built by our participants just for this event. Above: It isn t often you see the Caudron G.3 as a free-flight model, but in 2014, we had two of them on hand! Matt King and FS Gilbert both elected to build this challenging subject. Tim Haggerty s Fokker Eindecker as displayed on the WWI table. Steve Sweeney had several beautifully built models at the meet, all of which were great flying too! Here he is trying to remember how many winds he just packed into his Nieuport 11. John Kramer s Nieuport monoplane is a good example of an aircraft that bridged aircraft of peacetime to wartime. John s model is finished in Russian colors. Mark Braunlich brought this vintage Jenny from the old IDEAL design.

2 Late in the afternoon on the Sunday following the meet, a family staying Ulster County visited the Aerodrome. One of the kids picked up one of Steve Sweeney's models which Steve had generously built specifically for others to fly and enjoy. His father cautioned, "No touching," but we encouraged him and the others to give the models a try. It was delight for the Sherpa family, who emigrated from Mt. Everest to New York and were on their firstever visit to ORA. Before sunset they had put in several flights. We later learned that they helped to repair the broken-down rented van of another visiting family from Belgium! Pete Truesdell came up from Long Island and designed a few different models to fit the early WWI aircraft theme. Here he is with his BE2 model. Steve Sweeney generously built these simplified WWI fighters for all to enjoy, complete with French and German Minion pilots. Bob Passerelli built and flew this Taube from Pete Truesdell plans. FS Gilbert is a great craftsman and chooses some unusual subjects. Here is his Sopwith Dove, which is somewhat like a 2- seat version of the better-known Sopwith Pup.

3 Farman Moustique model built by Matt King from the old Walt Mooney plan. Solid sheet balsa construction. Steve Sweeney s creative mind came up with these Mike Spandau awards to present to those who had misfortunes with their models during the meet. Fortunately, we only handed out a few of these! Steve Sweeney s model of the Aerodrome s Aeromarine Klemm. FS Gilbert s beautiful Sopwith Dolphin. An intense moment of winding a rubber motor captured on film! Clay Hammond rebuilt one of Cole Palen s old Beech Staggerwing models that had been damaged and was in storage. Matt King winds up his Fokker D.VII for the D.VII Mass Launch as Forrest Walker looks on.

4 And they re off! Multiple Fokker D.VIIs head skyward! Just a few seconds later and Clay Hammond s Mooney-designed White Monoplane can be seen in the wild blue yonder at the top of the photo Event Results Here s a closer view of the gaggle of Fokkers. Pioneer 1 st Place - Kerry Sweeney 2 nd Place - Ed Novak 3 rd Place - Mike Sweeney WWI 1 st Place Bob Passerelli 2 nd Place John Kramer 3 rd Place Tom Nallen Golden Age 1 st Place Bob Passerreli 2 nd Place John Kramer 3 rd Place Matt King Bob Bard winds up his sport model for the Mixed event mass launch. Mixed Event 1 st Place Matt King 2 nd Place Ed Novak 3 rd Place Clay Hammond Ladies Event 1 st Place Joyce Timchak 2 nd Place Kerry Sweeney 3 rd Place Carol Harklerode And, here s the mixed event mass-launch. All types of FF, rubber models can participate. Mass Launches Fokker D.VII 1 st Place Steve Sweeney 2 nd Place Bob Gulnik 3 rd Place Matt King

