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Greetings group,
I am looking for any scholarly papers, books, or articles, containing information about Steve Wittman, and the Tailwind. I need this for a paper I am writing for Liberty School of Aeronautics, pertaining to "Eras in Aviation". I was amazed to see that there doesn't seem to be much out there on these subjects. Please drop me a message about anything you know of that may help in this research. Thanks Brad List
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Bradley, To state the obvious, contact Tailwind14855. Ben Wilson ?
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From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Bradley List via groups.io
Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2025 12:42 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [TailwindForum] Books Containing Steve Wittman? I am looking for any scholarly papers, books, or articles, containing information about Steve Wittman, and the Tailwind. I need this for a paper I am writing for Liberty School of Aeronautics, pertaining to "Eras in Aviation". I was amazed to see that there doesn't seem to be much out there on these subjects. Please drop me a message about anything you know of that may help in this research. Thanks Brad List
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Brad,? So as not to lean too heavily on TW14855 (Jim Stanton) personally, you may want to use his posts on this forum, and the posts of many others who knew Steve, as what as what essentially amounts to a primary resource. There have been many personal memories posted here about Steve by friends who knew him well. And I I would think that Jim, even as ready and willing as he is to contribute his knowledge and many recollections, would appreciate not having to repeat them in one massive memory dump.
BTW great idea!? I for one would like to read a comprehensive biography about Steve.
Dion
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Bradley, To state the obvious, contact Tailwind14855. Ben Wilson ? ? I am looking for any scholarly papers, books, or articles, containing information about Steve Wittman, and the Tailwind. I need this for a paper I am writing for Liberty School of Aeronautics, pertaining to "Eras in Aviation". I was amazed to see that there doesn't seem to be much out there on these subjects. Please drop me a message about anything you know of that may help in this research. Thanks Brad List
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Thanks Ben, I eagerly await "Officer Bill Gannon's", report on most everything we post. Lucky to at least have some actual source, that has a lot of first-hand knowledge. Friends of Steve are fading away before we get it all out of them, sadly. Brad List
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Brad -
Agree totally re: scanning all of Stanton's messages.
I have his notebook and I have saved at least 150 emails with juicy into from Jim, Keith, and others.
Group messages are like having experts sitting at your workbench.
Photos are pure gold.
Ben
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I recommend the Sport Aviation article by Jim Cunningham? and the EAA video on Steves life. I am losing my hangar May 15 and most of my stuff is packed away so I can't offer any help. There is a lot of information available on Steve. Much of it concentrates on one airplane or two in the case of the midget racers. If you are willing to search for it there is more information available on Steve than any other air race pilot. many articles in Sport Aviation. If you are an EAA member all the back issues are available via the EAA website.?
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If the "Golden Age of Air Racing is still available from EAA it has multiple articles about Steve's early life as well as info on most of the airplanes.
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I have a really cozy hangar for your Tailwind here at M21, Jim.
On Tue, Apr 22, 2025, 4:45?PM Tailwind14855 via <Tailwind14855= [email protected]> wrote: I recommend the Sport Aviation article by Jim Cunningham? and the EAA video on Steves life. I am losing my hangar May 15 and most of my stuff is packed away so I can't offer any help. There is a lot of information available on Steve. Much of it concentrates on one airplane or two in the case of the midget racers. If you are willing to search for it there is more information available on Steve than any other air race pilot. many articles in Sport Aviation. If you are an EAA member all the back issues are available via the EAA website.?
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You might contact William Wynne at fly corvair he knew Wittman family well I believe
On Tue, Apr 22, 2025, 14:50 Michael Richardson via <iwillfly4food= [email protected]> wrote: I have a really cozy hangar for your Tailwind here at M21, Jim.
On Tue, Apr 22, 2025, 4:45?PM Tailwind14855 via <Tailwind14855= [email protected]> wrote: I recommend the Sport Aviation article by Jim Cunningham? and the EAA video on Steves life. I am losing my hangar May 15 and most of my stuff is packed away so I can't offer any help. There is a lot of information available on Steve. Much of it concentrates on one airplane or two in the case of the midget racers. If you are willing to search for it there is more information available on Steve than any other air race pilot. many articles in Sport Aviation. If you are an EAA member all the back issues are available via the EAA website.?
