Grumpy's grand adventure Pt 5

[Hagar]

Today is our last full day in the USA. Sun is shining as we board the train for Rhinecliff, the nearest station to Old Rhinebeck. The railway runs right alongside the bank of the Hudson river for most of the journey which is a beautiful sight. Being the weekend everyone is out on the water doing something. 2 hours later we're outside the deserted station looking for a taxi. The only one we can see is already full & the driver tells us to hang on until he comes back.

20 minutes later he turns up & we share the cab with a Dutch pilot who is also going to Old Rhinebeck & two ladies headed for the local country fair. Life is very laid back here & NYC it ain't. After a pleasant drive through beautiful countryside we eventually arrive outside Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome. We ask the driver how we get back to the station & he tells us to use the phone by the side of the road to ask for a pickup. On the way the driver told us he's the only cab on duty today & he might knock off after lunch. This doesn't sound promising as if we miss the 5.30 train back to NYC we're stuck here for the night & will miss our flight home. No sense in worrying about that now. Let's go & see the show.

After a good look round the hangars we make our way to the viewing area. I've been keeping my eye on the weather & it looks a tad windy to me. The airfield was hacked out of a forest & is surrounded by tall trees. This shelters us from the full effects but is obviously not good for displaying elderly vintage types.

Ah, looks like something is happening. "Ladeez & Gentlemen........! Good afternoon & welcome to Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome. Unfortunately the wind is too strong to fly the vintage types today. Don't worry as we will put on plenty of entertainment to keep you happy."


Sure enough they did.




The amazing Flying Farmer - Stanley Segalla doing things with a Piper Cub I thought were impossible. At one point he was flying backwards thanks to the strong wind. Here he is landing deadstick at the end of his display.

Then he runs straight in front of the crowd, retrieving his hat from the post where he left it, before coming to a halt.

A quick flip of the prop before he twists round & bows to the crowd. Then off to the other end of the stand where he repeats the bow. I must admit to wondering what would happen if his brakes failed.


I had a chat with Stan after the show. Never thought to have my photo taken with him. Here's the cockpit of his Cub.


What a fantastic day out. Disappointing they couldn't fly the vintage types but they ran the engines & taxyed them around before letting us have a closer look. If you haven't heard a rotary engine being blipped you haven't lived. The effort these people put into this is incredible. All volunteers & they do it every weekend throughout the summer. They insisted on giving us raincheck tickets for next time. I would have willingly paid double to see what we did & kept mine as a souvenir.

We reluctantly left the airfield at 5 pm & phoned the taxi which arrived 10 minutes later to pick us up. He told us not to worry & he would get us to the station in plenty of time. He was as good as his word. We caught the train & arrived back at our hotel at about 8.00 pm.
The next day we went to the airport to catch our flight home. Work tomorrow. Not looking forward to that but what a great time we had & wonderful memories to tell the folks back home. I hope you enjoyed our grand adventure as much as we did.

Thanks for watching.

[Rifleman]

This is a show I regret missing before I left the east side of the continent ..........well, maybe one day........

[Ben_M_K]

Awsome! I would have loved to see that!

Just wondering, what airline did you fly back across the pond?

[Hagar]

Pity you missed it Ken. I know you would enjoy it.

Thanks for the comments Ben. I think we flew back on American Airlines. I usually fly to the US by AA if possible.

PS. For more photos of our visit to Old Rhinebeck check out my earlier topic here. http://www.simviation.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=photos;action=display;num=1102364598

[ozzy72]

Lovely shots there Doug, I have to say I'd love to see Stanley Segalla in action

[beaky]

Too bad it was too windy...they're not sissies there, either... if the onsite FAA man (yes, I believe there's always an official there- may also be affiliated with the [nonprofit] museum...) says it's within limits wind and ceiling-wise, they fly any of the machines that are operational that day.
As for Segalla losing his brakes doing that tail pop-up, I guess he'd smack into that stout double fence they have there. I doubt he'd hop over it; if he chopped the power right away it'd never get airborne. In that contest, the Cub would lose, and the fence would win!

Anybody interested in visiting ORA should definitely see their website first.
http://www.oldrhinebeck.org/

[Craig.]

Looks like it was a great day despite the weather. Thank you for posting all these shots Doug.

[Hagar]

Too bad it was too windy...they're not sissies there, either... if the onsite FAA man (yes, I believe there's always an official there- may also be affiliated with the [nonprofit] museum...) says it's within limits wind and ceiling-wise, they fly any of the machines that are operational that day.