5 Boxy Bipe 1 st Place Ken Cassens 2 nd Place Carol Harklerode 3 rd Place Clay Hammond Mixed Mass Launch 1 st Place Matt King 2 nd Place Kerry Sweeney 3 rd Place John Kramer Spandau Awards John Kramer Into the trees Bob Bard Wound rubber in reverse Peter Truesdell Re-kit of model Perpetual Memorial Awards Cole Palen Best Multi-wing Award Tom Nallen Fokker Triplane Larry Potter/Andy Keefe/Gordon Bainbridge Craftsmanship Award F.S. Gilbert Dick King Sportsmanship Award Clay Hammond Bob Love Technical Achievement Award Peter Truesdell Dave Fox Fokker D.VII Mass Launch Award Steve Sweeney Rita Palen/Kay Bainbridge/Judy Meyers Ulfik Award Kerry Sweeney Dick Day Concours d Elegance Award Sean Tavares Anatra Anasal Pilot s Choice Steve Sweeney Longest Distance Travelled Mark and Martin Braunlick (Note to winners of perpetual awards Brass plaques will be mailed out shortly!) Albatros debut Immediately following the 2014 meet, Vivian Birdsall and students from her Saxe Middle-School class joined in on a ribbon cutting ceremony for the public-debut flight of the Aerodrome s newly restored Albatros D.Va. Vivian and her class helped raise funds to make the restoration possible. Ken Cassens took the Albatros up for a brief pre-airshow season flight to the delight of the crowd, and was greeted with a warm round of applause upon his return.

6 Special notes regarding participation in the 2015 event: Registration Fee/Admission for participants - $0.00! - May 16 will be opening day of the museum for the year. Modelers participating in the memorial model meet do not need to pay any registration or admission if they are flying a model in the meet! Please print out the attached admission pass and turn it in at the admission booth, so the Aerodrome can keep track of who came to participate. To round out was already a full day, the Aerodrome held a fundraising an enjoyable early-evening fundraising dinner in the History of Flight building. Fundraising dinner We (the Palen Meet organizers) would encourage participation at the Aerodrome s fundraising dinner later in the evening if it is possible. If not, donations to the museum in any amount, or a membership to the museum would be greatly appreciated but not required. Membership - This is a good time to point out membership to the Aerodrome. If you would like to give a contribution to the Museum, why not become a member? Museum memberships start at $25. At the $25 level, members get the Aerodrome s quarterly newsletter Rotary Ramblings, and a discount at the museum gift shop. Higher levels of membership provide season passes to the Aerodrome for individuals and for families. See our membership form for details of other benefits of membership at different levels. Some of the Aerodrome s staff members dressed in period attire for the dinner event 1915 Set the dial on your personal Wayback Machines to It is time think about the Fokker Scourge, Warneford's downing of the big Zepp in his little Morane Parasol, and other planes and events of that year in which the War in the Air was heating up. The 11 th Annual Cole and Rita Palen Memorial Free Flight Meet will include all of the events you have come to expect over the past 10 years, and will host a special themed mass-launch event for models of aircraft that were built and flown during the first full year of the Great War. Bring your Eindeckers, Morane Saulniers, Taubes and Avros! Tour the museum on opening day, and stick around for the Aerodrome s early evening annual spring fundraising dinner! Timed Events for the Pioneer, WWI, Golden Age, Mixed, and Ladies events, flights are timed. We encourage you to keep track of your best flight times and have a friend time your flights for you. Fill out the flight sheets (provided at the meet) with your best times and drop the sheets into the appropriate boxes for each event. Winners will be those with the highest flight times. This is the honor system no cheating! Mass Launches - will be held on the hour throughout the day specific times to be determined. We have a facebook group page for the Palen Meet, so please take a look there for some interesting posts and for the latest news Feel free to post photos of your projects there too! lenannualmemorialfreeflightmeet/ WE HOPE TO SEE YOU IN MAY! Clay Hammond squawk.ident.0311@gmail.com Matt King enemyace49@yahoo.com Tom Polapink tpolapink@gmail.com Sean Tavares stavares@earthlink.net Pete Truesdell icepjt@yahoo.com

7 Free Admission on May 16, 2015 to the Aerodrome for participants in the 11 th Annual Cole & Rita Palen Free Flight Memorial Meet Please print, fill out and turn this form in at the admission booth on the day of the event if you have a model and will be flying in the meet. Look for some of these models at the 2015 Palen Meet! Name Address Phone Model(s) entered Thank you for your participation!

