Pilots

Jim Younkin can be described three ways: among the best at aircraft metalworking; builder of antique aircraft who has restored or replicated some of the most famous planes of aviation's Golden Age; and, oh yes, pioneering developer of autopilots for small aircraft and holder of 20 patents. Younkin, the 73-year-old father of airshow performer Bobby Younkin, is enshrined in two aviation halls of fame, one sponsored by his home state of Arkansas and the other by the antique and classic aircraft section of the Experimental Aircraft Association.

The Springdale, Arkansas, resident and 6,000-hour pilot admits to having had more than his fair share of fun during a career that allows him to link his livelihood — electrical engineering — to his passion, aviation. Younkin recently launched a new company called TruTrak, a partnership formed in 1999 with software wizard Chuck Bilbe, that makes a digital autopilot for the experimental market. It utilizes a gyro based on whirling electrons inside a computer chip that was originally designed to stabilize cameras and robotic operations. Lancair expressed interest in the autopilot based on Younkin's reputation alone.

Younkin's autopilot work brought him his first huge success by bringing to small airplanes technology that previously had been found only in larger aircraft. In the 1960s he developed the Edo-Aire Mitchell line of autopilots, including the Century III. The company is now known as Century Flight Systems. He bought a one-third interest in the company in 1965 and sold it in the early 1980s. The new owner named it Century Flight Systems because the company was best known for Younkin's autopilots.

Younkin's first development in the 1950s was the miniaturized solid-state slaving system for directional gyros, making it unnecessary to,manually reset the gyro to the compass heading. Aviation Instruments in Houston, Texas, not only bought his idea but also hired him to carry it out. Another Younkin invention is taken for granted in today's small-airplane cockpit. Ever use a frictionless heading bug?

Thanks to his success in avionics, Younkin was able to enter the replica-building and metalworking portions of his career. His most historic replica is the Travel Air Mystery, mysterious because the original was hidden from the press during construction in the late 1920s to keep it secret from other air race pilots, and historic because without it, Younkin said, there would have been no Beech Staggerwing. Younkin's Mystery was used in two movies, Poncho Barnes (with the late Charlie Hillard, wearing a wig to look like the title character, at the controls) and The Rocketeer.

Younkin also restored a Travel Air 4000 that he terms a "nightmare" because it was incomplete. Some parts had to be fabricated from photos and drawings. Other parts were there but needed major attention. From then on, Younkin decided, he would only build aircraft that were either "all there or not there at all." With that philosophy in mind, he built an airplane called Mr. Mulligan and restored a 1931 Stinson Junior S model. The Mystery, Travel Air 4000, Mr. Mulligan, and Stinson are all now in the Arkansas Air Museum at Fayetteville's Drake Field.

Younkin also built Mystery Pacer, now kept in a hangar near his headquarters at Springdale Municipal Airport, which flies 145 mph (125 knots) on 160 horsepower. It is based on the Piper Pacer. Inspired by the huge biplane Sampson built by Steve Wolf and used to this day by Younkin's son in airshow acts, he built an all-metalized Boeing Stearman and dubbed it Goliath. He also created the Mullicoupe based on the Monocoupe and built four of them.

Younkin is best known for converting Beech Staggerwing D models to G models, also known as Younkin Staggerwings. The transformations called for 23 modifications, including moving the fuel management controls to the center panel.

While he continues to shepherd the TruTrak autopilot toward success in the experimental aircraft market and develop new models, he sees his other task as passing his knowledge on to others. "I want to keep the traditions going," Younkin said. "Only a few out there are keeping sheet-metal skills alive."