One attendee, Lee Wouters, didn’t have to go far. In fact, he was among many local community members eager to express his passion for planes.
“My father flew a Wildcat in World War II. Growing up on naval bases, we always saw planes flying overhead, like motorcycles in the sky,” Wouters said.
Credit: Ismael David Mujahid
Credit: Ismael David Mujahid
Credit: Ismael David Mujahid
Credit: Ismael David Mujahid
Credit: Ismael David Mujahid
Credit: Ismael David Mujahid
The retired Springfield resident lives close to the airport and said he is happy planes fly over his home as often as they do. Like his time at the carnival, they are opportunities for him to rekindle a passion for planes that has burned strong since his adolescence.
By comparison, event sponsor and owner of Home City Tent & Awning, Co John Fleeger, was a relative newcomer to the world of biplanes.
“I spent 22 years on the other side of the fence while in the Air National Guard,” Fleeger said.
He would become used to the sights and sounds of modern aircraft flying overhead. It was on meeting event organizer Dewey Davenport, however, that he would catch the aviation bug.
“Back then we only had one biplane,” Fleeger said. Like many, a single ride was enough for him to develop a love for flying. “I’m just waiting for my next turn to get up there,” Fleeger said. “I call it my altitude adjustment. It’s interesting how while I’m afraid of heights I get up there and it all just goes away.”
According to the retired veteran, the sensation of taking to the skies in a biplane is leagues ahead of modern commercial airlines. Fleeger, referring to a recent flight on board an “industrial revenue machine,” explained just what is so addictive about vintage plane rides.
“It’s like the weight of the world dissolves. Your floating, your just there. It’s you, the plane, and nature. I flew commerical recently and it’s just not the same. You don’t get the same ambience. With these planes you get up there and you’re part of nature,” Fleeger said.
Over time Davenport said he would graduate to radio controlled planes and by highschool the Ohioan was ready for full-sized planes. What separated him from others was his love for vintage, antique craft.
“Growing up I wanted to have a biplane, my own grass lane, and to give people rides. I would tell my parents that’s what I wanted to do when I got older,” Davenport said.
Years later he would have the means to make his dream come true. He purchased his first biplane in 2013, quit his job a year later, and eventually created his biplane ride company Goodfolk & O’Tymes. Those were the circumstances that led to the first Barnstorming Carnival, an event focused on giving the public a chance to interact with vintage planes and their pilots free of charge.
“It’s been a lot of work, a lot of passion, a lot of love,” Davenport said, reflecting on the event’s growth.
From the first event, which drew several thousand people, Davenport’s mission has been embraced by the local community. It’s in the idea of a small town coming together to celebrate aviation that the Springfield Barnstorming Carnival stands out.
“This is a small town community that brings people to the airport to learn about flying,” Davenport said, emphasizing just how important it is that the carnival is free to the public. “You don’t have to spend money to have fun.”
Key to the event’s communal feel is how accessible pilots are. Many are by their planes and happily interact with visitors. For Davenport and it’s team, having both pilots and the community interact is vital.
“This week is very important because old airplanes will land here and then migrate to Oshkosh for a big show in Wisconsin,” Davenport explained.
Putting Springfield on the proverbial biplane map has brought plenty of guests from our of state. Davenport appreciates just how far he and the carnival have come. For him it all underlines what flying means to him.
“Freedom. Peace. But for me personally it’s freedom from stress, Davenport shared. “You go up and it’s just you, the airplane, and it’s something you just have to experience.”
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