Masters of Disaster
Encyclopedia
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The Masters of Disaster are an airshow
Airshow
An air show is an event at which aviators display their flying skills and the capabilities of their aircraft to spectators in aerobatics. Air shows without aerobatic displays, having only aircraft displayed parked on the ground, are called "static air shows"....

 team that performs edge of your seat aerobatics in combination with ground based jet-propelled trucks and pyrotechnics. The show did include at one time a jet-propelled biplane
Biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...

.

The team lost two of its founding members (Jimmy Franklin and Bobby Younkin) in a crash during a performance at Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
Moose Jaw is a city in south-central Saskatchewan, Canada on the Moose Jaw River. It is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina. Residents of Moose Jaw are known as Moose Javians. It is best known as a retirement and tourist city that serves as a hub to the hundreds of small towns...

, on July 10, 2005.

The team re-grouped and was seen again on the airshow circuit in 2005. Two years later the team leader, Jim LeRoy
Jim LeRoy
Jim LeRoy was an American aerobatics pilot. A former US Marine Corps Scout/Sniper, he held a B.S. degree in Aeronautical/Aerospace engineering as well as an Airframe and Powerplant license.-Professional background:...

, was lost at the Dayton Air Show
Dayton Air Show
The Vectren Dayton Air Show is an annual event at the Dayton International Airport in Vandalia, Ohio, eight miles north of Dayton, Ohio. The history of flight exhibitions dating back to 1910 by the Wright Company. The city is the home of the Wright Brothers and the true birthplace of aviation, as...

 on July 28, 2007 performing an exhibition they called Codename:Maryslamb. His Pitts Special
Pitts Special
The Pitts Special is a series of light aerobatic biplane designed by Curtis Pitts. It has accumulated many competition wins since its first flight in 1944...

 aircraft slammed into the runway and slid for approximately 300 yards before becoming engulfed in flames. LeRoy died en route to the hospital from the injuries he sustained when his aircraft impacted the ground at high speed.

The team, in 2007, offers two shows, entitled Tinstix and Codename:Maryslamb.

Team members (past and present)

  • Jimmy Franklin (Deceased July 10, 2005)
  • Bobby Younkin (Deceased July 10, 2005)
  • Jim LeRoy
    Jim LeRoy
    Jim LeRoy was an American aerobatics pilot. A former US Marine Corps Scout/Sniper, he held a B.S. degree in Aeronautical/Aerospace engineering as well as an Airframe and Powerplant license.-Professional background:...

     (Deceased July 28, 2007)
  • Les & Kent Shockley - Jet Trucks http://www.shockwavejets.com
  • Jurgis Kairys - Aerobatics
  • Skip Stewart - Aerobatics
  • John Mohr - Aerial Transfer
  • Gene Soucy
    Gene Soucy
    Gene Soucy is an American aerobatics pilot. The son of 2 pilots, he would wash airplanes at a local airport in exchange for flight time while growing up in Kentucky. He soloed in a glider at age 14, and in a regular airplane at 16....

     - Aerobatics
  • Rich Gibson - Pyrotechnics
  • Patty Wagstaff
    Patty Wagstaff
    Patty Wagstaff is an aerobatic pilot from the United States. Wagstaff traveled all over the world as a child: her father was a pilot for Japan Airlines, and Wagstaff would travel to Southeast Asia, Australia and Alaska to prepare for her own career as a pilot...

     - Aerobatics
  • Melissa Pemberton - Aerobatics

External links

  • Franklin Airshow
  • Shockwave Jets
  • XTeam Airshows
  • News of the death of Jim Leroy from The Enquirer of Cincinnati
    Cincinnati, Ohio
    Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...

    and from AVweb.com
  • News of the death of Franklin and Younkin at AVweb.com
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