14 Facts About Steve Wittman

Sylvester Joseph "Steve" Wittman was an American air-racer and aircraft engineer.

Steve Wittman began his air-racing career, flying his first race in 1926 at a Milwaukee event in his J-1.

Steve Wittman then went on to design, build and pilot his own aircraft, including "Chief Oshkosh" in 1931 and "Bonzo" in 1934.

In 1937, piloting his second homebuilt, "Chief Oshkosh", Steve Wittman placed second in the Greve Trophy Race.

Suddenly his engine began to run rough, and Steve Wittman was forced to throttle back to remain in the race, finishing in 5th place.

Steve Wittman built an entirely new "Bonzo" for the 1948 National Air Races, where he flew it, finishing third.

Steve Wittman raced "Bonzo" through the 1950s and 1960s, including the first few Reno National Championship air races, before retiring from Formula One competition in 1973.

Steve Wittman was manager of the Oshkosh, Wisconsin, airport from 1931 to 1969, which is named after him.

Steve Wittman became involved in the newly formed Experimental Aircraft Association in 1953 and was instrumental in bringing the EAA's annual fly-in to the Oshkosh Airport in 1970.

Steve Wittman designed and built the Wittman V-Witt to compete in the new Formula V Air Racing class.

Steve Wittman competed in races with that aircraft until 1979.

Steve Wittman taught her to fly and she accompanied him to most of his races.

Dorothy died in 1991 and Steve Wittman married Paula Muir in 1992.

Steve Wittman was posthumously inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1998 and the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2014.