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The Epic of Flight
Barnstormers & Speed Kings
O'Neil, Paul Et Al., Barnstormers & Speed The Epic Of Flight
176 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1981
About the author
Paul O'Neil
10 booksLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 1, 2025
BARNSTORMERS & SPEED KINGS starts out by telling about the barnstormers that dominated America's introduction to flight after the first world war. American military airmen, and others, learned to fly in the Curtiss Jenny. Some 10,000 Jennys had been built, but now that the world was at peace again, the military no longer needed them. So being as the government was selling them so cheap, ex-military pilots began using them as a way of making money by flying them around rural America putting on air shows. Mind you, there was no internet in those days and many folks didn't even have radios. The entertainment they got came from traveling performers, and who better to watch than those magnificent men and their flying machines.
In order to make the paying customers part with their hard earned pennies and nickels, and to compete with other barnstormers, these pilots tried to draw the crowds by performing hair raising stunts that would not have been possible with aircraft with more powerful engines. Bear in mind that these Jenny bi-planes had two cockpits, one behind the other, being as they were trainers. So the pilot, in the rear cockpit, might fly the plane steady while the guy in the front would get out and walk the upper wing. At other times you might have two of them up there doing tricks. Two pilots might team up so a person could jump from one plane to the other. Attempts were made to pick a person up from a speeding car or boat. That didn't always end up well. One pilot crash landed in a small barn set up for the purpose on the field. Sounds dangerous, true, but then again a pilot with engine trouble might have a tree capture his Jenny much like the ones that caught Charlie Brown's kites, and then walked away from it. For extra appeal, some pilots used females to perform the airborne stunts. The problem was that in order to make a real name for themselves the pilots had to keep coming up with something new to draw the crowds, even if it might end up with their death. One pilot flew his plane upside down some six feet off the ground.
This barnstorming might appeal to the adventurous soul but it never made any of them rich. They could work on their own planes, but there were times when they had to decide if they were going to buy that next meal or gas. One pilot made $600, which was a small fortune at a time when a quarter, which was made of silver, could buy you a nice meal and a slice of pie. What he did was fly booze up from Mexico during prohibition. There were undoubtedly others as well, flying booze and guns.
With the coming of the 1930s, and heavier regulations, the days of the barnstormers were drawing to a close. Speed was now the main attraction, and the cash prizes attracted the best fliers and planes. Prestigious awards were given which brought more fame than ever achieved with barnstorming. Two of the most famous races were the Thompson and Bendix. To capture a trophy brought fame to a flier's country as well. Courses had to be flown for varying distances. Some were for making laps around pylons while others were for long distance flights spanning continents.
The pilots flying these sometimes designed or modified their own planes. It must have been extremely frustrating to have one's plane crash on the way to an airshow, or come apart during a race. Being as races were usually at 500 to 600 feet altitude, a pilot in trouble put the plane into a steep climb and prayed it held together long enough for him to reach 1000 feet so he could have enough time for his chute to open. Maybe about a third of those racing died in crashes.
One name that kept coming up for successful plane modification and the winning of races was Jimmy Doolittle. Roscoe Turner won more races but it was Doolittle that led that carrier raid on Japan. In the darkest days of early WWII, Doolittle's B-25 medium bomber was the first of sixteen off the carrier USS Hornet. Normally a land based bomber, this plane was the only way to strike back. Had his plane crashed at launch the mission would probably have been called off. It was said that he was one of the best pilots in America at the time.
There was another air race trophy which was most sought after and that was the Schneider. This was awarded strictly for seaplanes, which, believe it or not, set some higher speed records than land based planes. It seems that their bulky pontoons were actually more streamlined than non-retracting landing gear of the time. What is so noteworthy about this race is that it gave birth to the Supermarine racer. This brainchild of Reginald J. Mitchell led to the development of the Supermarine Spitfire, the mount of those men who defended Britain from the Luftwaffe during WWII.
Men dominated the races but two women Louise Thaden and Jacqueline Cochran won Bendix trophies in the late 30s.
This book, like others in the series, is heavily illustrated.