I'm a pretty experienced wind watcher & I'm sure the conditions were too bad. They said it was over 30 knots above the treeline & it was gusty too. From the sight of that Cub flying backwards across the field they were right. I reckon it was the tail end of that darned hurricane having its last laugh on us. Never mind, they did us proud. I keep threatening to return one day but it's a long way to come if you have to depend on the weather.

I'm sure Stanley Segalla knows what he's doing.

PS. You might have noticed the blemishes in my shot of the Tiger Moth. I think these are what the locals called locusts. I suspect they were cicadas & they were everywhere. We could hear them chirruping in the trees & couldn't help treading on the darned things wherever we went. Just another memory of that brilliant day. It was the perfect end to a wonderful holiday.

[beaky]

I'm a pretty experienced wind watcher & I'm sure the conditions were too bad. They said it was over 30 knots above the treeline & it was gusty too. From the sight of that Cub flying backwards across the field they were right. I reckon it was the tail end of that darned hurricane having its last laugh on us. Never mind, they did us proud. I keep threatening to return one day but it's a long way to come if you have to depend on the weather.

Well, there's enough other aviation-related stuff to do in the NYC area... if you call ORA before heading up there and get the bad word, you can still make it to some "Plan B" location.
Not that ORA isn't still pretty cool without the airshow!!

PS. You might have noticed the blemishes in my shot of the Tiger Moth. I think these are what the locals called locusts. I suspect they were cicadas & they were everywhere. We could hear them chirruping in the trees & couldn't help treading on the darned things wherever we went. Just another memory of that brilliant day. It was the perfect end to a wonderful holiday.

Ah yes, the cicadas. The house I grew up in was on a street called Locust St.-  some years the dried husks would be thick as autumn leaves in the street gutters in my hometown.

[Hagar]

Well, there's enough other aviation-related stuff to do in the NYC area... if you call ORA before heading up there and get the bad word, you can still make it to some "Plan B" location.
Not that ORA isn't still pretty cool without the airshow!!

If I do come, which is by no means certain, maybe I could meet that soppy Peg of yours. We could even visit ORA together. This reminds me, I must get around to renewing my passport.

Ah yes, the cicadas. The house I grew up in was on a street called Locust St.

Strangely enough I looked this up some time ago. Apparently there are trees in your part of the world named locust trees. There is also a Locust Valley, Locust Grove & Locust Lake. This makes it a tad confusing.

[Craig.]

I love the sounds of cicadas, i would imagine though it can get annoying after a while.

[beaky]

If I do come, which is by no means certain, maybe I could meet that soppy Peg of yours. We could even visit ORA together. This reminds me, I must get around to renewing my passport.

As I told Fozzer recently, I sincerely extend the hospitality of the loft to you... plenty of room here, and there are often guests staying for weeks at a time. There is of course no charge, but guests are expected to do their own dishes...
 Seriously, though, we're very close to KEWR and the train station, and if you'd like to save some money and enjoy  a kitchen, pool table, ping-pong, foosball, an LP player (no, really!), bicycling (this place is big!), and of course sim-flying...  all in your lodgings, I would highly recommend it.
We also have a washer/dryer...
There's even a slim chance that Doug and Lyell would not be around for a few days, in which case they'd probably be willing to let a guest of mine use their private suite, which is about 5,000 sq. feet with separate kitchen and bathroom. That's a maybe, but a comfy sofa spot (with dog-tongue wakeup service if desired,  at no extra charge!) is a definite. Be great to have you... I don't often have guests stay here.  
 I also (tentatively) extend that offer to all of my SimV friends who may come to the area from afar...
We could also go RL flying... one of my favorite little trips is to head up the Hudson to Sky Park (46N), which is just up the road from ORA. There'sactually a shuttle bus to and from ORA from that airport. I will be renewing my medical and will have the inactive-pilot cobwebs swept out within a month or two; I've promised myself. I'll probably start flying out of  47N... about 25 min. drive from my place, with a couple of 150s and a 172 for rent ($63/hr wet time for a 150! Not bad!).
Anyhoo, think it over, and either way, be sure to give me a heads-up if you're ever coming by here again. There are a few other SimVers in the area, too- we could have a little "reunion" or something.

[Hagar]

That's a very generous offer old chap. I might just take you up on it.