Prairie Flyers of Central Illinois: A Century of Aviation in America’s Heartland

Midwestern aviators changed the trajectory of flight itself--from barnstormers and military pilots to hot air balloonists and NASA engineers.

When Mother Nature made American prairies, she created one vast airfield. It’s not mere chance that so many aviation pioneers are from the Midwest--farm kids, small-town kids--who grew up accustomed to vast expanses of earth and sky. Barnstormers, flight attendants, NASA engineers, crop dusters, World War II bombers and Vietnam helicopter pilots were dispatched from areas of the heartland, places like Central Illinois. Their stories, big and small, bear testimony to America’s enduring fascination with flying machines, a fascination that has taken prairie flyers to every corner of the world. Edith Brady-Lunny, Denis Hambucken and John Warner offer a ground-level view of aviation history in the nation’s heartland, including personal stories of the flyers and the global legacy of the Flying Farmer organization.

Edith Brady-Lunny is a former print and broadcast journalist. She is the coauthor of The Unforgiven: The Untold Story of One Woman’s Search for Love and Justice. She is a journalism fellow at John Jay College of Criminal Justice-Center on Media, Crime and Justice in New York.

Denis Hambucken is an author, designer, photographer, illustrator and advertising professional with a passion for history. Originally from Belgium, he now resides in New Hampshire.

John Warner dedicated his life to the preservation of agriculture in the Midwest and had a passion for history. His childhood love of aviation continued throughout his years as a pilot. He was a gifted writer. John’s life ended tragically in a June 2023 accident in New Hampshire.