A perfect day, a perfect place, and a perfect group of Morganeers!
Today's Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome get-together could not have been more
perfect. A total of twenty seven Morgans graced the Aerodrome's grassy
courtyard area along with a smaller number of MGs, Jaguars, and a lone
Porsche.
The Malvern contingent consisted of five "proper" Morgans along with
twenty two "harder-to-get-up-on-two-wheels" variety. Among the trikes was
Tony Souza's pristine and strong running '31 JAP Super Sport, Jeff Jacobson's
racy '36 MX-2 Super Sport, the Aerodrome's own '34 MX-2 Sports 2 Seater, John
Moir's '28 (?) MAG engined Aero, and Jim Nichol's '28 Anzani Aero.
Among the 4 wheelers was Canadian visitor Glenn Nigh's gorgeous '62
+4 roadster, Paul Littell's BRG +4 DHC, Art & Jerri Colby's 4/4 from Rhode
Island, Dean Meyer's drop-dead beautifully done +4 4 seater, and a dozen and
a half other flat rads, 4/4s, +4s, and +8s.
The weather could not have cooperated more, the Aerodrome staff,
headed by curator Jim Hare were more than helpful, and the stars of the day,
those vintage aeroplanes, cooperated fully, enthralling even the most jaded
with their flights. THe oldest flying aeroplane in the world, the
Aerodrome's Anzani engined Bleriot IX was kept near the ground by the gusty
crosswinds as was the Antoinette replica, but a host of vintage machinery,
ranging from a Curtiss Pusher to a PT-17 Stearman.
Low and slow was pretty much the rule of the day as original sport
planes from the '20s and '30s tiptoed by us. When were you fortunate enough
to be able to see, not a hundred feet up, or a hundred feet away, an Aeronca
C-3, a Curtiss Junior, a Davis D-1W, a 1928 New Standard, and more, all fly
on the same day?
Following the airshow, most of us met for dinner in nearby Rhinebeck
to renew old friendships, swap Morgan horror-stories, or just recall our
mutual enjoyment of the products of HFS and PHG Morgan.
Truly a magical day and one that I thank all who participated for
making it such a success!
Cheers & Happy Morganing,
Jim Nichol
|