Matt Younkin, Amanda Younkin-Franklin and Kyle Franklin in front of Matt's grandfather's 1929 Travel Air MysteryShip. Photo by Phil Weston

Like father, like son.

So it should come as no surprise to Oshkosh crowds to hear the names of Franklin and Younkin again performing in the daily air show.

Bobby Younkin, 49, and Jimmy Franklin, 57, died on July 10, 2005, as their planes collided during their Masters of Disaster performance at a Canadian air show.

Their sons, Matt Younkin, 26, and Kyle Franklin, 27, have formed Sons of Legends to keep their fathers’ memories alive. Both are third-generation pilots.

"I never dreamed I would be in the air show business," Matt says. "I always thought it would be big shoes to fill and why go after an unattainable goal?"

But then came the accident. And four months later, Matt performed in his first air show.

"When I lost him, I knew I had to do this to repay him for the amazing things he did," Matt says. "I’m doing this to keep his name out there, and to pay the bills on some of these airplanes."

Kyle, on the other hand, didn’t know anything else besides air shows and always planned to continue. But with Matt agreeing to take part, they decided to team up.

Matt is flying the 1929 Travel Air Mystery Ship at Oshkosh. "It’s a reproduction of the air race winner from 1929, and it was built by my grandfather (Jim)," he says.

However, he also performs in the Super Decathlon and the Twin Beech 18. While he says his favorite "is whatever airplane he’s flying at the time"— the same thing his father often said—he knows the Beech will keep his dad’s name out there better than anything else will.

Kyle is flying a Super Cub at AirVenture, doing a comedy act that includes wingtip dragging—his wings are steel-tipped—a motorcycle-to-airplane transfer and more. Matt’s driving the motorcycle in the act.

Not surprisingly, the two grew up in a world that revolved around aviation.

"My third word was airplane," Matt says. "I grew up on a landing strip in Lowell, Arkansas, and spent most of the time in a Twin Beech or a T-6 going somewhere."

He soon began flying himself, taught by the same instructor who taught his father to fly.

He soloed on his 16th birthday and learned much about aerobatics by flying radio-controlled model airplanes, just like his father.

Kyle says his father started teaching him to fly when he was 8, and he later taught him aerobatics, too. As a child, he began wing-walking on the ground, and he took his first airborne wing-walk at 14. By 17, he turned professional.

Kyle and Matt really didn’t get to know each other until they were teenagers, and Kyle says he didn’t even know there was a Younkin sister until 2003 when he met Amanda at AirVenture.

"But Amanda knew about Kyle," Matt adds, grinning as his sister gave him a look and grin.

At that year’s Langley Air Force Base show, Kyle and Amanda met again, and this time started dating. "I was talking about joining the Air Force and flying shows," Amanda says. "But the Air Force left my head once I met Kyle."

The two were married October 18, 2005.

But the collaboration has been a blessing, says Amanda. She books their air shows and travels with brother and husband, keeping the family close.

For the moment, she’s just glad that people are enjoying the shows and understanding why they’re doing this. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t worry.

"I worried about the dangers before, and I worry now," Amanda says. "But what’s life if you can’t do what you love to do?"