Bessie Coleman, the Chicago Manicurist Who Had to Cross an Ocean Just to Learn to Fly
Bessie Coleman became the world's first licensed Black pilot in 1921 - but only after every American flight school turned her away.
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Ormer Locklear, the First Wing Walker, and the Night the Floodlights Blinded the Greatest Stuntman in Aviation
Ormer Locklear invented wing walking in 1919 out of necessity - not showmanship - and became barnstorming's defining figure before dying at 29 on a Hollywood film set.
TaildraggerOrmer Locklear, the Texas Wing-Walker, and the Hollywood Searchlights That Killed the Man Who Invented Barnstorming
Ormer Locklear invented wing-walking out of in-flight necessity in 1917, became America's first aviation celebrity, and died at 28 during a Hollywood night-dive stunt in 1920.
TaildraggerThe Curtiss JN-4 Jenny, the Nineteen Nineteen Surplus Sale, and the Two-Dollar Ride That Introduced Rural America to Flight
How a 1919 government surplus sale of WWI training aircraft for as little as $200 each launched barnstorming and gave rural America its first taste of flight.
TaildraggerBessie Coleman, the Caudron Biplane in France, and the License No American School Would Give Her
Bessie Coleman became the world's first Black female licensed pilot in 1921 after sailing to France when every American flight school refused her application.
TaildraggerOrmer Locklear, the First Wing-Walker, and the Klieg Lights That Ended the Man Who Survived Everything Else
Ormer Locklear invented wing-walking in 1919, became America's most famous aviator, and died on a Hollywood film set blinded by klieg lights during a night stunt.
TaildraggerCole Palen, Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, and the Living Museum That Refused to Let the First Generation of Flight Die
How one man's obsession with flying WWI-era aircraft kept the first generation of flight alive at Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in New York.
TaildraggerOrmer Locklear, the Texas Carpenter Who Invented Wing-Walking, and the Night Dive Over Los Angeles That Killed the Most Famous Barnstormer in America
Ormer Locklear invented wing-walking in 1917 as a mechanical fix, not a stunt, and died on camera at 28 performing a night dive for a Hollywood film in 1920.
TaildraggerThe Two-Hundred-Dollar Jenny, the War Surplus Sale of Nineteen Nineteen, and the Summer America First Looked Up
After WWI, the U.S. Army auctioned thousands of surplus Curtiss JN-4 Jennies for as little as $200, launching the barnstorming era that brought flight to rural America.
TaildraggerBessie Coleman, Queen Bess, and the International Pilot License America Refused to Give Her
Bessie Coleman became the world's first Black woman to earn an internationally recognized pilot's license in 1921 after every American flight school refused to train her.
TaildraggerOrmer Locklear, the Wing Walker Who Climbed Out of a Jenny at Sixty Miles an Hour and Turned the Whole Sky Into a Stage
How Texas daredevil Ormer Locklear invented wing walking on a Curtiss Jenny - and how his death shaped modern airshow safety.
TaildraggerClyde Pangborn, Miss Veedol, and the First Nonstop Flight Across the Pacific, the Belly Landing in Wenatchee Nineteen Thirty-One
How Clyde Pangborn walked the wing of Miss Veedol over the Pacific in 1931 to complete the first nonstop transpacific flight.
TaildraggerNoel Wien, the Quiet Barnstormer Who Flew North of the Arctic Circle With No Map, No Radio, and No One Ahead of Him
How Noel Wien became the first pilot to cross the Arctic Circle in Alaska - and why his caution made him a legend.
TaildraggerOrmer Locklear, the Dance of Death, and the Wing-Walker Who Climbed Out of the Cockpit and Never Really Came Back
Ormer Locklear invented professional wing-walking and the deadly plane-to-plane 'Dance of Death' - until a 1920 film stunt killed him at 28.
TaildraggerQueen Bess, Bessie Coleman, and the Texas Sharecropper's Daughter Who Sailed to France to Earn a Pilot's License America Wouldn't Give Her
How Bessie Coleman, a Texas sharecropper's daughter, sailed to France in 1920 to earn the pilot's license America denied her.
TaildraggerThe Thirteen Black Cats, the Stunt Pilots of Burdett Field, and the Price List That Turned Barnstorming Into a Business
How the Thirteen Black Cats organized at Burdett Field in 1925 and used a fixed price list to turn barnstorming into a real profession.
TaildraggerIvan Gates, Clyde Pangborn, and the Gates Flying Circus, the Barnstormers Who Sold a Million Dollar Rides Off the Wing of a War-Surplus Jenny
How Ivan Gates and pilot Clyde Pangborn built the Gates Flying Circus and flew a million Americans on their first flights.
TaildraggerBessie Coleman, Queen Bess, and the Farm Girl From Texas Who Sailed to France to Earn the License No One in America Would Give Her
How Bessie Coleman sailed to France in 1920 to become the first Black woman and first Native American woman to earn a pilot's license.
TaildraggerOrmer Locklear, the King of the Wing Walkers, and the Texas Lieutenant Who Climbed Out of the Cockpit and Never Really Came Back
Ormer Locklear, the King of the Wing Walkers, invented wing walking and the mid-air plane change before dying on film in 1920.
TaildraggerBessie Coleman, Queen Bess, and the Chicago Manicurist Who Sailed to France to Earn the Wings Nobody in America Would Give Her
How Bessie Coleman, a Chicago manicurist, sailed to France in 1920 to become the first Black woman in the world to earn a pilot's license.
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