In order to make the paying customers part with their hard earned pennies and nickels, and to compete with other barnstormers, these pilots tried to draw the crowds by performing hair raising stunts that would not have been possible with aircraft with more powerful engines. Bear in mind that these Jenny bi-planes had two cockpits, one behind the other, being as they were trainers. So the pilot, in the rear cockpit, might fly the plane steady while the guy in the front would get out and walk the upper wing. At other times you might have two of them up there doing tricks. Two pilots might team up so a person could jump from one plane to the other. Attempts were made to pick a person up from a speeding car or boat. That didn't always end up well. One pilot crash landed in a small barn set up for the purpose on the field. Sounds dangerous, true, but then again a pilot with engine trouble might have a tree capture his Jenny much like the ones that caught Charlie Brown's kites, and then walked away from it. For extra appeal, some pilots used females to perform the airborne stunts. The problem was that in order to make a real name for themselves the pilots had to keep coming up with something new to draw the crowds, even if it might end up with their death. One pilot flew his plane upside down some six feet off the ground.
This barnstorming might appeal to the adventurous soul but it never made any of them rich. They could work on their own planes, but there were times when they had to decide if they were going to buy that next meal or gas. One pilot made $600, which was a small fortune at a time when a quarter, which was made of silver, could buy you a nice meal and a slice of pie. What he did was fly booze up from Mexico during prohibition. There were undoubtedly others as well, flying booze and guns.
With the coming of the 1930s, and heavier regulations, the days of the barnstormers were drawing to a close. Speed was now the main attraction, and the cash prizes attracted the best fliers and planes. Prestigious awards were given which brought more fame than ever achieved with barnstorming. Two of the most famous races were the Thompson and Bendix. To capture a trophy brought fame to a flier's country as well. Courses had to be flown for varying distances. Some were for making laps around pylons while others were for long distance flights spanning continents.
The pilots flying these sometimes designed or modified their own planes. It must have been extremely frustrating to have one's plane crash on the way to an airshow, or come apart during a race. Being as races were usually at 500 to 600 feet altitude, a pilot in trouble put the plane into a steep climb and prayed it held together long enough for him to reach 1000 feet so he could have enough time for his chute to open. Maybe about a third of those racing died in crashes.
One name that kept coming up for successful plane modification and the winning of races was Jimmy Doolittle. Roscoe Turner won more races but it was Doolittle that led that carrier raid on Japan. In the darkest days of early WWII, Doolittle's B-25 medium bomber was the first of sixteen off the carrier USS Hornet. Normally a land based bomber, this plane was the only way to strike back. Had his plane crashed at launch the mission would probably have been called off. It was said that he was one of the best pilots in America at the time.
There was another air race trophy which was most sought after and that was the Schneider. This was awarded strictly for seaplanes, which, believe it or not, set some higher speed records than land based planes. It seems that their bulky pontoons were actually more streamlined than non-retracting landing gear of the time. What is so noteworthy about this race is that it gave birth to the Supermarine racer. This brainchild of Reginald J. Mitchell led to the development of the Supermarine Spitfire, the mount of those men who defended Britain from the Luftwaffe during WWII.
Men dominated the races but two women Louise Thaden and Jacqueline Cochran won Bendix trophies in the late 30s.
This book, like others in the series, is heavily illustrated.
February 1, 2021
A review of a developmental and adventurous era of flight.
February 11, 2017
This was a terrific overview of the early days of air travel. Flying is so commonplace these days that I find it hard to imagine a time when people in rural areas had never seen an airplane, let alone had an opportunity to fly in one. And while I had heard of some of the people mentioned in this book, there were many more who were influential in their day but are all but forgotten now.
I got this book as a resource for a story I am planning to write, and for that, this was an excellent read. Fair warning, though, that air travel was still in its infancy when these people took to the skies, and as such it was still a very dangerous thing to do. The mortality rate among these daredevils was fairly high, but it seemed they put on a good show while they were around.
I got this book as a resource for a story I am planning to write, and for that, this was an excellent read. Fair warning, though, that air travel was still in its infancy when these people took to the skies, and as such it was still a very dangerous thing to do. The mortality rate among these daredevils was fairly high, but it seemed they put on a good show while they were around.
June 13, 2013
Fascinating study of both barnstorming and aerial racing between the wars that is jam packed with wild characters as well as the more serious types who moved aviation from its daredevil days to the machines that would fight in the next war. Bear in mind that this is still a Time Life book, so it is just an overview of the subject, but a very enjoyable one.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews