Kyle's Father taught him how to fly when he was 8 and later taught him aerobatics in the Super Cub. Kyle is now an accomplished pilot of over 19 years, is not new to what some people would call dare-devilish feats. As a toddler, he learned to ride a tricycle on just 2 wheels! A few of years later, Kyle graduated to BMX free-styling and air-walking and then mastered motorcycles. At the age of 8, Kyle fell in love with DeLorean cars. As a sophomore in high school, he had bought a DeLorean of his own and modified it with a bigger engine, flame thrower, oil slick, and smoke system (only to work it into the airshow line-up of course).

Like his father, began flying at very young age. As a preschooler, he seized every opportunity to wing-walk on Dad's WACO "Mystery Ship" as it taxied about on the ground at airshows. At age 14 Kyle went for his first flying wing-walk on the Waco "Mystery Ship" and by the time he was 17, he was wing-walking professionally at airshows around the country as the world's youngest Wingwalker. He and Jimmy also made up the ONLY father/son wing-walking team in history! In 1999, his father debuted the new Jet Waco. Naturally, Kyle didn't hesitate at the opportunity to climb through the flying wires of this beast! At this point, Kyle became the world's first Jet Wingwalker. In addition, Kyle is the ONLY other person who ever piloted Jimmy's Jet WACO!

Wing-walking was only one of Kyle's many aerial talents. He performed the daring motorcycle-to-airplane transfer for over 5 years. Kyle now performs as the pilot in which the transferer jumps from the back of a moving motorcycle onto a rope ladder hanging from the bottom of Kyle's Super Cub.

Kyle also flies one of the wildest Comedy acts you'll ever see; so wild he has steel skid plates taped to the wingtips so when he intentionally drags the wings on the ground it doesn't hurt them.

In the Summer of 2003, Kyle began performing in his Father's one of a kind Waco "Mystery Ship." This is one of the few big bi-plane aerobatic acts you will find on the airshow circuit today. Besides a full complement of loops, rolls, Cuban 8's and hammer heads, Kyle is one of a handful of pilots that will actually torque roll, tail slide3, and even lomcevak tumble his massive Waco bi-plane. This act has it all: noise, smoke, speed, looks, nostalgia and low-flying aerobatics.

Today, Kyle has retired from wingwalking, and focuses fully on his flying. Airshows are Kyle's full-time job, performing 4 different acts with the Super Cub and Waco "Mystery Ship" at airshows all across the country with his loving Wife and "Manager" Amanda.

Kyle married Amanda Younkin, daughter of world renown airshow pilot Bobby Younkin in 2005. Amanda, a pilot as well, also grew up around airplanes and airshows. Amanda now manages Franklin's Flying Circus and Younkin Airshows. Kyle says, "Amanda is the key to my continuing as an airshow pilot. I couldn't make it without her!"

Matt Younkin (26) is a third generation pilot. He is the son of legendary airshow pilot Bobby Younkin, who is famous for his amazing aerobatic displays in the AT-6, Beech 18, Learjet 23, Samson, and most recently, the Super Decathlon. Bobby is considered to be one of the greatest airshow pilots of all time.

Matt is also the grandson of Jim Younkin who is well-known for designing the Century and Trutrak autopilots. Jim is also famous for his antique aircraft restorations, as well as building beautiful replicas of the 1930's air racers such as the Howard "Mr. Mulligan" and the Travel Air "Mystery Ship."

Matt learned to fly at the age of 14 from family friend Ken Collier in a Piper J-3 Cub. At age 15, Chuck Irvin, the same instructor who taught Bobby how to fly, refined Matt's piloting skills. On his sixteenth birthday, Matt soloed his grandfather's 1928 Travel Air 4000 biplane. Matt now has over 2500 hours of total flying time in over 35 different types of airplanes and currently resides in Lowell, AR with his loving wife Michelle.

