As I recall Steve whittman failed to qualify his racer Chief Oshkosh in the trials the 1938 Cleveland Air Reaces. His mechanics stayed up all night and cut two feet off of the racers wings and the next day he qualified it. He had two planes at the show an my question is there anyone who knows who built them.?

I attended Steves birthday party at Leeward also. I flew in in the Tailwind I built, N6PJ. The first Tailwind I built was alse in attendance, N171E.
Was a nice party.

Lou

I WAS THE OFFICIAL VIEDOGRAPHER OF STEVE WITMANS 90TH BIRTHDAY PARTY THAT WAS CELEBRATED AT LEEWARD AIR RANCH IN OCALA, FL IN 1994. HE WAS GOING TO TAKE ME FOR A RIDE IN "BUTTER CUP" BUT HE DECIDED IT WAS TOO WINDY. I STILL HAVE THE VIDEO IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED. HIS WIFE PAULA WANTED TO PAY ME FOR MY SERVICES BUT I REFUSED ANY PAY. INSTEAD I TOLD HER WE WOULD MAKE COPIES AND OFFER THEM FOR SALE AND CONTRIBUTE THE PROCEEDS TO THE "YOUNG EAGLES PROGRAM". THAT IS WHAT WE DID. A YEAR LATER THEY CRASHED WHILE RETURNING TO OSHGOSH. I WAS GLAD TO BE PART OF HISTORY.
RON

I owned N3316 for several years and loved the way it flew.
Model W8, taildragger. Easiest flying and landing airplane I was ever in. 150 MPH on 109 HP

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