Steve Wittman

An illness in Wittman's infancy claimed most of his vision in one eye, which convinced him from an early age that his dream of flying was unattainable.

[1] After competing in his first transcontinental air race from New York to Los Angeles in 1928, he attained a medical waiver on his eyesight[1] and received his pilot's certificate soon after (signed by Orville Wright).

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

A high wing design built to outperform the Cubs, Chiefs, T-Crafts, and Luscombes of the day.

After the war, Wittman finished eighth in the 1946 Thompson Trophy race with a clipped-wing Bell P-63 Kingcobra fighter.

[7] 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.

For Wittman's 90th birthday celebration, he demonstrated aerobatic maneuvers in his V-Witt and Oldsmobile-powered Tailwind.