It would be dangerous for showman to do this in a plane (8)
I believe the answer is:
spitfire
'plane' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
I don't understand how the remainder of the clue works.
(Other definitions for spitfire that I've seen before include "Fighter aircraft in WWII" , "Ill-tempered sort" , "Famous RAF fighter" , "British fighter plane of WW2, or a fiery-tempered person" , "Hot-tempered person or British plane in WW2" .)