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.

Awsome! I would have loved to see that!

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

Lovely shots there Doug, I have to say I'd love to see Stanley Segalla in action 8)

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

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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!!


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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.

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

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