the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome’s Blériot XI is the oldest flying aircraft in the Americas and the second-oldest flying aircraft in the world

The Old Rhinebeck Blériot has its own storied history. Believed to have crashed at an air meet in Saugus, Massachusetts, in 1910, the airframe was later spotted in a junkyard by H. H. Coburn. Coburn rescued it and passed it along to Bill Champlin of Laconia, New Hampshire, who then donated it to Cole Palen in 1952. Palen restored the aircraft to flying condition by 1954 at Stormville Airport, New York, and it was subsequently featured in Mechanix Illustrated in 1955, garnering early national attention prior to the founding of the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome. Since 1961, the Blériot XI has been a regular performer at Rhinebeck

Prior to his aviation accomplishments, Blériot had a successful business producing automotive headlamps.

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