Sylvester Joseph "Steve" Wittman was an air-racer and aircraft designer and builder. Wittman gained his pilot's certificate in 1924 in a Standard J-1 and built his first aircraft, the Harley powered "Hardly Abelson" later that same year. From 1925 to 1927, he had his own flying service, giving joyrides and during this time also became a demonstration and test pilot for the The Pheasant Aircraft Company and Dayton Aircraft Company, flying the Pheasant H-10 in multiple events. He also began his air-racing career, designing, building, and piloting his own aircraft, including Chief Oshkosh in 1931 and Bonzo in 1934. Wittman's first race in his first aircraft design was in "Bonzo" in the 1935 Thompson Trophy race, where he placed second. In 1937, piloting his second homebuilt, "Chief Oshkosh", Wittman placed second in the Greve Trophy Race. Wittman flew "Bonzo" in the Thompson Trophy race, and he led for the first 18 laps of the 20 lap race, at an average speed of over 275 mph. Suddenly his engine began to run rough, and Wittman was forced to throttle back to remain in the race, finishing in 5th place. 

April 5th, 1904 in Byron  /  Died:   Apr 27th, 1995