Missouri daredevil stunt pilot Kyle Franklin aims for at least two gasps from onlookers — OK, maybe three — during his seemingly unbelievable twists, turns, stalls, falls and signature flat inverted spin at air shows.

“People expect to be entertained,” he said Sunday before taking to the skies over Colorado Springs for the final day of the Pikes Peak Regional Air Show in Dracula, the one-of-a-kind, 515-horsepower biplane that took him 10 years to build.

Franklin delivers.

Anna Gorka of Lone Tree was so amazed by Franklin’s hair-raising aerobatics Saturday that she returned Sunday for a chance to shake his hand prior to his performance and again be thrilled by the feats he accomplishes at nearly 300 miles per hour.

“He does things you shouldn’t be able to do with planes,” she said. “He spirals until he’s about to hit the ground. I was freaking out and concerned, but he pulled out of it just fine. I was so blown away.”

“Death-defying” has a sad, personal meaning for Franklin.

His grandfather died in a plane accident while ferrying another plane to an air show.

His father performed from 1967 until his death in 2005, in a “fluke” collision with another stunt plane in Canada.

“It was one of those things,” Franklin said. “We’d had a long talk about it (the possibility of dying while performing). He was on his third set of nine lives.”

Franklin’s late wife, Amanda, who walked on the wings while he flew, died in 2011 after a fuel-system malfunction at a show in Brownsville, Texas. The plane caught fire, and Franklin got burned pulling her to safety. Amanda survived for 76 days before succumbing to her injuries.

“It’s a dangerous business — flying machines low and fast can be hazardous to your health,” Franklin shrugs. “We all know this.”

The 39-year-old Franklin hasn’t thought about quitting.

As a third-generation stunt pilot who started flying at age 8, he’s the last in his family — the nation’s longest-running family in the air show industry — to keep the tradition alive.

“When you get in a car accident, you don’t stop driving a car,” Franklin reasons.

Franklin and his wife, Liz, make sure they do their part.

“We do our best to inspect and maintain them,” Franklin said.

Liz’s grandfather perished in a midair collision, so she’s well aware of the risks. Her main job: help keep her husband healthy and safe during the 13 to 17 shows they do each year.

“I have full faith in Kyle’s ability to fly,” she said. “I do get nervous from time to time. We pray beforehand.”

Liz can help Franklin disassemble Dracula in an hour and 20 minutes. Such knowledge could mean the difference between life and death for him, should he need to be extricated from the plane, she said.

“I always have a radio in hand,” she said. “I like to be close to a running vehicle, so I can assist, because I know the plane so well and how to take it apart.”

Franklin has had “quite a few close calls,” from engine failure, some other breakdown or “doing something stupid.”

He flies by both the feel of the plane and the instruments.

“With planes, if there’s something wrong, they start to talk, and if you’re listening, you can catch it,” said Liz, who’s also a pilot.