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Search "Steve Wittman" and you will find a lot of info. For the early history "Steve Wittman Legendary Uncle' is a two part article with a lot of history. Perry Anderson was Steve's partner in their first airplane. They were mostly self taught in that airplane and? Steve soloed himself and then Perry soloed. Perry married Steve's sister and the article is written by Perry's grandson. That first airplane was a Standard J1. A couple of days after his solo Steve flew his sister, his first passenger. A few days later he was carrying passengers for hire. That was in 1924 and in 1926 Steve flew in his first air race at Milwaukee in that airplane. After a few years in the Fond du Lac area Steve took over as Airport Manager at Oshkosh in 1931. He talked about the early days of sleeping in the hangar and allowing himself a dollar a day for food.? At Oshkosh he built his first successful airplane in 3 1/2 months. The Chief Oshkosh became one of the most successful racers in its class. After problems at Cleveland, a few weeks later Steve won several races at Schnectady NY. The Chief was flown all over the country, no brakes, a tailskid, a chart and compass. The compass likely did not work.? The Chief had three different engines and four different sets of wings. The final wings were only 13' span. In that configuration it had a top speed around 255 m/h.?
In 1947 the Chief fuselage with a new set of wings was modified to "Goodyear Racer" specifications. With Bill Brennand s pilot the airplane, now named Buster, won at Cleveland,, at Miami early in 1948 and again at Cleveland in 1949. By Clevel;and 1948 Steve had completed a similar racer that he named Bonzo. He placed at Cleveland and then won three times at the Continental Races at Miami and later Cleveland. .
In 1954 Buster became the first homebuilt airplane displayed at Air and Space.?
After many years of Goodyear/Formula one racing Bonzo was modified for cross country racing on a course starting at Fond du Lac. After several years of cross country racing, Steve had a spinner fail and the spinner badly damaged the wood prop. The airplane was damaged in the off airport landing. After several years of storage Forrest Lovley rebuilt the airplane for Steve. It is now in the EAA Museum, hanging up in formation with its namesake, the 1934 Big Bonzo
The Wittman Airplanes:
Hardly Ableson powered by Harley Davidson engine. did not fly?
Chief Oshkosh
Big Bonzo-unlimited class racer
Buttercup
Big X
Buster
Little Bonzo
Tailwind #1
Tailwind #2
Tailwind #3 tri gear, 0 320 with Hartzell C/S prop
V Witt-VW class racer similar to Little Bonzo
Tailwind #4 with Olds V8 engine
O&O Oshkosh to Ocala nonstop, 1120 statute miles
In 1924 there were no aviation regulations. When the regulations first arrived around 1927 Steve was issued a pilot certificate probably a Commercial
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Thanks Jim S, A book is exactly what I was hoping for, so that I may list references. The library at the school must simply not have found it when I inquired. If I can, I will order a copy for The Jerry Falwell Library so that other aviation students can find it. Considering Wittman spanned the ENTIRE era of aviation, it would be nice if they had this resource. Thanks again. Brad List
On Tuesday, April 22, 2025 at 08:11:16 PM EDT, Tailwind14855 via groups.io <tailwind14855@...> wrote:
Search "Steve Wittman" and you will find a lot of info. For the early history "Steve Wittman Legendary Uncle' is a two part article with a lot of history. Perry Anderson was Steve's partner in their first airplane. They were mostly self taught in that airplane and? Steve soloed himself and then Perry soloed. Perry married Steve's sister and the article is written by Perry's grandson. That first airplane was a Standard J1. A couple of days after his solo Steve flew his sister, his first passenger. A few days later he was carrying passengers for hire. That was in 1924 and in 1926 Steve flew in his first air race at Milwaukee in that airplane. After a few years in the Fond du Lac area Steve took over as Airport Manager at Oshkosh in 1931. He talked about the early days of sleeping in the hangar and allowing himself a dollar a day for food.? At Oshkosh he built his first successful airplane in 3 1/2 months. The Chief Oshkosh became one of the most successful racers in its class. After problems at Cleveland, a few weeks later Steve won several races at Schnectady NY. The Chief was flown all over the country, no brakes, a tailskid, a chart and compass. The compass likely did not work.? The Chief had three different engines and four different sets of wings. The final wings were only 13' span. In that configuration it had a top speed around 255 m/h.?
