As the film says, Friends can really drop out of the sky.

Not sure where I heard about this film but it really resonated with me. As a group owner of a Piper Cub for many years, the fun of dropping in on someone was wonderful, especially if there were one to two people and/or kids who fancied a quick view of their house from the air.

This documentary seems to capture perfectly what this type of flying is all about.  The trailer sums it up.

The story is explained:

On a summer day in 1999, Andrew King and Frank Pavliga were flying their antique airplanes over the vast farmland of eastern Indiana. They were coming home from an airshow in small, vintage, single-engine planes, the type used by their heroes, the barnstormers. In the 1920s and 1930s, gypsy “barnstorming” pilots would simply put down in a field, advertise the chance to fly, and watch the customers line up. The barnstormers’ simple planes were nothing short of miracles to the farmers, townspeople and children who were lucky enough to experience the thrill of flying for the first time.

In that spirit, Andrew and Frank steered their planes toward a dark green plot of alfalfa on a dairy farm and landed to take some pictures, just for the fun of it. Matt Dirksen, the farmer, thought he had just seen two planes crash in his field, and went over to investigate. Andrew and Frank quickly made up a story about engine trouble. Almost immediately, they heard the approaching shouts of excitement from two young boys, and a slightly suspicious Matt himself. The past was suddenly reborn. In the old tradition, the pilots treated the boys to their first flights. Matt and his wife invited the pilots to come back someday for a home-cooked meal. The pilots returned the next year bringing a few friends with their own airplanes, and a new tradition was born.

If you love flying, I’m pretty sure you will love this Film.

By the way, grateful thanks to Paul Glenshaw for his written permission to reproduce the images in this Post.

We would greatly appreciate a mention in your Blog, and also your request for permission to reproduce the images! Please consider this email approval  for posting the images. the credit for each should be : Paul Glenshaw, Barnstorming Productions, LLC.

It would be good to return to this topic when time permits as Paul G has offered to provide more information on the making of the film.

By Paul Handover (missing his Cub just now!)

• Aircraft
• Flying
• Photography