Aircraft Specialties Services

09/02/2026

INTRODUCING SHOWSTOPPING DUO — KYLE AND LIZ FRANKLIN

For Kyle and Liz Franklin, aviation isn’t just a profession—it’s a legacy, a passion, and a reminder that flight can be both breathtaking and joyful. Kyle is a third-generation pilot and second-generation air show performer, carrying forward more than 56 years of Franklin family history in the sky. Liz joined that legacy when they married in 2019, becoming an essential part of the magic audiences see today.

Check out these inspiring facts about Kyle and Liz:
- A lifetime in the sky — Kyle took his first airplane ride at just two weeks old, and
by age 10 he was already a competent pilot. At 12, he joined his father on the air
show circuit, learning firsthand what it means to entertain and inspire from the
cockpit.

- A master of reinvention — Over the years, Kyle has performed 12 different shows
in six different aircraft, always pushing himself to create something new. His
latest creation, the comedic Super Cub “Franklinstein,” is a fan favorite.

- A creative partnership — Liz plays a key role in their comedic acts and helps
Kyle continually reinvent their performances, ensuring each season brings
something fresh, surprising, and unforgettable to air show fans.

Today, Kyle and Liz perform two of the most unique and uplifting acts on the circuit: “The Ben Whabnoski Comedy Act” and the Deadstickish Act. Together, they remind audiences that aviation isn’t only about precision and power—it’s also about imagination and the courage to create something entirely your own.

09/02/2026

1 September 1930: At 10:54 a.m., local time (09:54 G.M.T.), Dieudonné Costes and Maurice Bellonte ¹ took off from the Aéroport de Paris – Le Bourget, in a red Breguet Br.19 TF Super Bidon. Their destination was New York, non-stop across the North Atlantic Ocean. At 6:12:30 p.m., Eastern Dayligh...

09/02/2026

2 September 1937: First flight, Grumman XF4F-2 Bu. No.¹ 0383, a prototype fighter for the United States Navy and Marine Corps. The airplane was designed by Grumman's Chief Engineer, Robert Leicester Hall. The prototype was damaged when it nosed over during a forced landing, 11 April 1938. The

09/02/2026

2 September 1944: Lieutenant (Junior Grade) George Herbert Walker Bush, United States Naval Reserve, led a flight of four TBF/TBM Avenger torpedo bombers of Torpedo Squadron 51 (VT-51), from the Independence-class light aircraft carrier USS San Jacinto (CVL-30), against a radio transmission station

09/02/2026

09/02/2026

2 September 1953: At the Dayton Air Show, Captain Russell Martin Dobyns, United States Air Force, flew a Piasecki YH-21-PH Work-Horse tandem rotor helicopter to an altitude of 6,739 meters (22,110 feet), setting an Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for Altitude Without Pay...

09/02/2026

2 September 1953: Colonel J. Stanley Holtoner, U.S. Air Force, flew a production North American Aviation F-86D-35-NA Sabre, serial number 51-6168, to a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Speed Record over a 100 kilometer course at Vandalia, Ohio, averaging 1,110.75 kilometers per hour (690.188 miles per hour). . . .

To read the full TDiA article on WordPress, please click on the link below:

09/02/2026

2 September 1956: As it had been the previous year, the 1956 General Electric Trophy Race was flown by three Boeing B-47 Stratojet strategic bombers. The 1955 race course was from March Air Force Base, California, to Philadelphia International Airport in Pennsylvania. The 1956 course was changed so

09/02/2026

During the Cold War, the United States routinely flew reconnaissance missions around and over Soviet Bloc territory, including over the Soviet Union itself. There have been unconfirmed reports that as many as 40 U.S. aircraft were shot down, and more than 200 airmen killed. Several hundred more may

09/02/2026

2 September 1978: The ten women in this photograph, members of Pilot Undergradaute Training Class 77-08 at Williams Air Force Base, Arizona, along with their 36 male classmates, received their Silver Wings on 2 September 1977.

They are Captains Connie Engel, Kathy La Sauce, Mary Donahue, Susan Rogers and Christine Schott; First Lieutenants Sandra Scott and Victoria Crawford; Second Lieutenants Mary Livingston, Carol Scherer and Kathleen Rambo.

They were the first female officers to graduate from the Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training Program.