While large numbers of airplanes had been produced in America for the
war effort overseas at the Western Front, it was found that that the
British, French and Germans were far ahead of them when it came to
flight technology, which led to a huge surplus of airplanes in the
United States. The government's solution to recover some of the money
was to sell the surplus stock off for as little as $200 dollars each.
With no license being required to fly a plane, the offer attracted many
ex-fighter pilots as well as civilians, who developed a new American
pastime known as barnstorming. Part entertainers, part thrill-seekers,
the barnstormers made their way across the country as solo acts and in
groups called 'Flying Circuses'.
The American flier Ormer Locklear wowed the crowds by climbing out of
his airplane and walk along the wing, and it wasn't long before flying
circuses held less appeal for spectators if it didn't have a
wing-walking act. Handstands, jumps across planes, and even the odd game
of tennis were attempted by barnstormers to attract larger paying
audiences.
In 1936, the US Government banned wing-walking under 1,500 ft, which
doomed aerial stunting, and while a few wing-walking teams operated in
the 1970s, it wasn't until barnstormer Vic Norman founded his famous
AeroSuperBatics wing-walking team in the early 1980s that the sight of
daredevils hand-standing and flying upside down on the wing was seen in
Europe. Several teams around the world subsequently formed using
airplanes such as the Boeing Stearman or the Curtiss 'Jenny' biplanes to
wow crowds as a part of regular air displays, and their appeal has
continued to rise since the 2000s.