Matt is also an accomplished radio-controlled model airplane pilot. Like his father before him, Matt learned most of his aerobatic skills by flying R/C models and later refined them in the Super Decathlon. Bobby gave Matt two hours of aerobatic instruction which focused mainly on slow rolls. Bobby said, "Almost every aerobatic maneuver is based on a slow roll. If you can master the slow roll, you can master anything." When Matt took the Decathlon out to perfect his slow rolls, he soon discovered that he could perform every maneuver that Bobby performed in the airplane, plus a few new ones of his own.

The Decathlon Matt performs in today is the same airplane that Bobby used to demo at Oshkosh and Sun N Fun. Matt's routine consists of continuous, mostly outside aerobatics, keeping that beautiful red and black aircraft in front of the crowd at all times. The decathlon is by far, the best aerobatic trainer ever built. Most of the pilots performing aerobatics in airshows across the country, including Matt Younkin, spent several hours in a Decathlon refining their skills before moving into their more advanced airplanes.

Matt is also performing in the 1929 Travel Air "Mystery Ship." In addition to being the aircraft that started the Younkin family's traditional red and black paint scheme, the "Mystery Ship" is the airplane that kicked off the "golden age" of air racing. In 1929, the "Mystery Ship" became the first civilian aircraft to win the Cleveland National Air Races. Matt's "Mystery Ship" demonstration puts the nimble racer through its paces with the same beauty and grace that Bobby displayed in the Beech 18 for so many years.

On that same note, Matt is now performing in Bobby's beautiful Beech 18! Matt considers this act to be the most special of the three. Just as it was when Bobby flew it, the act begins and ends with the same light-hearted pink elephant music which plays off an overly obese airplane attempting aerobatics. But as a fitting tribute, Matt also capitalizes on the airplanes beauty and grace by performing a breath-taking aerial ballet to equally beautiful music.

Bobby always said, "An airshow act must be unique and original to be successful. People come to airshows to see the impossible take place." Matt is keeping with the Younkin Airshows tradition by performing unique aerobatics in precision aircraft and precision aerobatics in unique aircraft.

Because of all the extensive modifications, this Waco no longer looks like a origial Waco, and was dubbed the
"Waco Mystery Ship."

The "Waco Mystery Ship" is also a movie star! It has appeared "TERMINAL VELOCITY" staring Charlie Sheen, "FOREVER YOUNG" staring Mel Gibson, and Disney's "DELTA DREAM FLIGHT" (Disneyland ride.)

Modifications:

-Replacing the 220 h.p. engine with a 450 h.p. engine-

-Installing a 3 blade propeller-

-Moving the cockpit back 30 inches-

-Adding 18 inches to the landing gear-

-Installing extra cabin struts-

-Constructing extra flying wires-

INFO:

Year:.......................................1940

Type........................................Waco

Model:....................................UPF-7

Engine:...................................Pratt & Whitney R-985

Wingspan:..............................30 feet

Length:...................................24 feet

Show Weight:.........................2,240 pounds

Fuel Capacity.........................55 Gallons

Maximum Speed:.................220 m.p.h. dive (160 m.p.h. level)

Stalling Speed……..........…60 m.p.h
                    
Stress Levels..................…..+-9 Gs

-Model........................PA-18A

-Year..........................1956

-Manufacturer..............Piper

-Engine………………Lycoming O-320…181 Horsepower

-Wing span…………..35.3 Feet

-Wing Area…….……178.5 Feet

-Length.......................22.5 Feet

-Height………...…….6.7 Feet

-Empty Weight………1062 lbs.

-Gross Weight.............1750 lbs.

-Fuel Capacity.............36 Gallons

-Fuel Consumption..….9 gph

-Maximum Speed........130 Mph

-Stalling Speed…….…43 Mph

-Stress Levels........…..3 Gs

The Travel Air Model "R" is considered to be the grandfather of all air racers. Doug Davis's 1929 Thompson Trophy win sparked a revolution that would bring salty mail pilots and war veterans into the public spotlight as race winning heroes. In addition, everyone with a new idea for building a lighter faster airplane began turning their dreams into reality in garages and workshops all across the country with the hope of winning next years big race!

