Steve Wittman's Tailwind "The Wittman Tailwind was a very important milestone in the history of modern homebuilt movement which dates from September 1952 when the current homebuilt regulations went into effect. The Tailwind was the first homebuilt certified by CAA to carry a "non-revenue passenger". This was a significant development because it took the homebuilt out of the strictly "toy" category and gave it just enough utility to make it attractive to a far wider audience."(Sport Aviation, 1993) "That utility was just what Steve Wittman had in mind when he designed the Tailwind. EAA'ers immediately grasped the significance of the design: an airplane that required a minimum of skills to build, that was affordable both to build and operate...and yet was about as fast as the most expensive and powerful factory airplanes on the market (at that time)." (Sport Aviation,1993) The Tailwind was designed and built in 1953 as a fast, economical cross country airplane, made to carry two people and 60 pounds of luggage. It is a very stable airplane with exceptionally gentle stall characteristics. The aircraft has a 4130 steel tubing fuselage and spruce and plywood wings. The aircraft is fabric covered. It was designed so that a number of engines may be used from 85 to 160 HP. Plans are also available for an Olds V-8 auto conversion. Jack Cox wrote in Sport Aviation, "[The Tailwind] was a remarkable airplane when it was new in 1953 and it still is today. It is fast and fuel efficient, but the most impressive thing about the airplane is its handling characteristics. It has no bad habits on the ground or in the air. Especially with Steve's extended wing tips, the low speed regime is something that has to be experienced to be believed. I had the opportunity to solo Steve's Olds powered Tailwind at the Leeward Air Ranch last spring (of 1993) just prior to Sun 'n Fun and it was an almost shocking reminder that despite all the fabulous progress homebuilt designers have made in the past 40 years, the Tailwind was and still is an outstanding little airplane."

Wittman W10 Specifications Length of Airplane.......19 ft. 6 in. Wing Span......................24 ft. Wing Area (No Dihedral).....90 sq.ft. Empty Weight.................850 lbs. Gross Weight...............1,425 lbs. Cruise Speed..............150­190mph. Top Speed w/100 hp...........165 mph. Top Speed w/150 hp...........200 mph. Rate of Climb w/100 hp......1000 fpm. Rate of Climb w/150 hp......1500 fpm. Take-Off Run..................750 ft. Landing Speed w/Flaps.........55 mph. Landing Speed w/o Flaps.......68 mph. Glide Ratio....................9 to 1

There have been approximately 1,100 sets of plans sold since they were made available. There are approxiamtely 375 completed Tailwinds. The average time to build is 2,500 man hours. Estimated cost to build, excluding engine and avionics is $6,000 to $8,000. Plans for the Tailwind were redrawn in 1999. This corrected a number of discrepencies in the original plans. Cost for the plans is $180. Plans are available exclusively from Aircraft Spruce. Please note that a license agreement must be filled out before a set of plans can be sent out. V8 conversion plans are also available for $35. Info pack cost is $5.00. For more info please contact:

Aicraft Spruce Specialty Co. 225 Airport Circle Corona, CA 92880-2527 Tel: 800-824-1930 Fax: 951-372-0555 info@aircraftspruce.com

(Excerpts contained in this article taken from Sport Aviation Sept. 1993 Mac McKenna's Tailwind by Jack Cox)