In 1947 the Chief fuselage with a new set of wings was modified to "Goodyear Racer" specifications. With Bill Brennand s pilot the airplane, now named Buster, won at Cleveland,, at Miami early in 1948 and again at Cleveland in 1949. By Clevel;and 1948 Steve had completed a similar racer that he named Bonzo. He placed at Cleveland and then won three times at the Continental Races at Miami and later Cleveland. .
In 1954 Buster became the first homebuilt airplane displayed at Air and Space.?
After many years of Goodyear/Formula one racing Bonzo was modified for cross country racing on a course starting at Fond du Lac. After several years of cross country racing, Steve had a spinner fail and the spinner badly damaged the wood prop. The airplane was damaged in the off airport landing. After several years of storage Forrest Lovley rebuilt the airplane for Steve. It is now in the EAA Museum, hanging up in formation with its namesake, the 1934 Big Bonzo
The Wittman Airplanes:
Hardly Ableson powered by Harley Davidson engine. did not fly?
Chief Oshkosh
Big Bonzo-unlimited class racer
Buttercup
Big X
Buster
Little Bonzo
Tailwind #1
Tailwind #2
Tailwind #3 tri gear, 0 320 with Hartzell C/S prop
V Witt-VW class racer similar to Little Bonzo
Tailwind #4 with Olds V8 engine
O&O Oshkosh to Ocala nonstop, 1120 statute miles
In 1924 there were no aviation regulations. When the regulations first arrived around 1927 Steve was issued a pilot certificate probably a Commercial
?
?
?
?
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I wonder if there is going to be a Jim Stanton memoir??
Sent from my Pixel 5a
On Wed, Apr 23, 2025, 7:19?AM Bradley List via <bradleylist= [email protected]> wrote:
Thanks Jim S, A book is exactly what I was hoping for, so that I may list references. The library at the school must simply not have found it when I inquired. If I can, I will order a copy for The Jerry Falwell Library so that other aviation students can find it. Considering Wittman spanned the ENTIRE era of aviation, it would be nice if they had this resource. Thanks again. Brad List
On Tuesday, April 22, 2025 at 08:11:16 PM EDT, Tailwind14855 via <tailwind14855= [email protected]> wrote:
Search "Steve Wittman" and you will find a lot of info. For the early history "Steve Wittman Legendary Uncle' is a two part article with a lot of history. Perry Anderson was Steve's partner in their first airplane. They were mostly self taught in that airplane and? Steve soloed himself and then Perry soloed. Perry married Steve's sister and the article is written by Perry's grandson. That first airplane was a Standard J1. A couple of days after his solo Steve flew his sister, his first passenger. A few days later he was carrying passengers for hire. That was in 1924 and in 1926 Steve flew in his first air race at Milwaukee in that airplane. After a few years in the Fond du Lac area Steve took over as Airport Manager at Oshkosh in 1931. He talked about the early days of sleeping in the hangar and allowing himself a dollar a day for food.? At Oshkosh he built his first successful airplane in 3 1/2 months. The Chief Oshkosh became one of the most successful racers in its class. After problems at Cleveland, a few weeks later Steve won several races at Schnectady NY. The Chief was flown all over the country, no brakes, a tailskid, a chart and compass. The compass likely did not work.? The Chief had three different engines and four different sets of wings. The final wings were only 13' span. In that configuration it had a top speed around 255 m/h.?
