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#REDIRECT [[2011 Reno Air Races crash]]
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2012}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leewad, Jimmy}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Jimmy Leeward
| image = Jimmy Leeward's P-51, Cloud Dancer.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name = James Kent Leeward
| birth_date = {{birth date|1936|10|21}}
| birth_place = [[Brackenridge, Pennsylvania|Brackenridge]], Pennsylvania, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2011|9|16|1936|10|21}}
| death_place = [[Reno, Nevada|Reno]], Nevada, U.S.
| occupation = Real estate developer<br>aviator<br>actor<br>racer
| years_active = 1964–2011
| organization = [[Experimental Aircraft Association|EAA]] member
}}

'''James Kent "Jimmy" Leeward''' (October 21, 1936<ref>Florida Public Records</ref> – September 16, 2011) was an American [[Air racing|air racer]], owner of the Leeward Air Ranch in [[Ocala, Florida]], and the pilot of the heavily modified [[North American P-51 Mustang]] racing aircraft, ''[[The Galloping Ghost airplane|The Galloping Ghost]]''.<ref>[http://www.ocala.com/article/20110916/ARTICLES/110919731?tc=cr Speed and flying were Leeward's lifelong passions], [[Ocala Star-Banner]], September 16, 2011.</ref> He died at the [[2011 Reno Air Races crash|2011 Reno Air Races in a crash]] that killed him and 10 others; an investigation by the [[National Transportation Safety Board]] blamed Leeward for "''<nowiki>'operating at the edge of the envelope' without fully reporting and testing modifications to his plane.</nowiki>''"<ref name="WP2012">{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/ntsb-to-review-findings-of-sept-2011-crash-of-aircraft-into-spectators-during-reno-air-races/2012/08/27/36c5a9c4-f017-11e1-b74c-84ed55e0300b_story.html | title=NTSB: Failure of racing plane tail structure led to Sept. 2011 crash at Reno Air Races | work=Associated Press via Washington Post | date=August 27, 2012 | accessdate=August 27, 2012}}</ref>


==Career==
Leeward grew up around airplanes and at age 11 or 12 often flew a [[Piper Cub]] with his father. At age 14, his father allowed him to fly solo in a [[North American T-6 Texan]] trainer aircraft. By age 18, he was flying charters in a [[Beechcraft Model 18]]. While still in college, he flew a [[Formula One Air Racing|Formula One]] racer in the Fort Wayne air races.<ref name="EAA Sport Aviation">{{cite journal|last=Davison|first=Budd|title=Reviving a Ghost|journal=Sport Aviation|year=2011|month=May|volume=60|issue=5|pages=34–39|url=http://www.sportaviationonline.org/sportaviation/201105#pg41|accessdate=September 17, 2011|publisher=[[Experimental Aircraft Association]]}}</ref> in 1964, he crewed on an airplane at the very first [[Reno Air Races]] and in 1976, he first flew his [[P-51D Mustang]] "Cloud Dancer" in the Unlimited Class at Reno. In 1983, he purchased the P-51D racer [[The Galloping Ghost (airplane)|"Jeannie"]] from Wiley Sanders.<ref name=Jeannie>[http://www.aviationandspacearts.com/Denver-Kissinger/Jeannie-history.html History of Jeannie by Denver Kissinger] Retrieved September 18, 2011.</ref> This airplane had a racing history going back to the [[Thompson Trophy]] races of the 1940s. Leeward raced this airplane at the [[Reno Air Races]] from 1983 to 1990. After a number of years of storage and then modifications, he returned to Reno with this aircraft, now returned to its original name [[The Galloping Ghost (airplane)|The Galloping Ghost]] in 2010. In the interim years, he raced at Reno in his other Mustang, "Cloud Dancer".<ref name="EAA Sport Aviation" />

