Jim Cunningham, a published aviation writer and biographer, will share the storied life of Steve Wittman — an Oshkosh native, prolific aircraft designer, and legendary air racer — as the next presenter at the EAA Aviation Museum Speaker Series on Thursday, October 16, at 7 p.m.
Jim, EAA 594611, has long been entrenched in the world of aviation and EAA. Now retired as professor emeritus from the library and archives faculty at Illinois State University, much of his published work over the years has drawn from his knowledge and love of aviation.
When he retired, Jim moved to Oshkosh to become even more involved with EAA and our programs. He’s an AirVenture volunteer in the Vintage bookstore, is an instructor pilot at EAA’s Pilot Proficiency Center, and is active with EAA Chapter 252 where he works with Ray scholars and was heavily involved in the recent Wittman Buster project that is now on display in the EAA Aviation Museum.
After writing the biography of Sonex Aircraft Founder John Monnett, Sonerai to Sonex, and the biography of Bill Brennand, who had a close relationship with Wittman, Bill Brennand: Air Racing and Other Aerial Adventures, Jim began digging into EAA and Oshkosh public archives to learn more about the legendary Wittman.
Sylvester “Steve” Wittman began flying and building aircraft in the 1920s, and he went on to become a force to be reckoned with in the air racing world, designed and built many aircraft, and would eventually be the namesake of Oshkosh’s Wittman Regional Airport.
During his presentation, Jim will connect the dots of Steve’s life from a young age to his greatest accomplishments. “It’s hard to fit his life story into an hour, but that’s what we’re going to do,” Jim said. “He was pretty much blind in one eye, and he had a high school education — and he was not only flying very well, but he was designing and building his own race planes that were some of the best ever built. And he did that with no formal aeronautical or engineering training.”
“He’s an example of what an individual can accomplish with determination and intelligence, but he also knew what he didn’t know,” Jim said. “He wasn’t a daredevil who would just say, ‘I don’t know if this is going to work or not,’ and just get in an airplane and try something. He researched it and calculated it as much as he could for his designs.”
Steve’s story is one EAAers can not only learn from but also relate to as Jim pointed out. “He was embodying the EAA spirit long before EAA was created.”
Thursday’s presentation is free for EAA members and youths, and just $5 for nonmembers.
If you’re unable to attend, all Speaker Series presentations are recorded and will be available to members to watch here at a later date.