Barnstorming

Barnstorming was a form of entertainment in which stunt pilots performed tricks, either individually or in groups called flying circuses. Devised to "impress people with the skill of pilots and the sturdiness of planes", it became popular in the United States during the Roaring Twenties.Barnstormers were pilots who flew throughout the country selling airplane rides and performing stunts; Charles Lindbergh first began flying in this capacity.

History

Background

The Wright brothers and Glenn Curtiss had early flying exhibition teams, with solo flyers like Lincoln Beachey and Didier Masson also popular before World War I, but barnstorming did not become a formal phenomenon until the 1920s.

During World War I, the United States manufactured a significant number of Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" biplanes to train its military aviators and almost every U.S. airman learned to fly using the plane. After the war the U.S. federal government sold off the surplus materiel, including the Jennys, for a fraction of its initial value (they had cost the government $5,000 but were being sold for as low as $200). This allowed many servicemen who already knew how to fly the JN-4s, to purchase their own planes. The similar-looking Standard J-1 biplane was also available.

Barnstorming (video game)

Barnstorming is an Atari 2600 video game designed by Steve Cartwright and published by Activision in 1982. Barnstorming was the first game designed by Cartwright. The idea for Barnstorming came to him as he watched a biplane one day while driving home from work.

Gameplay

The player must pilot a biplane through a series of barns in the shortest time possible while dodging windmills, weather vanes, and geese. Bumping into anything slows down the plane for a couple of seconds, increasing the overall time.

There are four levels of play determined by the game select switch. Game 1 is Hedge Hopper (10 barns), game 2 is Crop Duster (15 barns), game 3 is Stunt Pilot (15 barns), and game 4 is Flying Ace (25 barns). In the first three games, the course layout of barns, windmills, and even geese do not change, making it easy to memorize the layout. Game 4 is the only game with a random course.

Originally, a player with a time or better of 33.3 seconds on game 1, 51.0 seconds on game 2, or 54.0 seconds on game 3 could send Activision a picture of their screen and receive membership in the Activision Flying Aces and receive a Flying Aces patch.

Barnstorming (disambiguation)

Barnstorming is a type of stunt piloting (also known as "Flying Circus") performed in the 1920s; the term was earlier used for rural political campaigns, and in general is used to mean a traveling performance.

Barnstorm, barnstormers or barnstorming may also refer to: