Folding Chairs on the Sand

Chapter 12
Flying

When Phil was discharged from military service at the end of the War, 1918, he waited for his brother, Cliff, to return to know what “they” were going to do next.
Phil was anxious to join with his brother in some worthwhile and lucrative project Cliff would dream up as he always had. It was a good partnership. Phil was more meticulous and detailed than Cliff, while Cliff was exuberant and energetic big idea guy. Cliff was the front man, and that was okay with Phil who was the quieter and supportive one. Though eighteen months older than Cliff, Phil was always the one to slip into second position.
But this time, Phil was to be disappointed. Cliff did return from the service on July 2, 1919, but it was not for a project with Phil. Cliff had an insatiable desire to first learn how to fly—and land. Flying was all he could think about. It became his passion and he just could not get it out of his head. It took precedence over everything else. He could hardly wait to get home so his oldest brother Randall could teach him how to fly—and to land. Phil would have to wait.
After the War many young men, trained pilots, were itching to fly again. Wanting to buy an airplane, they found the military had a lot of Curtiss JN-4, Jenny biplanes, which they sold for the bargain price of around three hundred dollars, So great was the demand that some manufacturers sold planes in a box ready to assemble for sixty-five dollars, but then you had to buy your own engine.
At the time, Randall was the editor of the Blythe Herald newspaper. He had returned from the military a few years before Cliff. After sharing his interest in flying with his real estate friend, Ralph Seeley, they decided to form a loose partnership. He convinced R. B., to purchase mail order a new, surplus single-engine Curtiss Jenny JN-HN which was still in its packing crate.
The deal was that Seeley owned the plane, but Randall would put it together then teach R. B. how to fly. In exchange, Randall was to have access to fly the plane whenever he wanted. It was a deal. Randall assembled the Jenny JN-HN as soon as it arrived in the mail, then taught R. B. how to fly. In exchange, Randall had a wide latitude to fly it anytime he wanted. It was a deal.
Following Randall, Cliff, too, returned from the service eager to fly. He needed to acquire a plane first. His timing was perfect. The military was selling Jenny JN-4 biplanes as surplus war materiel for about three hundred dollars. That worked for Cliff. He purchased one already assembled, then he got Randall to teach him how to fly. Randall was the best teacher because he was an experienced Flight Instructor in the Air Service. It was not long before Cliff learned how to confidently pilot his new bi-plane—and how to land.
Once Cliff learned how to fly, he could not stop. He loved “going fast” with the wind coursing through his hair. He loved the wide-open spaces, the solitude, the adventure. Both brothers had an insatiable love of flying which created a bond between them. They loved the sport and used any excuse they could to get in the air. They could not get enough of the feeling of blood gushing through their veins.
They both started barnstorming. Barnstorming was an immensely popular sport throughout the decade of the Roaring Twenties. Barnstorming was a term used for aeronautical stunts performed by flyers, often in open fields around barns. This was a fascinating period in American history.
Pilots would take to the skies in their Jenny biplanes just for the fun of it. Barnstorming was a popular pastime that usually drew crowds mesmerized by what they were seeing. Flyers would demonstrate a series of aerobatics. Flyers would spin and dive, loop-the-loop, and do barrel rolls. Later there would be daring wing walking or jumping from plane to plane. Flyers barnstormed with a fury and learned amazing aerobatics. The spectators just could not seem to get enough of the performances display in the sky. The aerial acrobatics made the heart skip a beat and air races made the ladies swoon.
Randall and Cliff could barnstorm with the best of them. They both loved being on the cutting edge of danger, the forefront, of change, challenging each other to develop new maneuvers they could perform in the sky, like rolls and loops. For them, excitement was just around the corner. They flew every opportunity they had. They loved the adrenalin rushes, and they had lots of them.
Both Randall and Cliff quickly gained a reputation for dazzling derring-do aerial acrobatics. Cliff, being a huge egotist and wanting to outdo his brother, would wear a white scarf around his neck that would turn, twist and flutter, the wind whipping it every which way in the open-air cockpit. Their frolicking in the clouds drew large crowds of spectators--sometimes their own parents. The parents always watched whenever they could. They were so proud and totally enthralled with their sons’ flying acumen. People who knew Cliff called him the Barnum of Flying.
He loved the wide-open spaces, the solitude, the adventure. Both brothers had a ravenous love of flying which created a bond between them. They greatly loved the sport and used any excuse they could to get in the air. They could not get enough of the feeling of blood gushing through their veins. They constantly challenged each other with aeronautical stunts they had learned. This attracted crowed below. They demonstrated amazing feats of what could be done with two twin wings and a motor. They were insatiable showoffs and they loved to hear the audience applause and cheerful yelling over the roar of the motor. For ten dollars the brothers would offer to take passengers up for a flying thrill.
He strongly desired the wide-open spaces, the solitude, the adventure, the freedom. Both brothers had an insatiable love of flying which created a bond between them. They loved the sport and used any excuse they could to get in the air. They could not get enough of the feeling of blood gushing through their veins. They challenged each other with aeronautical stunts they had learned. This attracted crowed below. They demonstrated amazing feats that could be done with two twin wings and a motor. They were insatiable showoffs and they loved to hear the audience applause and cheerful yelling over the roar of the motor. For ten dollars the brothers would offer to take passengers up for a flying thrill.
Because of improvements in aircraft made during the war years, those got who got up in the air had the time of their lives. Planes became somewhat safer, but flyers still pushed the limits