Editing Fixed-base operator (section)

==History of the term==
After the end of [[World War&nbsp;I]] in November 1918, civil aviation in the United States was primarily unregulated and made up of [[Barnstorming|"barnstormers]]," transient pilots flying inexpensive military surplus aircraft from city to city and often landing in farm fields on the outskirts of a town because airports were scarce at that time. The traveling aviators offered airplane rides and aerobatic flight demonstrations frequently collaborating as "[[Barnstorming|flying circuses]]" by performing impromptu [[airshow]]s for the townsfolk and charging whatever the local economic conditions would allow. As a result, mechanics and early flight instructors moved around with the aircraft and had no established business in any location.

With passage of the [[Air Commerce Act]] of 1926 and its resulting requirements for the licensing of pilots, aircraft maintenance requirements, and regulations in training standards, the transient nature of civil aviation was curtailed. The pilots and mechanics who made their living on the road began establishing permanent businesses at the growing number of airports appearing throughout the United States. These were termed fixed-base operations to distinguish them from the transient businesses that had been common prior to 1926.<ref>''Air transportation: a management perspective'', J.&nbsp;G. Wensveen, 2007, p. 67</ref>