I was privileged to own a Tailwind for one summer. The aircraft had been built in 1958 in Wisconsin under the tutelage of designer and early air racer, Steve Wittman. The aircraft was a joy to fly, even if a bit twitchy. The high speed and demanding flight characteristics resulted from a slight anhedral in the wing. Stick forces were very light but you could never let go of the controls or the aircraft would roll over at an accelerating rate. Demanding, but comfortable in strictly vfr conditions. This aircraft practically started the 'vintage experimental' category when I flew it to Oshkosh in 1993. A simple but very efficient design. It trued out near 150 mph on a clapped out O-200 Continental. Sold back to the original owner and eventually crashed by a subsequent owner in Pennsylvania.

It seems that a lot of Tailwinds were taildraggers. Also Steve Witman designes several other airplanes, mostly of the racer variety. He was a race pilot from way back and lived to be an old man.

The example pictured is a British-build variant by Andrew J.E.Perkins (AJEP) who acquired rights to market kits in the UK. Not the prettiest version, this particular model was aimed at the MoD as a radio-controlled Target Tug, but the contract was never awarded.

I'm glad to see a Tailwind in the Virtual Museum.
If you are iinterested in some later examples of this design, many photos are available.
Red