[personal profile] rm
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It's the Old Rhinebeck Aerodome!




One of many planes we thought was just on display, but was later used in the airshow.




Plane internals close-up.




Patty posing in a little fake plane thing that we thought was hilarious. This moment started with "don't get poison ivy!" as the thing was just on the ground.




I _love_ propaganda posters, even when I don't really understand them. Er, Britons Wants You, apparently.




The airshow itself suffered from mind-bogglingly clumsy narrative about the Black Baron of Rhinebeck, a kidnapping, and an oompah band. See: ooompah band!




More propaganda posters! Blot It Out!




The various museum areas of the place are super crowded with stuff that really needs further restoration. While not the most interesting stuff, it was frequently the stuff that hit me most emotionally. Here: old cars.




This was the museum area with the most planes. It was the first one we walked into, and it's a breathtaking moment. There's no one else there, there are no guards, it's just this hangar, filled with planes.... waiting.




Patty took this one. This is of the biplane I flew in (from 1929) taking off. Yes, I flew in a fucking open-cockpit biplane, which was oddly both more and less terrifying than any other sort of plane I've ever been in.. Certainly mad props to the men who fought in these things. You can't see shit straight in front of you, you can't hear anything (including your own thoughts), the wind is extremely rough and intense on the face, and it's a fucking miracle most of these planes didn't disintegrate in flight. It was also crazy peaceful and seemed like all instincts. There's no illusion, I don't think, piloting one of these things, that your life is between you and your wits and you and your luck up there. It was cool as fucking shit. [livejournal.com profile] marchek will surface eventually with photos from the flight, including us in funny flight goggles.




Did I mention that much of the airshow was totally inexplicable? Even less explicable was the historic fashion show before the airshow started. Female audience volunteers put on "historic costumes" which were a combination of bad theater costumes and prom dresses from the 1970s and then modeled them on stage while inaccurate historical announcements were made. Here, Patty is awesome.




Motorbike shot under a wing in the museum.




This is an old car. There is a fake penguin in it. It is wearing a flying cap and goggles. I do not understand why.




Look at this itty-bitty children's toy airplane! It almost made me cry.




This is the oldest plane flying in America today. It's from 1909.




Plane taking off (I'm not sure what this one is, I'm going to have to go back through other shots I've not posted and nail down the facts on everything).




Another plane, way up high. Love me, love my zoom lens.




This photo! This photo! There is a whole story in this photo. It's the man in the foreground's body language. Also check out that fine bit of steampunk insanity of a plane.




Zoom!




Man, can you believe this is real?




Fokker tri-plane!




Dogfight!




And remember, watch out for enemy planes and bombs. Use this handy poster as a guide!

Date: 2009-10-05 02:02 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] capulet-rose.livejournal.com
This post is pure porn.

Thank you.

:D

Date: 2009-10-05 02:12 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] redstapler.livejournal.com
Squee!

What a day!

Happy birthday, indeed! :)

Date: 2009-10-05 02:13 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laughingacademy.livejournal.com
There is a century-old functional plane. Goddamn. *jaw drops*

Penguin!

I’m sorry you couldn’t make it to the Jazz Age Lawn Party, but it looks like you had an amazing day.

Date: 2009-10-05 02:17 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] systris.livejournal.com
Happy Birthday, glad you had a good time!

Date: 2009-10-05 02:21 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] labellerose.livejournal.com
Happy Birthday! And yes Patty is made of awesome-love the flapper costume with the boots.

Date: 2009-10-05 07:32 am (UTC)

Date: 2009-10-05 02:27 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] neifile7.livejournal.com
Fabulous birthday adventure! Many happy returns, and thanks for sharing the photos.

Date: 2009-10-05 02:40 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] gairid.livejournal.com
Wow! Wonderful photos from a wonderful day! Happy Birthday!

Date: 2009-10-05 02:56 am (UTC)
ext_3685: Stylized electric-blue teapot, with blue text caption "Brewster North" (happy)
From: [identity profile] brewsternorth.livejournal.com
Eeeee fabulous!

Date: 2009-10-05 02:57 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] miep.livejournal.com
that is way cooler than the airshows I went to as a kid, but I bet yours didn't have a flyover by the blue angels!

