Following World War I, the U.S. federal government was left with a large surplus of open-topped biplane models, lovingly referred to as “Jennys.” This prompted the government to sell the biplanes off for a small fraction of their initial value.
The primary buyers of these Jennys were former military aviators already well trained to fly them. These veterans established transient businesses where they performed aerobatic flight demos and offered airplane rides across the country. Since they didn’t have a fixed operating location, they would often land in farm fields on the outskirts of major cities, earning each of these pilots the title “barnstormer.”
Lillian Boyer performing the ‘Breakaway’ © WIKI COMMONS
It didn’t take long for the federal government to pass new civil aviation regulations that changed the mobile nature of the barnstormer business model. The Air Commerce Act of 1926 disallowed barnstormers from operating on the road or using farm fields as landing strips. Private pilots were instead required to establish permanent businesses in static locations.The new location-dependent businesses were appropriately called Fixed-Base Operators.
A barnstormer gives his JN4-D the recommended once-over before a flight. (From an album formerly belonging to barnstormer and daredevil Carter Buton. SDASM Carter Buton Album Loan_00063)
Between the first and the last World War, the infrastructure and networks of airports across America grew into the legitimate, convenient civil aviation wonder that it is today. Within this network of private and commercial airports, FBOs have established service centers that engage in the sale of numerous aviation products, services, and facilities. The variety of commercial and consumer services offered today include aircraft fueling, parking, maintenance, charters, pilot lounges, baggage handling, flight training, de-icing, and more.
As an industry recognized FBO, Swift Aviation offers world-class concierge, maintenance and line services as well as access to the largest arrival/departure canopy in the Southwest. From an accommodating pilot lounge to fueling services featuring the most competitive prices around, your experience with Swift is guaranteed to be authentic. Click here to learn more about our FBO services.
