Leon 'Motorman' Kaplan
He knows what makes it go
A year later he built a dual-exhaust system for the family lawnmower because he liked the sound of power, and at 12 he built a Cushman motor scooter from a pile of parts.
Kaplan later enjoyed drag racing and racing boats and motorcycles and wanted to become a NASCAR driver. Curtis Turner, a champion driver in the 1960s, told Kaplan that “to be a good driver, you have to know how the car works.” Kaplan took Turner seriously and studied everything motorized. He graduated from the Nashville Auto Diesel College, a technical school that fulfilled his appetite to learn how anything and everything mechanical worked. He later was inducted into the college’s hall of fame.
While in the U.S. Air Force, the 23-year-old was allowed to manipulate the controls of a Boeing KC–97, an experience that encouraged him to take a $5 discovery flight in 1970. “I was absolutely hooked,” he says. He then took lessons at Van Nuys Airport (VNY) in a Cessna 150 and a Piper Cherokee 140. He eventually purchased a succession of aircraft consisting of a Cessna 177 Cardinal, a Cessna 182 Skylane, a Beech F33A Bonanza, a Great Lakes biplane, and then his current airplane, a Beechcraft A36 Bonanza. He has been flying for 55 years.
Kaplan’s expertise in engines, motors, and everything powered by them is well-known. In 1979 he was invited to host his own radio program on KABC in Los Angeles and soon became known as “The Motorman.” He starred on this weekend show for more than 40 years—the longest running program on this flagship station—and only recently retired. Although he discussed mostly automobiles, his audience frequently called in with questions about airplanes, boats, and anything else powered by an engine or a motor. Kaplan had a reputation for explaining technical subjects in an easy-to-understand, down-home, entertaining manner without talking down to his audience. You can hear past episodes of “The Motorman with Leon Kaplan” on Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music.
Kaplan was one of a handful of civilians chosen by NASA to go into orbit on a space shuttle, a program that was terminated in 1986 following the Challenger disaster.
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