Besides the Mustangs, Leeward also owned a 1937 [[Ryan S-C|Ryan SCW]], a [[Piper J-3 Cub]] and a 1932 [[Aeronca C-3]] his father had owned and flown in the 1930s.<ref name="EAA Sport Aviation" /> Active in aviation, in the 1970s he became a board member of the [[Experimental Aircraft Association]] (EAA).<ref>[http://www.sportaviationonline.org/sportaviation/201105#pg38 Sport Aviation, May 2011]</ref>
In 1982, Leeward began creating plans to build what would be the community of Leeward Air Ranch. He finished developing the community in 1983 and then worked as the developer for the Ocala Business Center, using a runway in the Leeward Air Ranch for air services.<ref>[http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ycFPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0AYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4808,3170886&dq=leeward+air+ranch&hl=en ''Ocala Star-Banner'', October 21, 1988.]</ref><ref>[http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Y9YTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7wUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5084,4545966&dq=leeward+air+ranch&hl=en ''Ocala Star-Banner'', May 27, 1983.]</ref>

Apart from being an experienced air racer, Leeward also had several film credits<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0498812|title=IMDb|accessdate=September 16, 2011}}</ref> mainly as a [[stunt pilot]].

Leeward began to drive in car races in the mid-1980s, driving at the [[24 Hours of Daytona|Sunbank 24 Hour]] in 1986 at [[Daytona International Speedway]]<ref>[http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ycFPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0AYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4808,3170886&dq=leeward+air+ranch&hl=en ''Ocala Star-Banner'', February 2, 1986.]</ref> and injuring himself during qualifying in the [[Grand Prix of Miami (IMSA)|Grand Prix of Miami]] of the same year.<ref>[http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AXNYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Qj0NAAAAIBAJ&pg=4504,830611&dq=jimmy+leeward&hl=en ''The Miami News'', March 3, 1986.]</ref>

==Death==
Leeward died on September 16, 2011, when his aircraft went off course and crashed into the crowd at the [[Reno Air Races|National Championship Air Races]] at [[Reno Stead Airport]], northwest of [[Reno, Nevada]], killing 10 spectators, and injuring another 69 on the ground.

He was survived by his wife and four children.

==Filmography==
===Films===
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%"
|- style="text-align:center;"
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes
|-
|1980
|''[[Cloud Dancer]]
|Mustang pilot
|
|-
|1983
|''[[Smokey and the Bandit Part 3]]''
|Stunt pilot
|Uncredited
|-
|1995
|''[[The Tuskegee Airmen]]
|Stunt pilot
|Credited as James K. Leeward
|-
|2002
|''[[Dragonfly (2002 film)|Dragonfly]]''
|Stunt pilot
|Uncredited
|-
|2006
|''Loney Hearts''
|Pilot
|
|-
|2008
|''Thunder Over Reno''
|Himself
|
|-
|2009
|''[[Amelia (film)|Amelia]]''
|Stunt pilot
|Uncredited
|}

==See also==
* [[2011 Reno Air Races crash]]

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
*{{Find a Grave|76617890}}
*[http://www.leewardairranch.com Leeward Air Ranch website]
*[http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GS|n=leeward&GSfn=james&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=76617890&df=all& Jimmy Leeward; findagrave.com tribute page]

{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] -->
| NAME = Leeward, Jimmy
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Leeward, James Kent
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = American real estate developer, aviator and actor
| DATE OF BIRTH = 1936-10-21
| PLACE OF BIRTH = Brackenridge, Pennsylvania, United States
| DATE OF DEATH = 2011-09-16 <!-- ISO format (YYYY-MM-DD) -->
| PLACE OF DEATH = Reno, Nevada, United States
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leeward, Jimmy}}
[[Category:1936 births]]
[[Category:2011 deaths]]
[[Category:Actors from Florida]]
[[Category:American air racers]]
[[Category:American film actors]]
[[Category:American stunt performers]]
[[Category:Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Florida]]
[[Category:Sports deaths in Nevada]]
[[Category:Filmed accidental deaths]]

Latest revision as of 14:03, 21 August 2016

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