Bird Model CK

In 1931, 42 of this type aircraft were manufactured at Glendale, L.I., New York. Two Bird CK aircraft were flown to 6th and 7th place finishes in the 1931 National Air Tour by William Lancaster and Lee Gehlbach, averaging more than 100 MPH for the duration of the race. The Bird was a popular barnstorming plane of the period and could carry up to three passengers at a time, although the third passenger needed to be small to fit into the third seat. 

Nick Kucki of Chicago, IL started the restoration of this Bird in the 1960s. The project was sold to Mr. H.N. “Dusty” Rhodes, 80% completed. Mr. Rhodes finished the restoration and flew the Bird to re-enact the first night airmail flight on February 22, 1967 starting at North Platte, Nebraska and finishing in Omaha. The flight took Mr. Rhodes through 12-degree temperatures and moderate snow as he neared Omaha. The last hour of the flight was made on four cylinders. The re-enactment of this historic flight was the opening act in Nebraska’s centennial celebration. The Bird was used to hop passengers at air shows in Western Nebraska, Northeast Colorado and Eastern Wyoming and Mr. Rhodes logged several hundred hours in the aircraft before selling it to Cole Palen on April 11, 1968. It barnstormed here at Old Rhinebeck for many years taking hundreds of passengers for thrilling open-cockpit biplane rides.

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