Matt Younkin

Photo by Jeanie Younkin

Matt grew up on a private airstrip in Lowell, AR. His third word was "airplane" and when he wasn't riding in his father's Beech 18 or AT-6, he was playing what he called "air show center" with his toy airplanes over an airport he had drawn on the driveway with a piece of chalk. Matt was taught to fly by Chuck Irvin (the same instructor who taught his father to fly.) On his 16th birthday, Matt soloed his grandfather's 1928 Travel Air 4000 bi-plane. Matt's father gave him limited aerobatic instruction which focused mainly on slow rolls. Like his father, Matt taught himself aerobatics by flying radio controlled model airplanes.

The Travel Air "Mystery Ship" was designed and built in 1928 by the Travel Air Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, KS. Designated the model "R" the aircraft was designed and built for the upcoming 1929 National Air Races. Design and assembly of the aircraft was performed behind a curtain in a sealed off portion of the aircraft plant. It was only dubbed the "Mystery Ship" by the press after attempts to acquire information on the top secret project failed. On September 2, 1929, the date of the Cleveland National Air Races, the model "R" was finally revealed to the press and the rest of the world and easily took 1st place, beating every entry put forth by the military. This was the first year that a military aircraft had not won the National Air Races. The civilian design proved far superior and served as a wake-up call to the U.S. Military to increase funding for pursuit aircraft design and production.

The "Mystery Ship" that Matt is performing in today was re-created using original factory plans by Jim Younkin in 1979. This is the only replica, flying or otherwise, of a Travel Air "Mystery Ship" that exists today.

See more exciting air show photos in the AirVenture photo gallery.