Hiya. I remember seeing someone post that they worked at the Rhinebeck Aerodrome...and #%&*$# if I didn't forget who it was.

I'm going up there tomorrow with a bunch of guys I used to work with at British Airways. I'd love to shake a hand and maybe have some of the old timers I'll be with get close to some of the planes before the show.

If you read this, let me know you got it and we can PM or I can just give you my # via PM and we can talk/text. I'll be there by around 1pm after we eat lunch at the old church diner. There's about 10 of us of mixed age between 50 and 80.

Thanks!!

James
"OvS"

You are probably referring to Mike Dora (see the bottom of this post, as well as the rest of the thread).

Cheers,
Von S

Got it. Thanks!

So James you found me!

Shame though that today’s show had to be cancelled for wind, it had looked like being a perfect day for a show. Good though that our show execs made the right decision. As you know, in any sort of aviation - even our “Pantomime with Planes” - there is never any room for the easy, “popular” decision.

But it was nice to meet you and your cabal of former BA Concorde engineers - we clearly share the same sense of humour*! I hope you can all make it back to Rhinebeck again, on a day when the Weather Gods smile upon the Black Baron getting his weekly comeuppance - as he has every summer sunday since 1958, you’d think the chap would have learned by now?

Cheers

Mike
*note correct spelling..

Thanks Mike. We had a great time with you and the "Bad Joke Throwdown" was hysterical. You met your match with my buddy John. You guys were hysterical. We're a close bunch of guys having all the background we do from traveling to the UK for training, working the flights in all kinds of weather and being around each other for so long...its like family. Looks like you joined right in to the family. Lol.

It was a shame nothing flew, but we had a blast anyway. It's was a great day and I'm glad I got to meet you. I've made a point to try and meet people from our community and the guys on the Dev team as well... And hopefully I can meet more.

Thanks for not making a fuss over "who I am"..because I don't think I'm any better than anyone else...I'm just another plane nut. Lol.

Our next planned trip is the Intrepid...so I have to work on that.

Talk to you soon.

James
"OvS"

PS... I'll post some pics of you out on the line as the "can man" on the E.V run-up. I just have to make them smaller due 1 meg limit.

Hi James,
We should start a meet and greet thread
'OvStachel', 'Sandbagger' and 'Polovski' at the RAF Museum, Hendon, UK.
Good times,

Mike

Where better to meet than a place like that full of WW1 and WW2 aircraft eh - good times Mike.

Nice pics! Forty years ago I was a young flt lt at the adjacent RAF Hendon, where the Service then had its main computer complex. My office was right by the museum fence, often used to pop next door to do private research in its library. Plus, our annual Battle of Britain Cocktail Party was held in the Museum’s Battle of Britain Hall, between the Spitfires, Hurricanes, Messerschmitts etc :)) - actually met the famous author JM Bruce at one of these.

Next time James I must talk to airfield management and take you airside! Sorry didn’t do that on Sunday but with the ad-hoc ground demos replacing the scheduled airshow they were a bit stretched.

Cheers
See you again

Mike

PS my 3-yr-old grandson has just asked to go to the RAF Museum for his 4th birthday, in November (all my “first family” including all 4 grandkids are back in Blighty). I think the influence is working

I agree Mark. It's always good to see fellas meet each other in person. That initial contact is always a little funny because you're emailing, or posting to each other for so long on a forum than you're standing face-to-face...it's worth the laugh and the time it took to make it happen.

It was great to meet Mike at Rhinebeck and of course both you and Mike at RAF Hendon. Arto (Paarma) was great when I met him in Finland, Terry (Makai) the same and blew us away with his Subs at the Makai Pier in Hawaii. I hope to meet Shred one day when we start traveling again, and maybe more of the crew on this forum. I really don't mind it at all and it's always fun to put faces to names and learn the background of what each member has.

As I told Mike, my first visit to Rhinebeck was when I was around 10 or so. I met the true Black Baron of Rhinebeck who was none other then Cole Phalen himself. From that moment, I was sold on WWI and Biplanes. My Avatar is actually a cross of Cole and my own face merged into one. LOL.

At any rate... we had a blast. I told Mike that if there was anything he ever wanted to know about the Concorde... that was the moment he needed to ask it. LOL. Standing all around him as he told us great stories of the RAF and Vulcans, and his life long experineces of aviation were 40+ year employees of aviation. Guys who worked for Pan-Am, TWA, Eastern, Capital, Flying Tigers, Evergreen and all who all wound up at British Airways and became as close to family as we could.

If you ever watch the video of the last Concorde Flight to JFK, the last scene has two Engineers shutting down G-BOAF (which is now on the Intrepid) for the last time. One of them was Tommy Miqueli, who was standing next to me in our "story circle" with Mike

That's aviation for you... you never know who knows who.

RAF Sgt. Dora meets the famed Black Baron of Boistrancourt!

Mike as "Can Man" (we call it that in the Fire Service) standing at the ready for the Fokker E.V Run-up.

And other pics from the day.
Was picture perfect sunny and warm... but a high wind-sheer directly at tree-top level prevented flying. Safety first always yields better results when it comes to aviation!

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James, picture perfect weather for sure! Too bad about the wind sheer grounding planes. Still, it looks like you had a great day. I need to plan a road trip and get back to Old Rhinebeck myself, been a dozen years or more since I last visited, where does the time go.

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