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In memory of Lt. Bill Dey and
Lt. David Bergstrom.
These two aviators were killed
at NAS/JRB Willow Grove, PA on June 18, 2000 while performing
during the Sounds of Freedom Airshow. These guys went out of
their way to fly their stricken jet away from homes and
businesses in the area before ejecting and putting the plane down
in the woods just outside of the base. Their heroic actions saved
countless lives.
As Americans, we take our
freedom for granted. Those terrorists tried to take our freedom
away from us that Tuesday morning. They tried to change America
forever, and they have, but in the hearts of every American, it
has made us stronger. We will win our war on terrorism and those
terrorists who are planning more evil attacks on the United
States will meet their destiny - HELL! The tribute above was
created two and a half months after the September 11th tragedy
and the accident involving an American Airlines flight over
Queens.
The guy on the left is John
"Chainsaw" Safford, an airshow fan all his life. Sadly,
John passed away in May 2002 due to complications with cancer. He
was a devoted fan to Patty Wagstaff and I had the honor of
meeting him at Lakehurst, the same spot where the above snap was
taken. I will sure miss him, as will everyone who knew him in one
way or another.
At the controls of this F-4U
Corsair is its owner, Joe Tobul. Unfortunately, Joe was killed in
a tragic accident at an airshow in South Carolina on November 10,
2002. His plane, his life, all a memory now. Joe has been
regarded by many as one of the nicest pilots in the warbird
industry and one who cared about his plane more than anyone else.
I have had the opportunity to meet with Joe at Frederick, MD and
at NAS Oceana in 2002 and I can relate those thoughts and
observations. These snaps were taken at NAS Oceana on September
21, 2002.
On the morning of February 1,
2003, the crew of Space Shuttle flight STS-107, involving the
space shuttle Columbia, were lost in a tragic accident upon
return to Earth. Mission Control in Houston lost contact with the
shuttle sixteen minutes prior to the scheduled landing. Columbia
apparently broke up while re-entering the Earth's atmosphere over
Texas and the seven crew members - six Americans and the first
Israeli astronaut - are feared lost. The above photograph from
the Associated Press show from left to right, mission specialist
Kalpana Chawla, payload commander Michael Anderson, pilot William
McCool, commander Rick Husband, mission specialists Laurel Clark
and David Brown, and Israeli astronaut payload specialist Ilan
Ramon as they pose for a picture at the Kennedy Space Center
landing strip in Cape Canaveral, Fla. upon their arrival four
days prior to their liftoff.
On Friday, April 30, 2004, one of the best aerobatic pilots lost his life while practicing for the McDonald's Air and Sea Show in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I had heard about his death as I was coming home from the night show at Millville and the news overwhelmed me. Ian Groom was not only one of the best aerobatic pilots in North America, but he was also a great guy. I had the opportunity to meet with Ian briefly at the 2002 Neptune Festival Airshow, where the above snap was taken, and he was a very nice guy with a great personality. Ian will be missed by everyone in the airshow community and by those people who he has inspired, like myself. The Saturday show at Fort Lauderdale was dedicated to Ian with a missing man pass by the Canadian Snowbirds.
Though I did not personally know him, Donald Hinz passed away due to injuries related to an emergency landing in the Red Tail P-51C Mustang seen above. The incident happened on May 29, 2004 at an airshow in Wisconsin and the snap was taken a week prior to the crash at Langley AFB, Virginia. I will miss the airplane, as it was one of three P-51Cs left in airworthy condition. ED Shipley had also flown the airplane at Langley AFB that weekend for the Heritage Flight, also pictured.
Though I did not know him personally, Captain Miles Selby of the Canadian Forces Air Demonstration Team "Snowbirds" passed away while practicing for the 2005 airshow season. The incident happened on December 10, 2004 as Captain Selby, Snowbird #8 lost his life in a horrific mid-air collision with Snowbird #9 during a practice flight over Saskatchewan. Both pilots were practicing for the 2005 airshow season and while Snowbird #9, Captain Chuck Mallett was able to eject from his aircraft, Captain Selby unfortunately didn't make it. In the 2004 airshow season, Captain Selby flew the #4 position, known as the First Line Astern. The selected Snowbirds snaps were taken at show sites in 2003 and 2004, notably Dayton, Andrews AFB, and 4 Wing Cold Lake (Selby flew the shows at Andrews AFB and at 4 Wing Cold Lake). Captain Selby will be missed by everyone in the aviation community.
