Every September, on the weekend after Labor Day, the Mid-Hudson Radio Control Society plays host to their annual WW I Jamboree at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome near Red Hook and Kingston, New York. For decades this event had drawn contestants from around the country and from north of the border from Canada. One of the most enthusiastic supporters for the WW I Jamboree have come from the Kingston Radio Control Modellers. If you happened to notice that there are two “L”s in the spelling of Modellers, it is because our club is located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. “Our Kingston” is located a short 30 minute drive from the US border, but unfortunately, over the past two years our members have been unable to attend the popular Old Rhinebeck Jamboree event due to the international COVID-19 restrictions.
Gary Hudson’s beautifully detailed 1/4 scale BUSA Fokker D-7 in flight.
This year, ten of our members had been planning to make the six-hour drive to the Rhinebeck Jamboree but since the US border crossing still remaining closed, we decided to host our own WW I Jamboree event at our club field. “Rhinebeck North” follows the same format as the NY Rhinebeck event which offered plenty of open flying for scale and semi-scale WW I vintage models as well as those of the Golden Age era of aviation prior to the outbreak of WW II.
Rolly Siemonsen flying the mission event with his Balsa USA Taube.
Also contestants could also choose to compete in the Rhinebeck Mission event. To achieve a high score, there are three categories: breaking a balloon on a stick with their propeller; dropping a bomb on a target; and make a spot landing within a circle.
This year’s Rhinebeck North Mission Winners
1st Place in the Mission event was won by Chris Shaw flying his Balsa USA Taube.
The “Spirit of Rhinebeck” award was won by Martin Irvine with his magnificent scratch built 1/3-scale Thomas Morse Scout.
Despite less than ideal flying conditions, we were happy to have a good turn out and enjoyed plenty of flying. Next year however, if all goes well, we are looking forward to again attending the Rhinebeck “South” event.
Author Brian Perkins Lines up for another Balloon Bust pass with his giant scale Bristol Scout.
Martin Irvine (left) with his 1/3-scale Thomas Morse Scout and Brian Perkins with his 1/3-scale Fokker Dr.I.
By Brian Perkins
