Welcome to the official website of
American Barnstormer Walt Pierce and the
Double Trouble Wing Walking Team
From within an aircraft "bone yard", surrounded by tumbleweeds and barbed wire, he had spent years dreaming of becoming an aviator. The resident planes’ engines had been robbed from the frames to power the Stearman dusters. The beginning of Walt Pierce’s aviation career began when he was hired as a "flag boy” - he was 16 years old and the local crop duster needed a "kid" to mark the farm field swathes as the Stearman dusters flew back and forth at East Grand Plains, New Mexico. Other duties involved keeping the airplanes clean, as well as the hangar floor they dripped oil on. Walt’s flight instructors were the same pilots for whom he flagged at East Grand Plains. After getting a pilot's license at age 17, Walt was allowed to fly the working airplanes back and forth to the remote dirt strips each work day. It was a humbling experience, as the summer days often developed massive whirlwinds that could blow the dusters into momentary control loss on the short and narrow airstrips.
Later, a move was made to Waco, Texas where work was found with the legendary Frank Price. Frank was known to movie buffs for his airshow flying as Ernst Kessler in THE GREAT WALDO PEPPER. Walt's new job was to teach aerobatics and fly airshows in a 1929 Great Lakes registered as N202K. His ultimate goal was to be a full time air show performer in a 450 HP Stearman bi-plane. As an added attraction he would feature a lady on the wing.
About the Aviator...
Walt Pierce
In 1968 after some seasoning, a Stearman, "Ol' Smokey", was purchased and a 450 Wright J-6-9 engine was installed replacing the original 220 horsepower Continental. The airplane was painted red, white, and blue with a checkered tail. The air shows began.
By 1971 show dates included New York and Chicago. The bulk of them were in the Midwestern Corn Belt. By 1976, performances stretched from Atlantic to Pacific. His lady on the wing was Sandi Pierce. She also flew a Great Lakes bi-plane as a performer.
In 1980, Walt and Jessie Woods trained his new lady to climb down and WALK on the wing. During that time period some remaining pioneers from the 1930s accepted him as one of them. They included wing walker Jessie Woods, Clem Whittenbeck, and Cuban Eight inventor Len Povey.
2008 marked the 40th year that Walt has been flying Ol' Smokey and he continues to fly the Stearman to every event, now joined by his wife, Betty. The wing walkers usually travel by airline or drive to the events, depending on location.
Len Povey and Art Davis commissioned Walt a "Barnstormer" several years ago, after they all spent some time together. Len and Art had both flown with the Brinton-Bayles Flying Circus around 1930.
It took years of travel through the hills and valleys of life before Walt's new title felt comfortable.