On Sunday, July 10, 2005, while practicing for the upcoming airshow season, two members of the Vultures Formation Team clipped wings and were involved in a mid-air collision over the Delaware Bay off Cape Henlopen, near Lewes, Delaware. The pilots lost in this tragic accident include Jay Blum, who flew the LongEZ (shown in the solo snap) in the formation and Ralph Morgan, who flew an RV-8. I have had the chance to meet some members of the Vultures, including Jay and Ralph, several times over the last year and they, along with the other members of the Vultures formation team are truly a class act and among the nicest guys from the tri-state area. By sunset on July 10, wreckage of Jay's plane was recovered and Ralph's RV-8 was not found. Jay and Ralph represented two great pilots of a very promising formation team.
In the group shot from left to right are Bobby Younkin, Jimmy Franklin, Kent Shockley, and Jim LeRoy. Photo by Nathan Thompson.
The entire airshow industry and its fans are mourning the loss of two of the greatest pilots to have flown airshows. Jimmy Franklin and Bobby Younkin lost their lives on Sunday, July 10, 2005, while performing the highly-popular act known as the Masters of Disaster with Jim LeRoy and Kent Shockley. It is a huge loss to the airshow industry as both Jimmy and Bobby are very highly recognized airshow pilots in the world. Bobby Younkin is recognized by the airshow industry as one of the premier pilots flying the most unique aerobatic displays in the most unique aircraft, including the Super Decathalon, a modified biplane known as Samson, a Beech C-18, and a Learjet 23. Jimmy Franklin is famous for his aerobatic performances in the modified Waco biplane, before and after it was fitted with a jet engine underneath the fuselage of the Waco, along with his son Kyle Franklin on the wings of the Jet Waco, and past wingwalking legends like Johnny Kazian, who walked on Jimmy's wings over a decade ago. Both Jimmy and Bobby were founding members of the Masters of Disaster, which became an instant hit with airshow audiences everywhere. I have met both Jimmy and Bobby a number of times over the last two years and having been friends with both pilots over those two years, they were among the coolest biplane pilots in the world and loved to share information about their respective aircraft.
I remember the first time I saw Jimmy Franklin fly the Jet Waco. It was at Dayton in 2003 and the moment he took off, I wasn't paying attention and I heard a jet engine, thinking it was a jet airplane and not Jimmy's biplane. Ever since then he has become one of my favorite airshow performers and will always be that way. The first time I saw Bobby Younkin was when he had his Learjet at Langley AFB in 2002 and I was very impressed with that performance. I didn't get to see him fly again until Langley AFB in 2004 when he brought both the Beech and Samson to the show and I absolutely loved both of those performances. We'll always have these two airshow greats in our thoughts and prayers.
As an addendum, we have also lost Jim LeRoy. Please scroll down to read my tribute to Jim.
On Friday January 6, 2006, the airshow industry lost one of the finest rising aerobatic stars. Eric Beard, who flew a Yak-54 nicknamed Russian Thunder, was killed while flying a Piper Seneca from Bellingham, Washington to Burlington, Washington in reduced visibility. Eric had performed at Millville two years in a row and had also performed at Langley AFB and I had the privilege of meeting him at Millville in 2004 during the media day activities and he was very nice to answer some questions I had about the aircraft and how he flew all the way from Washington state to New Jersey for an airshow. I will miss seeing him fly the Yak-54, and in my opinion, the airplane should either be flown by a close friend of his or retired to an aviation museum.
On Tuesday March 21, 2006, the airshow industry lost a rising star with the death of Nick Nilmeyer. Nick was flying his Extra 300 through a practice performance and had just wrapped up a practice when he had an accident while landing. Nick was part of the 2003 program known as the Stars of Tomorrow, which featured six upcoming stars of the airshow industry who were coached and mentored by Sean Tucker and Michael Goulian. Along with being a member of the Stars of Tomorrow, he was also one of the founding pilots of the Association of Competition Airshow Pilots challenge, which was started for the 2006 airshow season. I had the honor of meeting Nick at the 2004 Rhode Island airshow and he was one of the most outgoing guys I've met of my age (I'm about eighteen months younger than him) and knew exactly what he wanted to do in life, as well as giving me a piece of advice - "If there's something you've always wanted to do (referring to flying), then go for it."
On Tuesday June 27, 2006, one of the finest airshow performers ever to take to the skies has gone west. Chuck Lischer was regarded as being one of the best F260 pilots in North America, and to me, the best F260 pilot I have ever seen. Chuck was flying a BD-5J Microjet on an instrument calibrating test flight when he crashed while turning to land the aircraft near Ocean City, Maryland. Chuck was a long-time airshow performer who flew one of the most famous airshow aircraft on the airshow circuit and was the lead pilot for Team America, which was one of the finest civillian aerobatic teams around at the time. Chuck's solo aerobatic act in the F260 was one worth seeing over and over, and he was a regular performer at many airshows on the east coast, including shows at Millville, Dover AFB, Langley AFB, NAS/JRB Willow Grove, and in Rhode Island. I have had the chance to talk with Chuck on many occasions over the last several years and he is absolutely one of the nicest performers who absolutely loved to talk about his airplane with you. I had seen Chuck fly numerous times this year - at Langley AFB, NAS/JRB Willow Grove, and in Rhode Island and at each show site, Chuck flew his F260 as if he flew the best performance he'd ever flown. I had met up with Chuck at all three of those shows this year and even gave him a picture of his F260 taken at Willow Grove while at Rhode Island's airshow, which was June 24-25, 2006. I would like to send out my condolences to Chuck's family and friends.
