My own encounters with Steve Wittman...(by Jim Vliet)
Steve Wittman and Jim Vliet at Steve's home in Oshkosh, 1979 (photo by Dr. Aaron King)
I first met Steve Wittman at an air race at Martinsburg, West Virginia on
Saturday, June 21, 1975. At the time I was 26 years of age, and this was
the first air race that I had ever attended.
I certainly knew all about Steve Wittman's exploits. I had first become
interested in air racing in the early 1960's as a teenager, and had seen
Wittman's name in various magazine articles covering recent 190 cu. in.
midget races. In 1963 I asked my parents to give me (as a birthday present)
a new book about air racing that I had seen advertised in Air Progress magazine.
The book was called "the Golden Age of Air Racing" and it was
available from a little outfit that I hadn't ever heard of before from Hales
Corners, Wisconsin, called the Experimental Aircraft Association. [They've since grown to be a huge organization of over 200,000 members!!] Anyway,
in this book I discovered that Wittman had been a top competitor in the
prewar National Air Races, and his angular "Bonzo" and "Chief
Oshkosh" racers of that era held a strange fascination for me. I began
to build scale models of the 1930's racing planes, especially Wittman's
'Chief' and the other Menasco-powered ships. As a part of the research into
these raceplanes, I began to collect photos and swap them with other collectors.
The day I met Steve, I had with me a photo of a scale model I'd built of
"Chief Oshkosh". I recall waiting until no one else was talking
to Steve, and then rather shyly approaching him to show him the photo. Steve
immediately showed great interest in the photo, and praised the accuracy
of my model. WOW!! [I still have the model] A mild (??) case of hero worship
ensued.
I next saw Steve at the 1977 Sturgis, Kentucky air races. This was the first
official Formula V race, and Charlie Terry and Verne Willingham were there
to do battle with Steve. I was made a pylon judge and stood all afternoon
at #3 pylon in a hot, dusty corn field, having the time of my life!
My first trip to the EAA Convention at Oshkosh was also in 1977, and I was
there to see Steve and the other Formula V pilots receive their race trophies
for the Sturgis race. Sometime over that fall or winter, I decided to build
a Wittman V-Witt racer and participate in Formula V races with it. So, I
bought a set of V-Witt drawings from Steve. As an owner of a Wittman project,
which at that time had progressed little beyond buying some materials, Steve
invited me to his builders party at his home during the 1978 EAA Convention.
There I met many other famous aviators, including Tony LeVier, Harold Neumann
and Deke Slayton. Steve's hangar door was open, and all his homebuilt planes
were displayed. All across the back wall of the hangar were propellers,
many of them broken. I wandered through his home, viewing with awe all the
racing trophies and memorabilia.
I had found out that Steve was especially interested in photos of his raceplanes
from the 1930's, and so we enjoyed looking through my modest collection.
I recall several occasions we handed the photos around as Steve would tell
us of his adventures with the plane or person we were viewing. I also saw
Steve at the 1978 and 1979 Cleveland Air Races, where he continued to dominate
Formula V competition.
In 1979 I purchased a partially-completed V-Witt from a builder in Wisconsin,
and Steve assisted my father and I in loading the plane onto our trailer.
This was the first time that I was a house guest of Steve's.
I continued to see Steve at the major races and fly-ins, and in 1982 visited
him in Florida at his home under construction at the Leeward Air Ranch in Ocala.
During this visit, Steve took me up for a short flight in one of his Tailwinds.
I found it amazing the way Steve had trimmed out his plane to fly hands
off - it would make a smooth coordinated turn with a gentle tap on the rudder
pedal only.
I was by this time heavily involved in administrating the Formula V class,
and was the newsletter editor and Secretary. My own V-Witt #33 'chasin' rainbows' was flying in 1986, and competed
in Formula V races in the 1987 and 1988 seasons.
It was also flown in the Wittman flyby at the 1987 EAA Convention in Oshkosh,
and was the only V-Witt to take part in this event.
In 1986 I had become the Formula V race announcer, and so it was that I
was the announcer for Steve's last air race, at Daytona Beach, Florida in
1989. I was also pleased to be a guest at Steve's 90th. birthday party celebration
at the Leeward Air Ranch in 1994.
I last saw Steve and Paula Wittman at the 1995 EAA Sun 'n Fun Flyin about
two weeks before their deaths. Steve presented a forum on Tailwind and Formula
V. Before it started, Paula, Steve and I chatted about the plans for the
Wittman Trophy, and then during the forum I assisted Steve in answering
questions. Steve gave me a few minutes to announce the 1995 Formula V race
schedule. I then announced the Wittman Trophy; this brought forth a standing
ovation from the entire audience.
Steve always took on the role of educator and seemed anxious to pass along
his logic on aircraft design. I recall having a conversation with Steve several
years ago, wherein he expounded at length on his belief in the impact theory
of lift. Forget all that bournelli stuff; Steve's approach made sense -
it explained forward-loaded vs. aft-loaded airfoils, effect of aspect ratio,
tip losses, etc. His logic on wing tip plates vs. the triangular tip was
another example.
Steve continued to experiment, and his last project - leading edge flaps
for the Tailwind [tested by Steve on "Buttercup" in the late 1930's]
- was under construction in his hangar in Florida when he left for his last flight
to Oshkosh.
I'll always remember Steve's dry sense of humor and his willingness and
patience with all those around him clamoring to talk with him. His passing
reminds me that I'm no longer a kid either...it was a privledge to know
him, and it is my privledge to pass on to you my reminiscenses about Steve
Wittman's life and accomplishments.
Go to Remembering Steve Wittman home page