JL636

My Feedback: (79)

According to MSN, Jim Leroy was killed in a crash of his biplane at a show in Ohio. Go toMSN for more information. Joe

OverTheEdge

My Feedback: (1)

I saw him perform last year at the Quad City Air Show 2006. He was one hell of a pilot.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.d...EWS01/70728010

Strykaas

Jim, thank you, rest in peace [sm=thumbup.gif]

His last spin : http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b53_1185689297

MikeEast

My Feedback: (3)

What a way to go.. At least he died doing what he loved. Rest in peace buddy...

adaptabl

I saw him fly the show last Saturday in Michigan. He was an amazing pilot.

rrragmanliam

My Feedback: (1)

Sad indeed,

If you ever saw one of Jim's performances you know he was always pushing the envolope when it came to low altitude manuvers. It looks like he just ran out of room. I had a feeling this would happen some day. Jim will be missed.

Darren

nitro wing

My Feedback: (1)

Tragic,I think he flew with Jimmy Franklin sometimes,who had a fatal crash last year.I've seen them both perform,great memories.I just went on his website,the schedule was still there for upcoming shows...
http://www.bulldogairshows.com/

Bigtone

Yes, he was flying with Jimmy and Bobby when they crashed in Canada 2005. I'm a good friend of the LeRoy family and we all lost a airshow legend.
[link=http://piercehaviland.com/index.htm][/link]
You will always be missed Jim! Words cannot express my feelings, God Bless you Joanie and espically Tommy! The day of the [link=http://youtube.com/watch?v=iW3eSGG4kZA]Heart of Florida Airshow 2007 [/link] video below was the last time I spent time with Jim and his family.

My YouTube Jim LeRoy Vid's
http://youtube.com/watch?v=xmxcbekdjnM
http://youtube.com/watch?v=iW3eSGG4kZA

My Google Jim Leroy Vid's
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...15495983529875
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...54912177723904
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...58595224218756

www.myspace.com/airshows

mugenkidd

My Feedback: (94)

Best full scale aerobatic pilot I have ever seen. Very sad indeed, the world has truely lost someone special. [sm=crying.gif] RIP my friend RIP....

Whirlyspud

RIP Brother.

Mike

mithrandir

My Feedback: (2)

Airshow pilot is a dangerous job!
He was IMHO the BEST airshow pilot I ever saw....
I hope other AirShow pilots WITH CHILDREN learn from this and give their children
top priority and fly a little safer or they will end up with a widow and fatherless children too.

Really... a man with a child should have maybe thought about the consequences of
taking chances like he and many other airshow pilots take....

Aren't there enuff single pilots with no kids to take the chances?
I would never take those risks because of my two children.

My best wishes for the survivors.

Bigtone

If you ever had a chance to meet Jim, you would not be saying that. If you did somthing you really loved to do, you would understand. There is a special place for those who die, because they were not afraid to live!

mithrandir

My Feedback: (2)

I do not for a moment suggest he was anything other then one hell'uv'a'man!! Clearly the BEST airshow pilot.. at least one of the top 3 or 4 airshow pilots!!! I study his movies to get ideas for my own bag of trix....
But had I ever met him, I would have told him myself that his family and child should have priority over flying a LOW and aggressive airshow. His family would be better off if he was still alive and working at Wal-Mart.
Are you really suggesting it is OK to put your family's future and emotional well being in jeapordy so that you might pursue "What you Really Love"? I don't think you would.

mugenkidd

My Feedback: (94)

These are YOUR morals and values, good for you, but don't try and portray them as facts. They are YOUR opinions!! His wife and kids are left with a legacy, their husband-father was a one of a kind..... best in the world type of guy. Can we just respect his memory in this thread and leave our personal moral judgments at the door?!?!?! Ask his kids 10 years from now if they wished their dad worked at Wal-mart? His kids are left with a legacy, that they can be proud of, more than what most people can say.

s. wallace

My Feedback: (24)

+1

HOv

I am very sad, with the accident. I saw, him in the 2006 Oskosh. For me the best Showman in the air, I see in my live.
Rest in peace my good Friend.
always will be remenber.
Haralt
from
Chile

mithrandir

My Feedback: (2)

Yes... that is an interesting point.. we should ask his son if he is happy there is a legacy... or would he rather dad
was maybe still alive and could play ball with him...

