The Barnstormer

Dewey Davenport
February 28, 2015
THE BARNSTORMER
The Beauty of a Biplane
The winter months can be good and potentially bad for any barnstormer in the
northern states. This time of the year leaves me with opportunity to rest up for
the up and coming flying season. When I parked Ace in the hangar for the
winter months his tongue was hanging out and he needed to take a break. We
both are resting up well and planning yet another big barnstorming season. I
have to also worry about my hard working scooters. Kate, Jeff, Terri, Chris,
Luke, helped at my larger events and without their help I would not have been
able to enjoy the barnstorming fun that we all had this past flying season.
The Barnstormer
A peaceful evening at
the Urbana Grimes
Airport. Photo Credit,
terri Hull.
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Dewey Davenport
February 28, 2015
I have been so busy with work, planning my 2015 event
schedule, and life in general, that I haven’t been able to catch
up on my next newsletter. So what should this newsletter be
about? I have been having a hard time thinking about which
subjects are more important. Since the 2015 flying season is
just around the corner I feel I should really touch on a few
things coming up for the summer because it truly is going to
be an exciting year for the local Dayton aviation community.
Operating and running this type of business on your own
does take a lot of dedication and commitment to make it
successful, well I’m not totally sure if it is successful, but I’m
100% sure it is worth every memory that it makes. The last
two months I have been in contact with many of the events
that I had participated in last year. I am still trying to figure
out the logistics to attend most of the same events and
potentially attend a couple new ones. What makes this year
different from last year is that I have a full time job that takes
much of my time. I had been on furlough since 2010 with Net
Jets Aviation. In the meantime I contracted my flying skills
with different companies. Last year I decided to quit my
contracting work and start barnstorming full time. I traveled
to events almost every weekend. I also offered rides on the
weekdays. During the season I met thousands of folks from all the states. I attended small local
aviation events to large airshows that the United States Thunderbirds
A couple aircraft
performed at. Each event allowed me to engrain a memory of a lifetime and I parked early morning
hope to share a few of these special stories with you over the years.
at the Barnstorming
Carnival.
Lately, I have been spending a lot of my time and efforts in organizing the
Barnstorming Carnival. Last July I organized the first Barnstorming Carnival.
The event was held at the Springfield Beckley Airport in Springfield, Ohio. It
was a FREE two day barnstorming event that focused on 1920s-1940s
vintage aircraft. We had activities for everyone to enjoy. Plenty of cool
antique aircraft were on display for everyone to enjoy. Antique and custom
cars were also there. Model airplane demonstrations, unmanned aircraft
display, kids bounce house, kids rocket building workshop and biplane rides
from real barnstormers like myself. We had over two thousand spectators
attend the free community event. The Barnstormer
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Dewey Davenport
February 28, 2015
The event was exactly what I hoped it to be. Mainly because most of the folks were none aviation
spectators (approximately 90% were none aviation spectators). My goal is to spread, share, and
educate people on General Aviation. So why not host a free aviation event. Opening up the gates
and the fences at Springfield’s airport for those two days may have changed a few kids and adults
lives forever. The event would not have been anything without the generous contributions from all
the aircraft that flew in on their own time and money, all the car owners that came and displayed
their little prides and joys, and all the great volunteers that help run the event. I had friends come
from all over to help park cars, pick up garbage, run the aircraft display area, PA announcing, and
etc.. So a BIG THANK YOU to all that helped make the event fun and successful. Oh, I can’t forget,
I have to thank Springfield’s airport manager and the city for allowing me to host the event. Last years event started off slow with fog and low clouds covering most part of the Ohio area but
once the ceilings were high enough the airplanes started arriving from different parts of the Ohio
Valley. What made this event unique and different is that it was a very casual laid back event that
had very unique aircraft on display with their owners near by to talk to each and every person that
had questions. We also had a rocket building workshop hosted by local Springfield resident Steve
Temple. Each rocket kit cost $10.00 to build. This years rocket building workshop will be Saturday
and Sunday and all the rockets will be FREE to the kids. I started a GOFUNDME account for this
years Barnstorming Carnival so I can use donations to offset the operational cost of the event. I
funded much of the event last year and with donations that I receive this year, will allow me to offer
other activities for the entire event and to help support the volunteers. This years event will be July
11-12, 2015, if you would like to help support the event please feel free to contact me personally or
visit … www.gofundme.com/barnstoming. You can donate any monetary amount on the
gofundme.com account. Every donation would be much appreciated and used for educating our
community with this event and others. Mark your calendar for July 11-12, 2015 for the Barnstorming Carnival. I ask you to tell your friends
and enemies about this years event. I hope you can come and enjoy this years event and if you
decide to attend please come and say hello.
The Barnstormer
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Dewey Davenport
February 28, 2015
Look mom, No hands!
Above: A childhood friend and his Son
sharing a experience of a lifetime with Ace. Below: Biplane rides at Skydive Greene
County over the summer months. A friend
and skydiver with his 2 year old son going
for a ride.
The Barnstormer
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Dewey Davenport
February 28, 2015
Barnstorming to the IMAC World Championship
Muncie, Indiana
Late summer Terri Hull and I
barnstormed our biplanes over to the
first ever IMAC Aerobatic
Championship at the Academy of
Model Aeronautics headquarters in
Muncie, IN. We attended the event
because I wanted to support a dear
friend that organized the event. Many
of you don’t know my entire aviation
history so here is a little bit more
about myself. I have been involved in model aviation since I was seven years old. I have competed
in pylon racing, aerobatics, and scale radio controlled aircraft in a national and international level. I
have always enjoyed sharing model aviation to many of the kids of the local community because
this is where I started my passion. I have attend many elementary, middle schools,high schools,
and summer camps to share this great hobby. Wayne Matthews from Atlanta Georgia area was the
The Barnstormer
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Dewey Davenport
February 28, 2015
one that took the step forward to bring such a event to the United States. Wayne got the idea from
an event that I helped bring to the United States in 2011. I co-organized the 9th Jets World Masters
at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. Wayne and his team did a outstanding job
putting on a great world competition. Goodfolk & O’Tymes Biplane Rides was very proud to be a
significant sponsor and support in such a event. 2015 events
Events are subject to change and more will be added.
May TBA Discovery Aviation Days
June 12-14
Jimmy Stewart Festival
July 4 Urbana Grimes
July 10
Middletown, Ohio
July 11-12
Barnstorming Carnival
Aug 8-9
Aug 13-15
Marysville Balloon Festival
Aug TBA
Moraine, Ohio
MERFI
Dewey Davenport
937-877-0837
Join me on: Facebook, twitter, Google +
www.gobiplanerides.com
www.barnstormingcarnival.com
The Barnstormer
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