rjl2621's Thoughts

Some of you may not recognize that name as the name of an aerobatic stunt team that has performed at our very own Cleveland Air Show in past years. Two of the founding members of the team (Jimmy Franklin and Bobby Younkin) were lost on July 10, 2005 while performing during the Saskatchewan International Air Show. One member (Jim LeRoy) was not involved in the mid-air collision and was able to land safely.

Yesterday, at Dayton's Vectren Air Show, Jim LeRoy was lost after his high-powered Pitts Special biplane did not quite make the pull out of the termination of a manuever during which two planes climb into loops and on the downward portion of the loop both planes dive down toward each other and cross before climbing back up into the sky. He was pulled from the aircraft and died en route to the local hospital.

Amateur video of the accident is available at the following Web site (viewer discretion advised): http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/07/28/airshow.roundup.ap/in
dex.html#cnnSTCVideo

My heart goes out to all of the families of these fine aviators. Jimmy, Bobby and Jim were some of the best aerobatic airshow pilots in the business. I've had the pleasure of seeing their performances at both Cleveland and Dayton airshows and it is a very sad day for airshow enthusiasts and their pilots.

Another airshow tragedy took place at the annual Oshkosh AirVenture in Wisconsin when two P-51 Mustangs clipped wings on landing and one of the planes flipped, killing the pilot and injuring the pilot of the other P-51 involved.

It is important to note that neither of these events should suggest that aviation or air shows are unsafe. Air show stunt pilots are in a very high risk / high reward job that they love more than most can comprehend. Those like the XTeam may push the envelope more than is truly necessary, but they enjoy entertaining crowds of spectators everywhere they go. For these guys to die doing what they loved, there is no better satisfaction knowing that they were enjoying their job right up until the very end.

Rest in peace to all of you fine aviators that have been lost. Thank you for everything you have done to entertain your fans.

Resources:
XTeam Airshows - http://www.xteamairshows.com/
Bulldog Airshows - http://www.bulldogairshows.com/
Jimmy / Bobby Memorial - http://www.franklinairshow.com/Memorial.htm
http://www.whiotv.com/news/13774845/detail.html