Contact:
Ken Vandruff |
June 4, 2008
For immediate release
‘AMERICAN BARNSTORMERS TOUR' HEADING TO WICHITA
(Wichita, Kan.) - As many as 20 meticulously restored biplanes will fly into Wichita's Col. James Jabara Airport for the 2008 American Barnstormers Tour, June 25-26. The tour showcases aircraft from the 1920s and 1930s in a nostalgic salute to the daring young men and women who ventured across America seeking fame and fortune in their biplanes dubbed "Barnstormers."
The American Barnstormers Tour will visit nine cities throughout America's heartland. Admission is free at each stop on the tour:
- June 15-16 Iowa City, Iowa (IOW)
- June 17-18 Ames, Iowa (AMW)
- June 19-20 Council Bluff, Iowa (CBF)
- June 21-22 Hastings, Neb. (HSI)
- June 23-24 Great Bend, Kan. (GBD)
- June 25-26 Wichita, Kan. (AAO)
- June 27 Emporia, Kan. (EMP) morning - refueling only
- June 27-28 Lee's Summit, Mo. (LXT)
- June 29-30 Jefferson City, Mo. (JEF)
The Tour aircraft will be on display from approximately 11a.m. to 6 p.m. (weather permitting) at the south end of Jabara Airport.
The aircraft will take off at noon and 3 p.m. each day for the "Barnstormers Parade of Flight" with master of ceremonies Jeff Montgomery, EAA Radio personality. Jeff will entertain the crowd with tall tales of barnstorming and the history of each biplane as the pilots fly overhead. All barnstormers will participate in recreating the era with period costumes, aircraft signage, historical information and vintage props.
Spectators can experience the thrill of open cockpit flight and go barnstorming in a beautifully restored Travel Air or New Standard vintage biplane. Rides will be available for $50 a person, no reservations, weather permitting.
"These aren't airplanes, they're time machines," said Clay Adams, tour organizer. "Our tour gives people from all over the country the chance to travel back in time and experience the same sights, sounds and excitement they would have felt some 80 years ago as they looked out across the fields and saw the barnstormers on the horizon."
The period between the end of World War I and the United States' entry into World War II is remembered as "The Golden Age of Aviation." Barnstorming tours, trophy races and record-setting flights captured the public's attention. For many people, barnstormers provided their first up-close look at an airplane. Spectators also got the chance to spend a few dollars for their first flight. The American Barnstormers Tour's organizers saw an opportunity to give visitors from all backgrounds a unique chance to connect the past with the present.
For more information visit the American Barnstormers Web site at http://www.americanbarnstormerstour.com/.
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Contacts:
Sarah "Pancho" Wilson
Public Relations
American Barnstormers Tour 2008
http://www.americanbarnstormerstour.com/
863.286.4103
Clay Adams
Tour Organizer
American Barnstormers Tour 2008
http://www.americanbarnstormerstour.com/
612.867.6022