Sussex '94: Lee Ollman & Jimmy Franklin

[beaky]

Gotta clear out my HD, so here's some more. Jimmy Franklin often flies with a wingwalker- this guy is Lee Ollman. Here he is climbing onto the "javelin" spar during the takeoff roll, which of course includes a hi-G pullup...



Now he's hanging from the landing gear, using only his hands!!! Yes, he has a safety strap, but he's using only his grip to hang on there. Amazing...!!



Next he climbs up top. There's a post there to lean on (with a belt, of course), but to stand there during Lomchevacks, inverted flat spins, etc...  !!! I'd love to try it... maybe.



More insanity, including a 4-point roll on the deck. His body jerks each time the roll stops. Gotta be an athlete to withstand all this!



Now it's the gnarly poses: upside down; "the flag". All done right down on the deck.



Lee climbs back onto the spar for the landing, then gets a faceful of show smoke during Franklin's signature smoking ground-loop...

[flyboy 28]

Nice. I think now that Waco has a jet engine strapped underneath..

[beaky]

Nice. I think now that Waco has a jet engine strapped underneath..

Indeed it does. I posted some pics of it (at a later Sussex show) in the "Photos" forum not long ago... it's about the sickest thing I've ever seen. I love it!!
http://www.simviation.com/cgi-bin/yabb/ ... 1106878427

[flyboy 28]

Yeah, it was there last year.

[Hagar]

Nice. I think now that Waco has a jet engine strapped underneath..

It still don't seem natural to me. :-/ Maybe they should rename it the Wacko.

[Jared]

Wonderful shots! :-) I always enjoy watchin in awe as a waco goes straight up! :-)

Yes it is unusual and unconventional, but I love it that way! :-)

[beaky]

If Franklin wasn't so good in the Waco without it, it'd seem like a cheap gimmick. But he's a respectable (if insane) biplane pilot, and it's something else to see- and hear!! At Oshkosh, he did his jet Waco routine with Younkin in his Lazer, and a jet-powered truck roaring up and down the runway belching pillars of flame and smoke; they call it the "Masters of Disaster" show, because it's so chaotic. By the time they make the last high-speed head-on pass, you can hardly see what's going on with all the smoke!!  And the noise- incredible!!
Call it vulgar, but I like it...

[Hagar]

[quote]a jet-powered truck roaring up and down the runway belching pillars of flame and smoke; they call it the "Masters of Disaster" show, because it's so chaotic. By the time they make the last high-speed head-on pass, you can hardly see what's going on with all the smoke!!

[beaky]

Utter insanity if you ask me. When is this show? I think I mght like that too.

They  (Jimmy Franklin, Bobby Younkin, Jim LeRoy, Scott Shocklee) do it at venues on their usual rounds; they're known collectively as "The X-Team". I think they do Airventure every year, but other than that, I dunno.  Couldn't find a pic of all three pilots plus the truck, but dig this:

[flyboy 28]

You mean this guy?



Also there last year.. Was incredible. You could feel the heat standing rows behind the fence..

[beaky]

I love the smell of Jet-A in the morning!!!  That truck is nuts!!