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Matt
Younkin
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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.
Matt Younkin’s Beech 18
performance is likely the most unusual act on the air show
circuit today. The Beech 18 was never designed for aerobatic
flight; however that doesn’t make it incapable of doing just
that. The performance is almost a mirror image of the one his
father Bobby pioneered and flew for over 15 years. It begins
with a roll on takeoff followed by a series of Cuban eights,
point-rolls, and even a loop. The conclusion is a dirty pass
dubbed the “Elephant Waltz” in which Matt rocks the huge
transport’s wings more than 90 degrees with the landing gear
and flaps extended!
The performance begins and ends
to light-hearted music which capitalizes on an overly obese
airplane executing maneuvers that its designers and air show
audience members alike never conceived possible for a large
transport plane. As a contrast, the majority of the performance
flows with beauty and grace to equally beautiful music and a
special tribute to Bobby Younkin.
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