America's first flying museum of antique aircraft — founded 1958, two fatal airshow crashes, and an October ghost tour through 'tales of pilots lost.'
9 Norton Road, Red Hook, NY 12571
Research updated September 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Ghost tours: $20 per person. Air show admission varies; biplane rides additional. Check website for current pricing.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Outdoor aerodrome grounds; mostly flat; some grass areas
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1958 · America's first flying museum of antique aircraft · Cole Palen collection — 60+ pioneer, WWI, and Golden Age aircraft · Two documented fatal airshow crashes (2008, 2024) · Bleriot XI — believed second-oldest airworthy aircraft in the world
Cole Palen began acquiring antique aircraft in the 1950s, drawn to machines from the earliest era of powered flight and the First World War. He established the aerodrome on a property straddling the Red Hook–Rhinebeck town line in 1958, ran the first public air show in 1960, and incorporated the organization formally in 1966.
Palen developed a public performance persona called the Black Baron of Rhinebeck, cast as the WWI-era German villain of the aerodrome's theatrical weekend air shows — a role he played until his death in 1993. The shows combined genuine flying antiques with scripted aerial combat narratives, making the aerodrome unusual among aviation museums for treating its aircraft as active performers rather than static displays.
The collection grew to over 60 aircraft spanning three eras: pioneer (1903–1914), World War I, and the Golden Age between the wars. Notable examples include a Bleriot XI widely believed to be the second-oldest airworthy aircraft in the world, and a Sopwith Pup. The museum also holds roadworthy antique automobiles.
Two fatal crashes have occurred during airshows at the facility. On August 17, 2008, Vincent Nasta died when his French Nieuport 24 reproduction crashed into a wooded area adjacent to the grounds — the first airshow fatality in the aerodrome's history. On October 5, 2024, Brian T. Coughlin, a member of the museum's board, was killed when a replica Fokker D.VIII crashed at the south end of the runway. Both incidents are matters of public record and form the documentary basis for the aerodrome's ghost tour programming.
Sources
The Haunted History Ghost Tours at Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome run each Friday in October, with four time slots per night. The tours are 70 minutes on foot through the aerodrome grounds, framed around 'tales of pilots lost, adventure ending in tragedy, and tales of the haunted history of the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome.'
The phrase 'tales of pilots lost' is the operative one. The aerodrome has two documented pilot deaths on its property during airshows: Vincent Nasta in August 2008 and Brian T. Coughlin in October 2024. These are recent and verifiable events rather than accumulated ghost lore, and the tour programming draws on them — along with the aerodrome's 65-year history of airmen who flew genuinely dangerous aircraft — as the basis for its haunted-history framing.
No traditional apparition claims or paranormal investigation accounts have been documented from the aerodrome in sources reviewed during this build. The ghost tours operate as historical storytelling events tied to real tragedies rather than paranormal investigations. The $20 ticket price and required advance booking make this one of the more accessible monetizable experiences in the region, and the October timing is well-suited to dark-tourism visitors already traveling the Hudson Valley for fall foliage.
Media Appearances
Seventy-minute walking tours held on Fridays in October, with four time slots per night (6:00pm, 6:30pm, 7:15pm, 7:45pm). Tours cover 'tales of pilots lost, adventure ending in tragedy, and tales of the haunted history of the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome.' $20 per person; advance tickets required. Rain or shine.
Explore the museum's collection of over 60 restored aircraft from the Pioneer, WWI, and Golden Age eras. Seasonal weekend air shows feature flying demonstrations of WWI-era aircraft. Open cockpit biplane rides in a 1929 biplane available separately.
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