In 1947 the Chief fuselage with a new set of wings was modified to "Goodyear Racer" specifications. With Bill Brennand s pilot the airplane, now named Buster, won at Cleveland,, at Miami early in 1948 and again at Cleveland in 1949. By Clevel;and 1948 Steve had completed a similar racer that he named Bonzo. He placed at Cleveland and then won three times at the Continental Races at Miami and later Cleveland. .
In 1954 Buster became the first homebuilt airplane displayed at Air and Space.?
After many years of Goodyear/Formula one racing Bonzo was modified for cross country racing on a course starting at Fond du Lac. After several years of cross country racing, Steve had a spinner fail and the spinner badly damaged the wood prop. The airplane was damaged in the off airport landing. After several years of storage Forrest Lovley rebuilt the airplane for Steve. It is now in the EAA Museum, hanging up in formation with its namesake, the 1934 Big Bonzo
The Wittman Airplanes:
Hardly Ableson powered by Harley Davidson engine. did not fly?
Chief Oshkosh
Big Bonzo-unlimited class racer
Buttercup
Big X
Buster
Little Bonzo
Tailwind #1
Tailwind #2
Tailwind #3 tri gear, 0 320 with Hartzell C/S prop
V Witt-VW class racer similar to Little Bonzo
Tailwind #4 with Olds V8 engine
O&O Oshkosh to Ocala nonstop, 1120 statute miles
In 1924 there were no aviation regulations. When the regulations first arrived around 1927 Steve was issued a pilot certificate probably a Commercial
?
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?
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I hope so, Jim Cunningham? Red ?
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From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of DjD via groups.io
Sent: Wednesday, April 23, 2025 5:30 AM
To: [email protected] Notification <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [TailwindForum] Books Containing Steve Wittman? I wonder if there is going to be a Jim Stanton memoir?? ? On Wed, Apr 23, 2025, 7:19?AM Bradley List via <bradleylist=[email protected]> wrote: A book is exactly what I was hoping for, so that I may list references. The library at the school must simply not have found it when I inquired. If I can, I will order a copy for The Jerry Falwell Library so that other aviation students can find it. Considering Wittman spanned the ENTIRE era of aviation, it would be nice if they had this resource. Thanks again. Brad List On Tuesday, April 22, 2025 at 08:11:16 PM EDT, Tailwind14855 via <tailwind14855=[email protected]> wrote: Search "Steve Wittman" and you will find a lot of info. For the early history "Steve Wittman Legendary Uncle' is a two part article with a lot of history. Perry Anderson was Steve's partner in their first airplane. They were mostly self taught in that airplane and? Steve soloed himself and then Perry soloed. Perry married Steve's sister and the article is written by Perry's grandson. That first airplane was a Standard J1. A couple of days after his solo Steve flew his sister, his first passenger. A few days later he was carrying passengers for hire. That was in 1924 and in 1926 Steve flew in his first air race at Milwaukee in that airplane. After a few years in the Fond du Lac area Steve took over as Airport Manager at Oshkosh in 1931. He talked about the early days of sleeping in the hangar and allowing himself a dollar a day for food.? At Oshkosh he built his first successful airplane in 3 1/2 months. The Chief Oshkosh became one of the most successful racers in its class. After problems at Cleveland, a few weeks later Steve won several races at Schnectady NY. The Chief was flown all over the country, no brakes, a tailskid, a chart and compass. The compass likely did not work.? The Chief had three different engines and four different sets of wings. The final wings were only 13' span. In that configuration it had a top speed around 255 m/h.? In 1947 the Chief fuselage with a new set of wings was modified to "Goodyear Racer" specifications. With Bill Brennand s pilot the airplane, now named Buster, won at Cleveland,, at Miami early in 1948 and again at Cleveland in 1949. By Clevel;and 1948 Steve had completed a similar racer that he named Bonzo. He placed at Cleveland and then won three times at the Continental Races at Miami and later Cleveland. . In 1954 Buster became the first homebuilt airplane displayed at Air and Space.? After many years of Goodyear/Formula one racing Bonzo was modified