Coming in for a Landing

aviation show makes pit stop at Chippewa Valley airport

Katelyn Hendren |

An American Barnstormer.
An American Barnstormer. On the phone.

The American Barnstormers will be making a stop at the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport in mid-August. The event will include vintage airplanes from the 1920s and 1930s, pilots and crews dressed in costumes from the barnstormers era, aircraft displays, and rides in the cockpits of biplanes. Biplane rides will take place from 10am to 5pm and will cost $70 per person with up to four passengers in each plane. All ages can fly in the planes and no reservations are needed. In the afternoon visitors can enjoy the “Parade of Flight,” the main performance event in which all aircraft participate. Afterward visitors can see the planes up close, talk with the pilots and crew and learn about aviation history. The American Barnstormers Tour is a tribute to the individuals known as barnstormers who traveled across the United States. Those who participate in the tour today wanted a way to share the abundant history of the barnstormers era, from the planes to the brave pilots who came to be known as barnstormers. This era, known as the Golden Age of Aviation, took place between the end of WWI and the United States’ involvement in WWII. The barnstormers went on tours, partook in races and have a legacy of setting flight records. During this era the public would race to see the birdmen and eagerly await a chance to fly in an open cockpit. By revisiting this tradition, current barnstormers want to give the audience the opportunity to experience the same thrills that people felt 80 years ago.