:)

Happy birthday.

Date: 2009-10-05 03:02 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ravenskye8.livejournal.com
Happy Birthday!

Date: 2009-10-05 03:27 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rufus.livejournal.com
Happy Birthday!! I'm glad you had such a beautiful day for your flying adventure, and that your adventure was so excellent.

Date: 2009-10-05 03:37 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] wcg.livejournal.com
That Fokker tri-plane is crying out to have a doghouse photoshopped behind it.

Date: 2009-10-05 03:38 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] gina-r-snape.livejournal.com
Wow. That's really something. I would *die* from shock or heart attack riding in an open cockpit plane like that. But the pics are awesome.

Happy birthday!

Date: 2009-10-05 03:49 am (UTC)
azurelunatic: Vivid pink Alaskan wild rose. (Default)
From: [personal profile] azurelunatic
Well, what else would the penguin be wearing? Bathing costume?

Date: 2009-10-05 03:52 am (UTC)
contrarywise: Glowing green trees along a road (Default)
From: [personal profile] contrarywise
That looks like the most amazing, brilliant, full-of-WTF thing to do ever. And how great that it was on your birthday! Congrats, and yay for an awesome day!

Date: 2009-10-05 04:11 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] heron61.livejournal.com
Wow, I envy you the chance to fly in one of those. The pre-WWI planes are especially amazing and beautiful.

Date: 2009-10-05 04:39 am (UTC)

Date: 2009-10-05 04:42 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] lllvis.livejournal.com
O.M.G.!!!! These are fantastic! Made even moreso that you got to be there, be close, and actually participate! I'm salivating over some of these pictures...

Ok I'm get all geeky here!

The German triplane is the Fokker DR1. (DR is derived from Drie...as in 3)
The other German planes (biplanes) look to be either Albatross or Pfalz models. Hard to tell from the rear.

The British plane with a gunner in the rear looks like an S.E.5a, but might could be a Tiger Moth. Not sure what the other British plane is.

Bleroit? Something like that, is what the 'steampunk' plane reminds me of.

Too bad there wasn't a makers tag on the radiator of that old car. I love old cars. I'd spend the better part of an afternoon in that garage...

These are great! I hope you post more!

Date: 2009-10-05 04:28 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rm.livejournal.com
There was definitely an Albatross in the air. I think there was also a Pfalz.

Bleroit sounds right on the the "steampunk" thing. I took photos of everything on the ground before they went up, so I can match everything up with time (which also means I have over 200 photos total, and am slowly uploading everything)

Date: 2009-10-05 05:14 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] angstzeit.livejournal.com
This is very, very cool.

Date: 2009-10-05 06:04 am (UTC)
snakeling: Statue of the Minoan Snake Goddess (Default)
From: [personal profile] snakeling
Oh, that must have been great! Happy birthday :)

The propaganda poster is actually "Britons, [old dude] wants you", the old dude being Lord Kitchener, who was Secretary of State for War at the beginning of WWI, and who would have been so well-known at the time that there was no need to state his name on the poster :)

Date: 2009-10-05 04:29 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rm.livejournal.com
Ha! Thanks! I never would have figured that out.

Date: 2009-10-05 08:32 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] eumelia.livejournal.com
Oh Yay! That looks amazing.

You must have had a great Birthday.

Those planes all look remarkable. I can't wait to hear more stories about them and the day if you indeed write a more wordy report.

Very awesome indeed (that toy plane made me well up as well).

Date: 2009-10-05 09:22 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] timelady.livejournal.com
Wow! Totally in love with the photos!

Date: 2009-10-05 06:36 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] berry-k.livejournal.com
zOMG! As a (for real) pilot, I am SO jealous! I've wanted to go to Rhinebeck for YEARS but alas, live 2600 miles away :-)

Date: 2009-10-05 07:17 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] darthhellokitty.livejournal.com
That is just CRAZY INSANE COOL.

Date: 2009-10-06 03:21 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] bodlon.livejournal.com
Okay, that looks like it was super fun.

I will now busy myself with the familiarizing of enemy planes and/or not touching unexploded bombs.

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