Fokker Scourge Redux & Nighttime Photo Shoot

A couple of weeks ago we published a story by Aaron Haase describing the Golden Age Air Museum’s marvelous annual air show, themed as the Fokker Scourge due to the four replica Fokker Dr.I triplanes participating in the flying display. What we didn’t cover in that article were the marvelous nighttime photoshoots featuring illuminated WWI fighter plane designs on the evening prior to each day of the event. Organized by Full Disc Aviation, this experience included a brace of Fokker triplanes along with a replica Sopwith Pup. Our great friend and noted aviation author, A.Kevin Grantham, was on hand to capture the proceedings, so we thought we’d let him pick up the story from here…

The Friday and Saturday night shoots were organized by Full Disc Aviation photographers Richard Souza, James Woodard, and Ryan Kelly. These guys are real pros, and I really appreciated their generousity for allowing me to tag along with them. The Full Disc team worked with the Golden Age Air Museum, Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, Chris Hill’s ‘Knight of the Sky’ crew, and Andrew King to facilitate this unique night shoot. The subject aircraft for the first night’s shoot included John Elliot’s and Chris Hill’s Dr.I replicas. It is evident that the aircraft owners trusted this great group of photographers. Like me, Glenn Riegel, the Museum’s staff photographer, and local lensman Corey Beitler also participated. The Full Disc team used several portable Milwaukee battery-operated lights to illuminate the subject aircraft. They also did a bit of light painting using a programmable light source. The Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome’s Sopwith Pup was the subject aircraft the following evening.

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Kevin also captured some marvelous images of the air show too – images which offer some different perspectives to what was covered in the earlier article, so it’s hard to resist sharing them! So, with much thanks, here are Kevin’s words, images and captions highlighting what was clearly a fantastic event for the whole family…

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The Fokker Scourge was indeed a fantastic two-day show. Each day they would demonstrate their vintage aircraft collection with comedy scenes in between. The flying was outstanding, but the comedy is what made it all work. I cannot remember when I had more fun at an air show! The whole event had a distinctively family-friendly atmosphere. You can bring your drinks and food and sit down and enjoy the show without being pushed to pay for everything, including the grass you are walking on. Refreshing!!! The adult admission price was only $12 – another nice surprise. The free parking area was behind Grimes Field (it actually comprised the driveway to Paul Dougherty’s house) which is only a hop-skip and a jump to the event area. The museum itself consists of three hangars and a vintage farmhouse which serves as the Museum’s visitor center. The adjoining airfield is bordered by cornfields, giving the site a real Field of Dreams vibe. A very picturesque setting nestled between Interstate 78 and the Blue Mountains of Pennsylvania. The Fokker Scourge was saved for the end of each show, as one might expect. The pictures, with their captions, should serve as an effective guide to the proceedings… enjoy!

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Many thanks indeed to A.Kevin Grantham for this article. As one can easily tell from the accompanying photographs and descriptions… the Golden Age Air Museum puts on a fabulous show. For those of you who are able to attend this weekend (October 22/23, 2022), the museum will be hosting The Great Pumpkin Fly-In and Cruise-In Air Show which will feature aerial pumpkin bombing contests, biplane rides, a variety of rare and unusual vintage aircraft and a selection of vintage cars… plus all sorts of other opportunities. If the images included in this article are anything to go by, this will be a not-to-miss event for the whole family!

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