barnstorming

Barnstorming appealed to many pilots as a way to make a living. Several famous aviators worked as stunt pilots or aerialists at one time or another. Charles Lindbergh, for example, got his start barnstorming. Besides learning to fly on the barnstorming circuit, Lindbergh also started to wing walk, parachute, and work on engines. Some other well-known daredevils included Roscoe Turner (a famous speed racer), Bessie Coleman (the first licensed African American female pilot), Pancho Barnes, (a well-known speed queen of the "Golden Era of Airplane Racing"), Wiley Post, (the holder of two trans-global speed records), and several Hollywood stunt

barn·storm (bärnstôrm) v. barn·stormed, barn·storm·ing, barn·storms v.intr. 1. To travel around the countryside making political speeches, giving lectures, or presenting theatrical performances. 2. To appear at county fairs and carnivals in exhibitions of stunt flying and parachute jumping. 3. To travel around an area appearing in exhibition sports events, especially baseball games. v.tr. To travel across while barnstorming. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- barnstormer n. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

It is not clear how the term 'barnstorming' emerged. One theory holds that it was named for earlier groups of travelling actors who had put on plays in barns. Another, more plausible, argues that it was based on the usual way in which the shows were announced to the local townspeople. Pilots would fly over a town to make themselves noticed, and then land at a nearby farm and ask the farmer for the temporary use of the fields as a runway. Then, often the planes were met by rural towns with tremendous excitement in anticipation of the show.