I suspect that it is not just "My" moral that responsable parents don't take undue risks when they have children that are dependant upon them.
Children were not given the choice to be born. Once there is a child, it is Mom's and Dad's priority to make sure the child is raised to
become a productive member of society. Dad being dead is NOT consistant with that! I can't believe anyone would argue something as basic as "The Children come First"!!! Maybe THAT attitude explains the apparent decline in the morality of our once great culture!?

If I were to ever have met Jim Leroy, I would ask him if his flying is more important then the well being and happiness of his child!
I bet I know what his wife and child would say....

Jim was a great AirShow Pilot. His awesome demonstrations will be missed by millions of people....
But the time he coulda spent helping his son with math homework far exceeds the loss of the millions!!!

Bill Lowen

maybe you should not drive a car, take a walk, maybe you should just stay in the house.. make sure you don't use the bathtub, or any electrical appliances.. maybe firefighters should stop being firefighters and policeman should stop being policeman, maybe you should stop going to the airfield, who knows an errant RC plane may kill you.. when its your turn to check out, its time to go. what Jim did was risky, but being a firefighter is not? how about football players, racecar drivers... the list goes on, without Jim and others like him, the world would be a dull place.

mithrandir

My Feedback: (2)

Just because people with children choose risky activities does not make it a smart thing to do.

I gather from your response you approve of fathers with dependant children engaging in dangerous
activities so we can all be entertained!

highK

what a pathetic response to a family tragedy. his wife knew the risks, just as wives and husbands know the risks of a zillion other professions that are considered risky compared to sitting on your ass pushing a pencil. but this is about the celebrating the life of a showman, not to throw rocks on his coffin. go hang out outside a police station and see if anyone listens to your garbage.

Bill Lowen

no, what I am saying is that life is full of risks no matter what you do. There are many kids without parents who died in car accidents or just walking on the sidewalk. How many kids lost their parents in the 9/11 attacks? Unless you stay in your home 24/7, there is always a chance you may die. Jim died doing what he loved just as all of us love RC airplanes. It is not out of the possibility that your RC plane flies out of control and kills you or somebody else. Extreme yes, but the chance is there. Yes, the risk may be greater doing what Jim did, but there is always the chance of dying anytime you step out into the world. You may as well enjoy life because you will die at some point. I am sad for Jim that it happened at such a young age the same as I was when a car jumped the curb and killed this guy walking on the sidewalk not 2 blocks from where I work. and as far as fathers with dependant children, there are lots of them that race Nascar, play in the NFL, MLB, NBA. fly fighter jets etc.. ? I also would be willing to bet that more people lose their lives driving on a highway than stunt pilots. I don't think any one has the right to condemn another person for doing something they love. And its OK to be sad for them when they lose their lives doing it. I have to be honest when I say I am totally blown away that there are people on this board that share your opinion.

highK

glad to see that Futaba is doing a good job screening their sponsored pilots - remember "friend", you are representing a mfr...sometimes it best not to hit the send key.

Bill Lowen

easy HighK.. just because he has an opinion does not make him a moron... this is friendly debate

timothy thompson

My Feedback: (1)

as people need more and more spectacle to be entertained these accidents will continue. No reason to fly that low other than for the crowd who probably would not go to shows if these routines were not there. There a few who go in the hope of seeing a crash , a few sickos but they are there.
I believe we should rethink airshows and keep the altitude where it was 10 years ago. We were happy with loops and rolls but now we need more its getting really edgy. I agree his family should be first but they knew the risk and on his website it states he flys an aggressive show'
Seeing the airplane it looked intact, how did he pass? you dont need to be so rude to fellow posters . a thread on the oshkosh accident was closed due to behavior like this lets keep it civil

Bill Lowen

I heard blunt force truama. I hope he did not feel the pain of the ensuing fire but in reality how could he not? []