The air show performance of which Jim LeRoy was an integral part was meant to awe, thrill and entertain.
"Codename: Mary's Lamb" was the name of a show designed to blend aerobatics, ground power, music and pyrotechnics. X-Team, a group of pilots, drivers and others — including LeRoy — put on the show.
LeRoy — who died Saturday after his plane crashed at the Vectren Dayton Air Show — was "really a consummate entertainer," said Dick Knapinski, a spokesman for the Experimental Aircraft Association. "It was not just fly-bys and aerobatic performances. It was music."
Rich Gibson, a member of X-Team with LeRoy and seven others, was grappling with news of LeRoy's death Saturday afternoon.
"I've heard the news," Gibson said. "Right now, I'm just knocked off my feet." Codename Mary's Lamb "consists of two aircraft, one or two jet trucks and a full display of synchronized ground pyrotechnics, all performed to a theatrical soundtrack," the X-Team Web site says. On Saturday, those two aircraft were manned by LeRoy and pilot Skip Stewart. Stewart landed his plane safely.
"The flying is wild, dynamic and unpredictable, with planes flying through fire and closure speeds in excess of 500 mph. The mix of aerial and ground-based elements coupled with an incredible storyline and soundtrack make for a complete Hollywood-style production," the site says.
"It's just real excitement, you know," said pilot Gene Soucy, who flew with LeRoy "once or twice" as part of X-Team, which is also known as "Masters of Disaster."
About the Author
