Barnstorming is Back at this Year's Hundsader Farms Pumpkin Festival

MANATEE COUNTY -- Oliver's Flying Circus is the oldest New Standard D-25 still in the air. Following an eight-year restoration, the plane has ”a revived heart and soul,“ and is fulfilling its original purposeÉ.How long is the ride?  Good memorieslast a lifetime!

Hopping antique biplane rides in Olivers Flying Circus at Sun 'n Fun will transport riders to the glory days of aviation, viewing scenery from the breathtaking perspective of the 1929 New Standard’s open cockpit.

Riders can find Steve Oliver and Suzanne Asbury-Oliver, New Standard owners and pilots, at the Pumpkin Festival off the grass strip at Hundsader Farms located on CR 675 in Bradenton, FL. The festival runs the last three weekends in October from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Rides will be available all day and can be reserved by calling 303-478-4853.

In addition to trips around the pattern, longer options can be reserved, including Champagne Sunset Cruises for four persons, inquire when calling.

Olivers Flying Circus is the oldest New Standard D-25 biplane in operation today, once again carrying up to four passengers at a time to experience the thrill of open-air flight. Aerobatic performer Steve Oliver and his wife, skywriter Suzanne Asbury-Oliver, purchased the project in 1998 from Old Rhinebeck Aerodome, a museum of antique aviation in New York.

N9194 started out as a sightseeing aircraft, then was called into service by Clyde ”Upside Down“ Pangborn as he attempted an endurance record for time aloft in 1929. The plane was the mother ship for Pangborn, serving as the air-to-air refueler during his historic flight. The aircraft eventually was used as a crop duster in California until it fell into total disrepair.

Following an eight-year restoration, the biplane has a ”revived heart and soul,“ and is fulfilling its original purpose, as declared on its fuselage: ”Flying Circus - A Thrill for the Nation!“

”It’s now back doing what it was designed for – barnstorming! – and sharing the magic of flight with passengers,“ says Steve Oliver.

”The experience of flight is so dramatic in an open cockpit,“ he continues. ”Experienced commercial pilots are just as excited as someone who has never flown before, because it's comparable to going from traveling in an enclosed car to a convertible or a motorcycle. What a thrill! It's all laughs, smiles and back-slapping among every group we've taken up in it.“

Along with its radio and transponder, the only modernizations on the plane are the seat cushion upgrades provided by corporate sponsor Oregon Aero, Inc. Ride-hoppers gladly sit in comfort on leather-covered cushion upgrades while cruising at 80 miles an hour, 1,000 feet above the earth.

There are no age or weight restrictions for passengers. The plane boasts a 1,100-pound payload capacity, reports a stall speed of 35 mph, and lands at 40 mph. Its powerplant is a Wright Whirlwind J-6-7 engine (R-760-8) 225 hp @ 2000 RPM. The biplane can be reserved for fly-ins, private jaunts, corporate outings, community events, and even for weddings and honeymoons. How long is the ride? Good memories last a lifetime!

Back When the New Standard Was NewÉ

In 1928, The New Standard Aircraft Company was founded in Paterson, New Jersey by famous barnstormer Ivan Gates of the Gates Flying Circus and aircraft designer Charles Day. The D-25 was designed expressly for Gates by Day, setting a ”new“ standard (compared to the WWI two-seat trainer designed by The Standard Aircraft Co., the J-1). Their purpose was to design, build and market a biplane that could take aloft four paying passengers instead of the typical one or two.

The New Standard was easy to fly, operated out of small fields with its high-lift wings and 45-foot wingspan, and featured rugged, wide-stance landing gear ideal for rough farm fields and 1928-era construction surfaces. Best of all, it doubled the payload of the old Standard with room for up to four passengers in its large front open cockpit, which holds a bench seat and two bucket seats. The D-25 was certificated by the Aeronautics Department (now the FAA) in 1928.

A pilot could carry as many as 40 passengers an hour. Thus the New Standard D-25 was instrumental in introducing tens of thousands of people to their first airplane ride, back when aviation was young. In 1929, the Gates Flying Circus took over 100,000 passengers for a flight of a lifetime!

Forty-five New Standard D-25s were originally built, including N9194, certificated in 1929. Unfortunately, by then the days of the flying circus were numbered. As barnstorming faded, most New Standards became ”booze smugglers“ during Prohibition and then crop dusters, where most of them were worked to the ground, becoming unfit to fly.

As a result, only a few remain, with seven D-25s currently flying today. Olivers Flying Circus is the oldest D-25 still in the air. Book your ride today and experience the magic of open-cockpit flight with your friends or family.