But moments later he was somber, perhaps thinking of his friend, Don Hinz, who died when the Tuskegee Airmen lost power and crashed just short of the airport, during an airshow in 2004. Perhaps he was also thinking of his friend, Gerry Beck, who lost his life in another P-51, during an airshow in 2007. The risks of high-performance warbird flying are significant, but so are the rewards.