Old Rhinebeck Spirit of St. Louis

[APG85]

Does anyone know the status of the Rhinebeck Spirit of St. Louis replica? It's suppose to be a flyer and was endorsed by Reeve Lindbergh and the Smithsonian, but all work came to a halt several years ago after it was more that half way complete...

[astixjr]

I can call some folks who would know the status. I guess there were some political issues within the organization, some sort of power struggle that has really caused some problems over the last few years. About five years ago, I was trying to get the contract to do a cosmetic restoration on the movie replica that used to hang at Lambert Field. My offer was contingent on our museum staff being allowed to take accurate measurements and drawings from the plane in order to build one or two more flying replicas. The owners of the plane, the Missouri Hysterical Society, did not like the idea so they sent the plane to Illinois for restoration. I was in touch with the folks working on the project at Old Rhinebeck back then but I lost track of the project after Mr. Palen passed away. I'll see what I can find out.

[Baldeagle]

Fuselage is covered, wing is mounted uncovered, and they've run the engine, but until the idiots now running the place find another hobby the Spirit isn't likely to be finished, especially since they've driven off most of the good talent and volunteers they had. For now they're busy trying to convince people that it's worth $20 a head to see a show that isn't half as good as the ones 10 years ago. And "losing" valuable engines and who knows what else from the collection...

Wade through the mess if you want:

http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/old-r ... aerodrome/

[astixjr]

I spoke with a few people today who confirmed what Baldeagle posted. The situation at Old Rhinebeck reminds me of how transient these types of events can be. Just because Old Rhinebeck's show has been around for what seems like a long time, does not mean that it will survive forever. One of the common themes with many of these organizations is that they are usually the brainchild of one person. That person gets the ball rolling, provides the center of gravity, and acts as the inertia that keeps the event or organization going. I never got a chance to see the "original" show at Old Rhinebeck but I sure wish I had taken the time to go there. I missed the GML event this year and who knows if there will ever be another.

[Baldeagle]

Hey Albert, you're up late too. Sorry I missed the Monocoupe fly-in, girlfriend planned a Grand Canyon trip before I realised that the dates conflicted. Made it hard to enjoy the nice view.

[astixjr]

I'd like to say that I was up early when I posted that reply but nobody would buy that. Our plant runs 24 hours and although I've finally got the right people there so that I can get some sleep, my schedule is still screwed up.

Sorry you missed the flyin. It was very small this year. Small enough that it's starting to make me worry that it's days are numbered. It's not just the average age of the people attending as well as the average age of the aircraft, it's also the number of Monocoupes that have crashed since the last bi-annual Coupe flyin. By my count, five with a total of three people killed. I had a feeling that the day I saw four or five clip wing Monocoupes together at Creve Coeur would be the last time it happened. Only two Coupes flew in this year. A third was destroyed in a landing crunch on the way to the flyin (no injury). I guess we should enjoy the cool planes we see when we have the chance to see them. How's the J-1 Standard coming along?

[Baldeagle]

It's a Nieuport 28, but I haven't had a chance to work on it for a while as I've been building a new workshop next to my house. And have to try to keep up with customer work.
I do have another interesting trip coming up, hopefully soon, but I'll put that on another thread.

[APG85]

Thanks for the info guys. Dissapointing news. I use to go there often as a teenager when I was growing up in NJ. Cole Palen would be heartbroken...

[k5083]

As for the Spirit, apparently it is sometimes taxied during weekend airshows but with the wings uncovered. On at least some occasions however it has been left out in the rain with its naked wood wing structure, which has critics of the management throwing fits.

There has been a lot of invective directed at the current Rhinebeck management lately but only one side of the story is being aired publicly and I do not believe everything I read.

August

[APG85]

On at least some occasions however it has been left out in the rain with its naked wood wing structure, which has critics of the management throwing fits.

August

I'd throw a fit as well. What a shame...

[Baldeagle]

There has been a lot of invective directed at the current Rhinebeck management lately but only one side of the story is being aired publicly and I do not believe everything I read.

August

It might be good to ask why the "other" side refuses to say much of anything publicly. Something (actually lots) to hide, perhaps...

More on topic, they have said that the Spirit of St. Louis will never fly because it would be too expensive to insure. More BS.

[AIRIC]

Some photos of the Spirit taken at Rhinebeck on Saturday October 13th.









Eric