The Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome — Bainbridge First Ed 1977

✈️ The Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome by E. Gordon Bainbridge (Exposition Press, 1977) is the first-edition hardcover history of Cole Palen’s “living” aviation museum in Red Hook, New York — the story of how a barnstormer turned his collection of restored Pioneer and World War I-era aircraft into one of America’s earliest flying museums. Written by an insider who met Palen in 1959 and helped restore and fly many of the museum’s planes, it is filled with firsthand accounts and rare archival photographs.

Quick Facts

• Title: The Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome — The Story of Cole Palen and His “Living” Aviation Museum
• Author: E. Gordon Bainbridge (with his wife Catherine)
• Publisher: Exposition Press, Inc., Hicksville, New York (An Exposition-Banner Book)
• Year: 1977
• Edition: Stated First Edition; unclipped dust jacket with original $7.50 price intact
• ISBN: 0-682-48883-6  •  LCCN: 77-79711
• Format: Hardcover, red paper-wrapped boards with gilt stamping; illustrated throughout with black-and-white archival photographs (jacket photo by Kai Hulleberg)
• Extent: Preface, Introduction, 17 chapters, and Acknowledgments
• Dedication: To Cole Palen “for allowing us all to play and enjoy his Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome”
• Condition: Book VG-/VG; jacket G+ (full report below)

The Museum Behind the Book

Cole Palen bought six World War I-era aircraft from a museum at Roosevelt Field on Long Island in 1951 and founded the aerodrome in Red Hook, New York, in 1958 — a living museum rather than a silent hall of dusty cases. He restored and flew the planes himself at weekend airshows as his alter-ego, the “Black Baron of Rhinebeck,” with the first show held in 1960. When Palen died in 1993, ownership passed to the non-profit Rhinebeck Aerodrome Museum, which continues to collect, restore, and fly more than sixty aircraft from the Pioneer, World War I, and Golden Ages of aviation.

Bainbridge met Palen in 1959 and was part of that dream almost from its inception. A former art and drafting teacher who became a U.S. citizen in 1954, he built and flew two experimental aircraft and restored many of the flying antiques used at the shows — which is why this book reads as an insider’s account rather than a distant history.

What’s Inside

The narrative follows the aerodrome from its humble beginnings through the 1970s, with chapters on the Spad epoch, short-field landings, the Thomas flight, and the shows of the seventies. The full table of contents:

• Preface • Introduction
• I. The Innocent Years  •  II. The Birth of Eagles  •  III. Flying for Fun  •  IV. Humble Beginning
• V. The Spad Epoch  •  VI. New Adventures  •  VII. Happy Times  •  VIII. Short-Field Landings
• IX. The Thomas Affair  •  X. The Thomas Flight  •  XI. The Société Spandau  •  XII. Win Some—Lose Some
• XIII. Sweet Smell of Success  •  XIV. Changing Times  •  XV. The Shows of the Seventies  •  XVI. The Stars of the Shows  •  XVII. The Full Circle
• Acknowledgments

Frequently Asked Questions

What is this book about? It is the first-edition history of Cole Palen’s Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, a living museum in Red Hook, New York that restores and flies authentic Pioneer and World War I-era aircraft. Bainbridge documents the restoration work and the weekend aerial shows from an insider’s perspective.

Is it a first edition? Yes — the copyright page states First Edition, © 1977 by E. Gordon Bainbridge (ISBN 0-682-48883-6), and this copy has its original unclipped dust jacket with the $7.50 publisher price intact.

Who was E. Gordon Bainbridge? A former art and drafting teacher who met Cole Palen in 1959, became involved with the aerodrome almost from its start, built and flew two experimental aircraft, and restored many of the flying antiques used at the shows.

Condition Report

• Overall Grade: Book: Very Good- (VG-)/Very Good (VG); Jacket: Good+ (G+)
• Cover & Spine: Rich red paper-wrapped boards with sharp, bright gilt stamping to the spine and front board; corners sharp. Edge wear on board edges and spine head and tail. Front board lower edge has a dent.
• Dust Jacket: Present and unclipped ($7.50 price intact). Edge wear along top edge with triangular loss at the spine front cover corner; light surface rubbing and faint handling marks to white panels. Spine lightly sunned.
• Text Block & Pages: Pages are clean, off-white/cream, supple, and free of interior markings or foxing; vibrant ochre endpapers intact.
• Binding: Square, tight, and solid; hinges are firm and uncracked.

See accompanying images for full condition details. Will ship promptly, carefully packaged.

HFB-SEO-v1: 2026-09-08

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