Once upon a time, the campfire story goes, when aviation was young and fliers were adventurers on the edge, pilots wanting to make a living in this new field couldn't just sit around and wait for passengers and students to find them. They had to go to where the people were. And so they got in their Jennys, and their Travel Airs, and their Eaglerocks, and they headed out across America, landing in farmers' fields and bringing aviation to the masses.
It's a tale told of a lost time gone by, like sailing on the Spanish Main. Today, the general wisdom would be that the barnstormers have long since flown west. Pilots can't just drop out of the sky and hop rides out of a field owned by an unknown farmer. The liability alone would be prohibitive. And the population, jaded by years of airline travel and jet noise, would not welcome a pilot who just landed in their alfalfa with open arms.
Or … would they?
In a new documentary called Barnstorming, filmmakers Paul Glenshaw and Bryan Reichardt tell the story of a group of pilots who proved that the spirit of both those barnstorming pilots and the people who flocked to fields to see them is still alive and well in America. The film traces an accidental friendship that develops between two antique airplane pilots and an eastern Indiana farm family they literally dropped in on one day, back in 1999. They were invited back, they took the family up on the invitation, and their visit has now become an annual event and party that is eagerly anticipated by a growing number of townspeople.
The film is beautifully shot, and the story is very well told. For my own purposes, I wish they'd included more information and visuals from the old barnstorming days, to put the modern-day version in more context. But I talked to Paul Glenshaw, and he said they tried that, and it just didn't work well with the rest of the material. But for anyone a little nostalgic for the "good old days" of simple flying and strong and lasting friendships, even across the miles … Barnstorming is a rejuvenating treat. It's also a reminder that flight can still be timeless adventure, if we choose to make it so.
More information on Barnstorming is available at www.barnstormingmovie.com.
All Comments
Lane,
Loved your comments about the movie -- also love your choice of photos! That's my 1930 Waco RNF! No matter where the movie is shown, the one comment one hears more than any other is the movie really captures the "feel" of what Andrew and Frank started several years ago! Paul and Bryan did a fantastic job!
Til the spars crack,
Susan
What a great story made even better and more enduring with the farm families' invitation for the pilot's to return the following year for a free meal and the communities' response.
Quite a contrast with Robert Goyer's 'Pilot-on-Pilot Hate' article in the same newsletter.
Keep them coming Lane.
Terry
Oregon
Is that photo of you current? You have a smile that says barnstorming all by it's self.
Seems like I've see that photo many times in the past. I don't think I'll ever tire or it.
The subject of barnstorming seems to go hand-in-hand with that "let's get flying" look that you have captured.
One of your many admires,
John K
Spamville,MN
The photo is of Andy Heins flying his wifes airplane. (Susan Theodorelis). Andy Heins and Susan flew in 663Y. Mike Hartman flew in NC11264. These were Waco RNF biplanes from 1930 and 1931. They are actual 1930s Waco biplanes. None of them had speaking parts in the movie. However there are some great photos.
