Red Hook (NY) – October 10, 2010 - Five Connecticut Civil Air Patrol squadrons converged on a small grass air strip known as Olde Rhinebeck Aerodrome, where an air battle was about to engage.
Fifty Connecticut cadets representing six squadrons from the Connecticut Wing and the towns of Stratford, Meriden, Thames River, Oxford, Hartford, East Granby, Granby, Simsbury and Enfield, accompanied their senior officers had come to learn more about the early years of aviation. The Olde Rhinebeck Airdrome is one of the last true “living” museums representing the era of early flight from 1900 to 1935.
The event included a vintage air show culminating in the recreation of a memorable dog fight between Sir Percy Goodfellow, flying a 1917 Spad and the Black Baron flying a red 1917 Fokker Tri-plane. While both planes were reproductions of the originals, they more than captured the spirit of the time. Additionally, a 1909 Bieriot XI, the oldest flying aircraft in the United States and the second oldest flying aircraft in the world took wing. The cadets also toured the museum buildings and hangers filled with vintage airplanes, motorcycles and automobiles. As a special treat, the Rhinebeck staff allowed the cadets behind the ropes to get a close up look at the historic aircraft.
Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U. S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with 59,000 members nationwide. CAP’s senior and cadet members perform 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and saves an average of 80 lives per year. Its volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and counter-drug missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to the nearly 24,000 young people currently participating in CAP cadet programs. CAP has been performing missions for America for more than 69 years. For more information on CAP, visit www.gocivilairpatrol.com, or the Connecticut Wing at www.ctwg.cap.gov.
The information for this article was provided by CAP Major Art Dammers, the Connecticut Wing’s Internal Aerospace Education Officer.
Fifty Connecticut cadets representing six squadrons from the Connecticut Wing and the towns of Stratford, Meriden, Thames River, Oxford, Hartford, East Granby, Granby, Simsbury and Enfield, accompanied their senior officers had come to learn more about the early years of aviation. The Olde Rhinebeck Airdrome is one of the last true “living” museums representing the era of early flight from 1900 to 1935.
The event included a vintage air show culminating in the recreation of a memorable dog fight between Sir Percy Goodfellow, flying a 1917 Spad and the Black Baron flying a red 1917 Fokker Tri-plane. While both planes were reproductions of the originals, they more than captured the spirit of the time. Additionally, a 1909 Bieriot XI, the oldest flying aircraft in the United States and the second oldest flying aircraft in the world took wing. The cadets also toured the museum buildings and hangers filled with vintage airplanes, motorcycles and automobiles. As a special treat, the Rhinebeck staff allowed the cadets behind the ropes to get a close up look at the historic aircraft.
Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U. S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with 59,000 members nationwide. CAP’s senior and cadet members perform 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and saves an average of 80 lives per year. Its volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and counter-drug missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to the nearly 24,000 young people currently participating in CAP cadet programs. CAP has been performing missions for America for more than 69 years. For more information on CAP, visit www.gocivilairpatrol.com, or the Connecticut Wing at www.ctwg.cap.gov.
The information for this article was provided by CAP Major Art Dammers, the Connecticut Wing’s Internal Aerospace Education Officer.
