In Memoriam by David Bowman
I received this from David Bowman for the EAA Chapter 732 Newsletter and I want to share it with you:
In Memoriam?One of our highest flyers!
We buried Bobbie Younkin today, well ahead of his time. ?We?, consisted of fellow aviators, members of his church family, members of the community at large, and, of course, and his surviving family members. The world of aviation lost one of its star performers, and Northwest Arkansas lost a significant member of our community.
During the service at the First Baptist Church in Fayetteville, one testimony after another was shared about Bobby?s zest for life, his passion for aviation, his musical skill, his love of animals, and the importance of his family. The Younkin family name has been synonymous with aviation here in Northwest Arkansas, and around the world. Bobby?s Dad, Jim Younkin, was selected for membership in the Arkansas Aviation Hall of Fame, Jim?s wife, Ada, has been helping recently with the Aviation Boot Camp for young people at the Arkansas Air Museum, and his son Matt has already embarked on an aviation career of his own. And Bobby?he was in a class, all by himself.
I met Bobby, of course, as a result of seeing him fly at Fayetteville?s AirFest, several years ago. His flying skills were truly remarkable, but he also had the ability to speak with anyone, regardless of age, sex, education, or flight experience, and make the contact one that was both memorable, and educational. He did not talk down to people, he didn?t talk at people, rather, he talked with you. He didn?t put on special ?airs? to impress his listeners, but he made people feel there was something in them. Our students in the college aviation program at NorthWest Arkansas Community College, and the members of the local Civil Air Patrol Squadron, had the benefit of listening to one of his presentations, and they were unanimous in their praise for Bobby. Making Samson fly sideways, flying inverted in a Lear Jet or slow-rolling a WWII era twin-Beech was what he did best!
Jim & Bobby Younkin shared a special Father and Son love for the fascinating world of flight. Bobby?s Dad, Jim, told all of us at the service, about some of their times together, and about the highest regard Bobby had for a toy airplane that became his key to a life in aviation.
Personally, one of my favorite activities is working with young people, opening the doors to a future world in the sky. Last week, the day we learned of the tragedy at the air show in Canada, we were just starting a summer aviation camp for 10-14 year old students in the Air Museum at Fayetteville?s Drake Field. We held the classes in the historical, white hangar, where I had talked with Bobby just prior to the AirFest on Father?s Day weekend. The students toured the museum, and at one point, learned that some people think they have seen the spirit of one of Fayetteville?s pioneering aviators, Ray Ellis, looking at some of the displays. You may have your own views on ghostly apparitions, but in retrospect, I think a new spirit was there with us in our summer camp. The unbridled enthusiasm that Bobby had for the miracle of flight was reflected in the faces of those young people, many of whom were flying for their very first time.
Loosing Bobby, and his friend and flying partner, Jim Franklin, was certainly not what any of us expected, but I think Bobby & Jim would want us all to learn something from it. The investigation is progressing, & we should learn why the accident happened. In a larger sense, though, I think they would want us to learn from how they lived their lives?a challenge to us all to remember, that this life that we live, is not a dress rehearsal. Bobby & Jim lived their lives to the fullest, continually ?pushing the envelope?, not unlike a certain ?Jonathan Livingston Seagull? (see the book by that name, written by Richard Bach).
As a final salute, and a testament to the wide and loving network of supporters, the service at the grave-site was punctuated by the familiar drone of powerful, radial engines approaching the south. Nine pilots, flying nine WWII trainers, T-6 Texans, flew in perfect formation over Bobby?s final resting place, and just as they passed, two of the planes rose up and away from the rest of the flyers. In perfect formation, the two aircraft steadily climbed in a graceful turn until they passed from view. The ?missing man? formation, frequently performed to salute a missing comrade, has never been done better than this! These pilots and their craft came to Fayetteville from all over our United States, to offer their final respects to Bobby and his family.
Bobby, and his friend Jim, have passed on to a higher plane (pun certainly intended). So many of our lives have been made richer because of them. It is now up to us to carry on, to improve, to grow, and most importantly, to ?give back?. Help our young people and those new to aviation, to know of the many wonders that await them.
We will miss you Bobby, but when you have the chance, please drop us a line, and fill us in on what Wilbur, Orville, Wiley, Amelia, and all the others are flying now!
Dave Bowman, Lt Colonel, USAF (Retired)
EAA Young Eagles Coordinator
Director, NorthWest Arkansas Community College Aviation Department
