By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Ben Whabnoski has no business being in an airplane. Fortunately, Ben is merely a character played by Kyle Franklin, a third-generation pilot and owner of Franklin's Flying Circus, which will be part of Great Bend Airfest on Sept. 20-22. Franklin's drunken character likes to steal planes or hijack a tour in the 1956 Piper Super Cub. The result is always some laughs and some impressive feats of flying.
"For me to go out and do the type of flying I'm doing in that comedy act, I've learned I can't just really get in the airplane and go out and do that stuff," Franklin said. "I have to be in that character. I have to get in that mindset."
In his early teenage years, Franklin had practiced the art of wingwalking while on the ground. At the age of 14, he did it in the air for the first time. Just a few years later, the show's regular wingwalker quit and Franklin stepped in for a season at the age of 17. He remained a wingwalker for the next eight years. Later, he and his wife, Liz, teamed up for the comedy act featuring Ben Whabnoski.
"We enjoy the acts we do but we get bored very easily, so we're always trying to come up with different acts and ideas," Franklin said. "My father was a showman, and he likes doing different costume acts as well. I just ran with that."
Franklin said each comedy act is designed around the particular location of an airshow. At Great Bend Airfest, he will also perform a Deadstickish Act where he describes some of his aerobatic moves from the cockpit to the crowd below before shutting off the engine prior to landing the plane. The comedy act will include stunts like dragging the wing on the ground.
"Whether you know airplanes or not, you know you're not supposed to drag the wings on the ground," he said. "We have our tricks behind it. I have steel skid plates and a lot of layers of duct tape on the wingtips to protect them so I don't damage the wood or fabric on the wing. You still have to be careful on hard you hit them, the angle you hit them, because it will try to grab and pull you in."
Franklin said while the aerobatics and stunts look dangerous, he has had more scares in the plane while flying to and from shows. Since 1988, his family has disassembled and trucked plans to shows. It takes Kyle and Liz approximately 90 minutes to take apart or put together the Super Cub.
The Franklins will be available for autographs after their performances each day at Great Bend Airfest.