On Saturday October 14, 2006, one of the finest female airshow performers succumbed to injuries she sustained in an accident at the Culpepper Fly-In in Culpepper, VA. Nancy Lynn was flying her aerobatic performance when she had an accident. She initially survived the accident but passed away later that night. Nancy was a great friend and always had a high spirit every time I met up with her and discussed everything from airplanes to how things have been in our lives. I had actually done some video work for Nancy, providing her video of her performance several years ago. I am also very good friends with her son Pete, whom I feel horrible about, considering he has lost both his mother and his father. Both Nancy and son Pete are among the nicest people in the airshow industry, and I will definitely miss Nancy's cheerful and energetic attitude towards flying and life. Pete, if you're reading this, if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to give me a ring.
On Saturday April 21, 2007, one of the members of the United States Navy's Blue Angels flight demonstration team was lost in an accident while concluding the team's performance at the MCAS Beaufort Airshow in South Carolina. LCDR Kevin J. Davis, the 2007 opposing solo pilot and pilot of the number six jet, was killed as he was flying the last part of the high show at MCAS Beaufort. I had met LCDR Davis several times during the 2006 season, as he was the media pilot and narrator for the team during that season and saw him as a great, down to earth guy who represented among the best of the best in the United States Navy. It hurts to have lost a great aviator and also a friend. Godspeed Kojak, you will be missed and fly among the fallen angels.
On Saturday July 28, 2007, aerobatic pilot and X-Team founder Jim LeRoy was killed following an accident while performing the Codename: Mary's Lamb performance at Dayton, Ohio. Jim initially survived the crash but passed away as a result of the injuries he sustained in the accident. Jim was considered to be THE top star in the airshow industry and not only was he one heck of an aerobatic pilot and one of my all-time favorite performers, he was also a very good friend of mine. I first saw Jim fly at NAS Lemoore back in 2001 and was very impressed with his performance. Following that show I had seen Jim fly at least once, sometimes twice or three times each airshow season and have seen him fly in the original X-Team "Masters of Disaster" performance with the late Jimmy Franklin and the late Bobby Younkin at Sussex, NJ in 2004. I had helped out Jim on numerous occasions since then, whether it be pushing the Bulldog Pitts into a hangar or helping Jim take the airplane apart for travel. One of my most recent memories with Jim was at NAS/JRB Willow Grove in 2006. I had chatted with Jim, his wife Joanie, and also met their son after the first day of the show, and talked to him for about fifteen minutes as he was dismantling the Bulldog. Jim asked me for honest feedback and criticism on what I thought about Tinstix of Dynamite and he asked me what I thought could be great ideas for future expansion of the act. Jim was a true gentleman, a class act, and a great friend. I'll miss ya, buddy!
The above hangar picture was taken at Langley AFB following the Sunday show as Jim is taking apart the Bulldog Pitts, hence why the bottom right wing has been removed. Jim can be seen by the leading edge of the left wings. The pictures below are of Jim flying his solo act at Willow Grove on June 18, 2006.
We've lost another friend in the airshow circuit on September 7, 2007. I had spent the entire weekend down at NAS Oceana in Virginia Beach and had the unfortunate circumstance to be in attendance for an airshow accident. Jan Wildbergh, the number six pilot of the world-famous GEICO Skytypers was killed as the team was concluding their practice show performance over NAS Oceana. I had put the camera down for their performance because I had seen the Skytypers fly so many times in the past couple years that their performance has become so routine and that I actually wanted to watch the show with my eyes rather than through an eyepiece. I watched their entire break to land and just happened to look down at the ground in front of me at the time Jan was supposed to break (I was also on the phone at the time) and after a few seconds, I looked back up - towards 5R, and saw a sight that made my heart sink. I had not met Jan or any of the Skytyper pilots and crew, but felt that the loss of Jan was personal, considering how often I had seen the team perform at airshows on the east coast, as well as seeing the aircraft parked on their respective ramp at Republic Airport in Long Island.
Jan, you will be missed by everyone amongst the airshow industry. Fly safe amongst the clouds above and keep on writing messages for us.
© 2003-2008 Steven Holzinger