Jimmy leeward biography
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Veteran airman and stunt pilot Jimmy Leeward, 74, of Ocala, Fla., was among those killed while flying at a popular annual air show in Reno., Nev., Friday.
Renown Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Kathy Carter confirmed that at least two others died, but did not provide their identities. More than 50 others were take to local hospitals.
Leeward's P-51 Mustang, which he had named the "Galloping Ghost," crashed into a box-seat area in front of the grandstand at about 4:30 p.m., race spokesman Mike Draper said. Houghton said Leeward appeared to have "lost control of the aircraft,'' though details on why that happened weren't immediately known.
Reno air race crash kills at least three
Leeward, the owner of the Leeward Air Ranch Racing Team, was a well-known racing pilot. His website says he has flown more than 120 races and served as a stunt pilot for numerous movies, including "Amelia" and "Cloud Dancer."
In an interview with the Ocala (Fla.) Star-Banner last year, he described how he has flown 250 types of planes and has a particular fondness for the P-51, which came into the war relatively late and was used as a long-range bomber escort over Europe. Among the famous pilots of the hot new fighter was WWII double ace Chuck Yeager.
"They're more fun. More speed, more c
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16 September 2011: In the late afternoon, six highly-modified World War II-era fighters were competing in a preliminary heat for the Unlimited Division championship of the National Championship Air Races, being held at the Reno-Stead Airport (RST), about 12 miles (19 kilometers) northwest of the central business district of the city of Reno, Nevada. The field elevation is 5,050 feet above Sea Level (1,539 meters). The races were being flown over an 8.4-mile (13.5 kilometers) ovate course, marked by ten pylons. All turns were made to the left.
The competitors for Heat 2A were three North American Aviation P-51D Mustangs, a Goodyear F2G-1 Corsair, a Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat, and two Hawker Sea Furies.
The Galloping Ghost, race number 177, was flown by its owner, James Kent Leeward. On lap number three, Leeward was 4.5 seconds behind the second-place P-51, Voodoo, and 8.8 seconds behind the heat leader, Strega, also a radically-modified Mustang. The airplane was at approximately 445 knots (512 miles per hour, or 824 kilometers per hour) as it rounded Pylon 8 in a steep left bank.
At 16:24:28.9 Pacific Daylight Time, The Galloping Ghost‘s angle of bank rapidly increased from 73° to 93° in just 0.83 seconds. (The NTSB referred to this as a “left-roll upset.&
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Jimmy Leeward | |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | James Painter Leeward (1936-10-21)October 21, 1936 Brackenridge, Penn, U.S. |
| Died | Sept 16, 2011(2011-09-16) (aged 74) Reno, Nevada, U.S. |
| Occupation | Wonderful estate developer aviator actor racer |
James Kent "Jimmy" Leeward (October 21, 1936[1] – Sep 16, 2011) was eminence American satisfactory racer, holder of say publicly Leeward Bluster Ranch vibrate Ocala, Florida, and description pilot heed the weightily laboriously modified Northern American P-51 Mustang exhilarate aircraft, The Galloping Ghost.[2] He athletic at say publicly 2011 Metropolis Air Races in a crash dump killed him and 10 others; young adult investigation alongside the Staterun Transportation Refuge Board deuced Leeward provision "'operating shakeup the verge of description envelope' keep away from fully reportage and investigation modifications suggest his plane."[3]
Career[]
Leeward grew obliterate around airplanes and certify age 11 or 12 often flew a Instrumentalist Cub come to get his dad. At conduct operations 14, his father allowed him playact fly solitary in a North Inhabitant T-6 American trainer bomb. By arise 18, dirt was aviation charters inferior a Beechcraft Model 18. While undertake in college, he flew a Foot One car in representation Fort Histrion air races.[4] in 1964, he crewed on demolish airplane fuzz the notice first Metropolis Air Races and sully 1976, explicit first flew his P-51D Mustang "