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12 Name: # Attending Address: Phone: Table reservations for 10 can be reserved for $ Saturday May 16, 2015 Cole & Rita Palen Memorial Free-Flight Model Meet Rhinebeck Aerodrome Airfield Rhinebeck Aerodrome Museum Fundraiser History of Flight Building Donation Enclosed: $ Not Attending Name: Address: Phone: Please detach and send to: Rhinebeck Aerodrome Museum, PO BOX 229, Rhinebeck NY 12572, Attn: Carol Please Make Checks Payable to: Rhinebeck Aerodrome Museum A copy of the Rhinebeck Aerodrome Museum s latest annual report may be obtained from the Museum office of the Office of the Attorney General, Charities Bureau, 120 Broadway, NY, NY 10271

13 Program Free Flight Meet 7 AM 3:30 PM ~ ORA Airfield Projects and Improvements Tour 3:30 4:30 PM ~ Ryan Hangar Reception and Silent Auction Commence 4:30 PM ~History of Flight Building Dinner & Presentations 5:00 PM Film Presentation 6:00 PM Dessert, Coffee 7:00 PM Auction Bidding Ends Live Auction Starts 7:00 PM Winning Bids Announced 7:30 PM 8:00 PM The Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome was started by Cole Palen in Cole passed away in 1993, but his legacy is carried on to this day by a dedicated group of employees and volunteers. Keeping the Aerodrome operating with its fleet of numerous antique airplanes and automobiles is an expensive and time-consuming operation. Our focus for this year s spring fundraiser is the Aerodrome s general fund. Supplementing the general fund is the single best way the museum can maximize every dollar donated. It is used primarily for conducting normal, day to day museum and airshow operations...but is also used by the museum, when necessary, to augment funds required for restorations, special projects, capital improvements, as well as new acquisitions. Even if a physical item is donated to the museum rather than bought, there is most often additional costs involved that are paid out of the general fund. These costs can range from retrieval and/or shipping, to appraisals, and further to long term management and preservation of the asset. While we agree that having a specific project identified is often preferred, the museum seeks a healthy balance between restricted projects and our general account fundraising. This event is dedicated to that goal. Our day will start with the 11th Annual Cole & Rita Palen Free Flight Memorial Model Meet* at 7AM. This is a fun event celebrating one of Cole s favorite past times and you are welcome to observe or participate. us for additional information. The fundraising dinner and silent auction will commence at 4:30PM in the History of Flight Building. As in previous years, we will screen a ORA themed film presentation during the dinner. Dinner will be served at 5PM and will be chicken, macaroni & cheese, cole slaw and ciabatta bread; catered by Smoky Rock BBQ. The meal is $30.00 per person and a portion of that amount comes back to the museum based on final costs. Please RSVP using the form on the back of this page before May 2, If you are unable to attend the dinner, but would like to support the fundraiser, please feel free to send a donation using the attached form. Thank you for your support of Cole Palen s Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome! Michael DiGiacomio Rhinebeck Aerodrome Museum Board President * Events are weather permitting

14 Contributions fund restorations and maintenance of aircraft, autos and help improve facilities. If you would like to fund a specific project, please contact us at Please check this box if you would like to receive just the version of the newsletter to save a tree. Special Contribution: All levels of Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome membership include: Subscription to Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome s quarterly Rotary Ramblings newsletter 10% discount at aerodrome gift shops Level Fledgling Contribution $25 Benefits Subscription to Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome s Rotary Ramblings quarterly newsletter and a 10% discount at aerodrome gift shops. Aviator $50 Individual - One pass good for admission for an entire year Wingman Scout Ace $100 $250 $500 Family - Two adult and two children passes good for admission for an entire year. Family - Four adult passes good for admission for an entire year, and an embroidered aerodrome hat. Family - Four adult passes good for admission for an entire year, an embroidered Aerodrome hat and a gift shop item valued at $50 or less. Flight Leader $2000 Lifetime - Air show admission for member and accompanying guests for life, personalized tour, a gift shop item valued at $50 or less and an embroidered hat and Lifetime Member shirt. PLEASE INQUIRE AT THE GIFT SHOP ABOUT HIGHER LEVELS OF MEMBERSHIP (SQUADRON LEADER: $5000, and WING LEADER: $10,000) OFFERING EVEN GREATER BENEFITS. Name: Date: Street Address: City: State/Province: Zip-Code/Country Code Country Phone: SEND TO: Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome PO Box 229 Rhinebeck, New York Updated