for cross country racing on a course starting at Fond du Lac. After several years of cross country racing, Steve had a spinner fail and the spinner badly damaged the wood prop. The airplane was damaged in the off airport landing. After several years of storage Forrest Lovley rebuilt the airplane for Steve. It is now in the EAA Museum, hanging up in formation with its namesake, the 1934 Big Bonzo Hardly Ableson powered by Harley Davidson engine. did not fly? Big Bonzo-unlimited class racer Tailwind #3 tri gear, 0 320 with Hartzell C/S prop V Witt-VW class racer similar to Little Bonzo Tailwind #4 with Olds V8 engine O&O Oshkosh to Ocala nonstop, 1120 statute miles In 1924 there were no aviation regulations. When the regulations first arrived around 1927 Steve was issued a pilot certificate probably a Commercial
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We want books from both Jim Stanton and Red ---
On Wednesday, April 23rd, 2025 at 11:24 AM, red via groups.io <redswing@...> wrote:
I hope so, Jim Cunningham? Red ? ? I wonder if there is going to be a Jim Stanton memoir?? ? On Wed, Apr 23, 2025, 7:19?AM Bradley List via <bradleylist=[email protected]> wrote: A book is exactly what I was hoping for, so that I may list references. The library at the school must simply not have found it when I inquired. If I can, I will order a copy for The Jerry Falwell Library so that other aviation students can find it. Considering Wittman spanned the ENTIRE era of aviation, it would be nice if they had this resource. Thanks again. Brad List On Tuesday, April 22, 2025 at 08:11:16 PM EDT, Tailwind14855 via <tailwind14855=[email protected]> wrote: Search "Steve Wittman" and you will find a lot of info. For the early history "Steve Wittman Legendary Uncle' is a two part article with a lot of history. Perry Anderson was Steve's partner in their first airplane. They were mostly self taught in that airplane and? Steve soloed himself and then Perry soloed. Perry married Steve's sister and the article is written by Perry's grandson. That first airplane was a Standard J1. A couple of days after his solo Steve flew his sister, his first passenger. A few days later he was carrying passengers for hire. That was in 1924 and in 1926 Steve flew in his first air race at Milwaukee in that airplane. After a few years in the Fond du Lac area Steve took over as Airport Manager at Oshkosh in 1931. He talked about the early days of sleeping in the hangar and allowing himself a dollar a day for food.? At Oshkosh he built his first successful airplane in 3 1/2 months. The Chief Oshkosh became one of the most successful racers in its class. After problems at Cleveland, a few weeks later Steve won several races at Schnectady NY. The Chief was flown all over the country, no brakes, a tailskid, a chart and compass. The compass likely did not work.? The Chief had three different engines and four different sets of wings. The final wings were only 13' span. In that configuration it had a top speed around 255 m/h.? In 1947 the Chief fuselage with a new set of wings was modified to "Goodyear Racer" specifications. With Bill Brennand s pilot the airplane, now named Buster, won at Cleveland,, at Miami early in 1948 and again at Cleveland in 1949. By Clevel;and 1948 Steve had completed a similar racer that he named Bonzo. He placed at Cleveland and then won three times at the Continental Races at Miami and later Cleveland. . In 1954 Buster became the first homebuilt airplane displayed at Air and Space.? After many years of Goodyear/Formula one racing Bonzo was modified for cross country racing on a course starting at Fond du Lac. After several years of cross country racing, Steve had a spinner fail and the spinner badly damaged the wood prop. The airplane was damaged in the off airport landing. After several years of storage Forrest Lovley rebuilt the airplane for Steve. It is now in the EAA Museum, hanging up in formation with its namesake, the 1934 Big Bonzo Hardly Ableson powered by Harley Davidson engine. did not fly? Big Bonzo-unlimited class racer Tailwind #3 tri gear, 0 320 with Hartzell C/S prop V Witt-VW class racer similar to Little Bonzo Tailwind #4 with Olds V8 engine O&O Oshkosh to Ocala nonstop, 1120 statute miles In 1924 there were no aviation regulations. When the regulations first arrived around 1927 Steve was issued a pilot certificate probably a Commercial
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Ben Wilson