The "Mystery Ship" was designed by Herb Rawdon and Walter Burnham under the guidance of Travel Air Company owner and founder Walter Beech. (Walter Beech would later found Beechcraft which is still one of the most successful aircraft companies in the world today.)

After viewing a picture of the original "Mystery Ship" in flight without its cowling, the decision was made to test-fly Younkin's "Mystery Ship" the same way because the airplane was air-worthy before the cowling was completed. However, Younkin's airplane was almost lost during its initial test-flight because the turbulent airflow over the un-cowled engine combined with a center of gravity problem made the airplane almost un-flyable! After further research, it was discovered that the original "Mystery Ship" was almost crashed for the same reason! If it had not been for the super-human skill of Matt's father Bobby Younkin who was the test pilot, this beautiful airplane would not be performing for you today!

In addition, this Travel Air "Mystery Ship's beautiful lines inspired the Younkin tradition of black and red airplanes. The "Mystery" paint schemes on Jim's Piper Pacer and later on his Mullicoupe have been copied the world over and Bobby's Twin Beech, Learjet, Decathlon, and "SAMSON" paint schemes all trace their roots to the "Mystery Ship."

This airplane is also a movie star! It has appeared in Disney's "THE ROCKETEER" and Valerie Burtonelli's movie entitled "PANCHO BARNES." And most recently, Matt flew the airplane down to Mexico over the winter to be featured in a Land Rover commercial, which is currently airing worldwide.

Matt sees the "Mystery Ship" as the airplane that has allowed him to come full circle. He is combining his grandfather's creation with his father's passion for aerobatics and he considers it the greatest honor and privilege to fly for you here today!

Despite being built to rigid design specs, the "Mystery Ship" exceeded the engineer's calculated or anticipated airspeed by 15% on its first test flight! Its top speed was 235mph with a landing speed of 73 mph.

The original "Mystery Ship" had two sets of wings. They were made completely of spruce and covered with plywood. The first set was 27ft 8 inches long and was used for closed course racing. The second set was 29ft 2 inches long and was used for cross country and exhibition flights. Younkin's "Mystery Ship" has the 29ft 2 inch wingspan which enables it to perform the aerobatic maneuvers you are watching today.

The original "Mystery Ship" was equipped with a 9-cylinder Wright R975 radial engine which produced 300hp stock and with the performance mods added for the race cranked out over 400hp. After an extensive discussion with "Mystery Ship" designer Herb Rawdon in 1978, Jim Younkin decided to equip today's "Mystery Ship" with a 9-cylinder Lycoming R680 radial engine which also produces 300hp. Since the Lycoming engine is over 100lbs lighter than the Wright, Younkin's "Mystery Ship" performs much like the original without needing engine performance modifications.

The original "Mystery Ship" did not compete in 1930, but in 1931 it was repainted black and orange and was scheduled to attend the Thompson Trophy Race. On a test flight prior to the race, the aircraft caught fire and was destroyed after its new pilot Walter Hunter bailed out.

On a side note, Matt has one of the only surviving pieces of the original "Mystery Ship" on his mantle at home.

The Travel Air "Mystery Ship" not only introduced fully enclosed wheel covers and new NACA cowl to commercial aviation, but also contributed toward the future trend of low-wing military and commercial airplanes.

Just like the original, the "Mystery Ship" you see flying before you has a steel-tube and plywood covered fuselage which measures 20ft 2inches in length. The aircraft is also 7ft 9inches tall.

Although trained by Kyle to do the motorcycle-to-airplane transfer, Ryan has developed his own unique style in performing his stunts.

When Ryan is not performing at airshows, he is an automotive mechanic, ASE certified in brakes, electrical, parts, engine performance, and air conditioning. He is IMACA certified as well.
Ryan is also an experienced welder in mig, arc, and oxy.