Mon, Jul 28, 2025
While at EAA AirVenture 2014, ANN News Editor Tom Patton caught up with Kyle Franklin at the Concorde Battery display booth. Patton has been checking up on the health of the airshow industry and he asked Franklin to give his views.
Franklin indicated that, in his opinion, the industry is coming back from the doldrums it was in last year. Franklin ranks as one of the most popular performers because of the type of routines he performs and the airplanes he uses.
Every airshow pilot has a carefully crafted flight routine, but Franklin is also known for being a showman. He works the crowd, will talk to anyone, and plays to the kids. He also keeps up with what’s going on in the pop culture. His custom built biplane, named Dracula, took Kyle 9 years to build. It’s a one-of-a-kind plane designed to give the thrill of the old barnstorming days yet provide the wild capabilities of a modern acro airplane.
In this video interview, Kyle Franklin talks about his various acts and, while he is providing the details, we get to watch Dracula and “Drunk Pilot” routines in action.
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