FLIGHT™) M ОТІ OIM

Barnstorming

Barnstorming was a form of flying exhibition that was popular in the 1920s. Stunt pilots flew airplanes to entertain crowds in rural areas across the United States. The word barnstorming originally meant traveling around rural districts making political speeches or putting on theatrical shows in barns.

The Performance

To attract a crowd, the barnstormers would fly over a small town, usually at low level, to attract attention. Then they would land their planes in a farmer’s field or showground nearby. Local peo­ple would come running, and the pilots would distribute handbills and start sell­ing tickets for airplane rides for as little as $1 (about $10 today). Those who felt brave enough climbed in for a short flight. Others paid from 25 to 50 cents
($2.50 to $5 today) to stand and watch the aerobatics. Many people in the 1920s had never seen an airplane close-up, so they were thrilled to see the aircraft and the daring pilots.

Aerial barnstorming was exciting. Many youngsters who later grew up to become pilots or to work in the aviation industry got their first taste of flying at a barnstorming show.

Barnstormers performed aerobatics, such as dives, rolls, and loops. They flew upside down, and they zoomed down low over the crowd. They raced cars and trains. Wing walkers balanced on top of airplanes, and parachutists jumped out of them. Some performers climbed out of one plane into another in midair. Other pilots leapt down from a plane to a vehicle speeding beneath it or climbed out of a moving car into a low-flying aircraft. Another unbelievable stunt involved playing tennis on the wing!