When World War One ended, surplus airplanes were cheap. Men who had learned to fly with the army bought Curtiss Jennys and flew them into cow pastures. At county fairs and in rural towns, they took paying customers up for airplane rides and called themselves "Barnstormers". Stunt pilots performed loops and dives and corkscrew turns. Wingwalkers walked across wings while crowds applauded. Men and women flew in cross-country air races and became celebrities. It was the beginning of the golden age of aviation. And in St. Louis, a young aviator named Charles Lindbergh was ready to make his mark in history.