Born in 1989, Jason Beamish hails from a family of extremely capable and accomplished aviators.

The pilot who set the standard was his grandfather Rod Beamish, who flew P51 Mustangs during World War II and then, in peacetime, Boeing jet airliners for SAA. His father Larry has excelled as both an airshow pilot and also in the field of executive jet operations.

It’s no wonder then that Jason, an aircraft engineer, has followed in their footsteps. He entered the world of aerobatic and airshow flying at a very young age. According to his bio on the Team Xtreme Airshows website, Jason “grew up at the Toy Store (a hangar at Rand airport)”. He had his first flying lesson at just nine years of age in the family Piper J3 Cub and flew solo on his 17th birthday. 

Jason started competition aerobatics in 2007 in the Extra 300 and then air shows in 2009 on DH Chipmunks, Extra 300s and Yak 52s. More recently, he’s been flying the South African airshow circuit with T28s, RVs, Extra 300s, DH Chipmunks, AN2, Pitts Specials, a Boeing Stearman and a few more on occasion.

Jason flies for both the Goodyear Eagles in their Pitts Specials and for Team Xtreme in their high performance monoplanes. Jason is a team engineer and #3 wingman for Team Xtreme Airshows, flying the XA42 Sbach in China and his Extra 330LX in South Africa.

He is multitalented as a display pilot, and from time to time has performed solo displays in warbirds such as the T28 Trojan and novelty acts such as truck-top landings in a Piper J3 Cub. His displays have been enjoyed by crowds as far afield as the Middle East and China.

Follow Jason on Facebook, Instagram, and Team Xtreme Airshows.

WATCH: Team Xtreme Airshows performing in Nelspruit at the Lowveld Airshow 2019. Pilot Nigel Hopkins, Mark Hensman, Mark Sampson and Jason Beamish. Video taken from #2 Mark Sampson helmet GoPro.