Roaring Twenties Come Back To Brainerd With Barnstormers Tour

Old cars, barbershop quartets, and best of all, 1920s biplanes, were all present at the American Barnstormers tour in Brainerd.

“We want people to walk through the ramp and go, ‘I’m back in the twenties,’” said Local Barnstormers Organizer Mike Peterson. “Our barbershop quartet helps us do that, and the food we’re selling, the nickel popcorn, because you could buy it for a nickel in 1929.”

The American Barnstormers brings their twelve biplanes to five different states for people to enjoy and admire the history.

“I think as time goes by, I think people gravitate more towards the old things, like going to old car shows, tractor shows, and certainly something like this to see what airplanes were like eighty years ago,” said a biplane pilot known as “Waldo.”

And community members could even take a ride in one of the vintage aircraft. For my third time ever riding in an airplane, it was an experience I would never forget, as I was able to take a ride in one of these vintage 1920s airplanes. The view from above was breathtaking flying over some of Minnesota’s majestic lakes, and it’s quite a view even for people that fly every day.

“My first time flying in Minnesota, and you guys have a lot of lakes here, flying in from South Dakota, there were lakes everywhere,” “Waldo” said. “Beautiful flight in today, it was one of those memorable things.”

All of the biplanes at the tour were by Travel Air, the most popular company back in the twenties. The Barnstormers tour took an eight-year break until finally returning to Brainerd.

“We had such a great time last time, we had such a wonderful turnout, the community really embraced it,” Peterson said. “We thought, ‘well, this is the first time in six years they’ve toured, we want to do it again.”’

The Barnstormers fly their own biplanes from city to city on their tour, a reminder that these vehicles belong in the air instead of a museum.

“We want for people not to forget our roots, we love these airplanes,” “Waldo” said. “Having these airplanes in a hangar or a museum is not a good thing. They need to be out flying, and they need to be in a position where people can have access to them.”

The Barnstormers Tour will be in Brainerd for one last day tomorrow from 9 AM until 6 PM. They will make their final stop on their tour in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.