Matt Younkin is a third generation pilot and is the third Younkin to be inducted into the Arkansas Aviation Hall of Fame. He learned to fly at age 14 and soloed on his 16th birthday in his grandfather’s 1928 Travel Air 4000 biplane. He is now proficient in 85 aircraft types ranging from the Piper Cub to a Boeing B-29.
Matt heads Younkin Airshows and is considered one of the finest showmen in the airshow business having received the 2020 Art Scholl Memorial Showmanship Award, and at Airventure 2012, Matt became the first second generation recipient of the coveted Bill Barber Award for Showmanship.
Matt is also an accomplished radio-controlled model airplane enthusiast. Like his father before him, he learned most of his aerobatic skills by flying R/C models and later refined them in his Super Decathlon.
He is famous for perfecting the world’s only night aerobatic display in the Beech 18. Combined with lights, smoke, choreography and an incredible musical score, the Twin Beech Night Spectacular is becoming the most sought after act in the airshow arena.
@2023 Arkansas Aviation Historical Society