Wittman Chief Oshkosh, Bill Powers, 1/72 Scratchbuild

Wittman Chief Oshkosh, 1/72 made from sheet plastic, Bondo, and brass. This is the last variation of the Chief Oshkosh racer. The plane's designer and pilot was Steve Wittman. If you're not familiar with Wittman, Chief Oshkosh was his first racer followed by Bonzo (the original). Both were raced successfully in the 30's. Steve ran a fixed base operation in Wisconsin. After the war he took the wings from the Chief and built Buster, one of the most successful formula racers, currently at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. This was followed by Bonzo. Steve also designed a fast two seater. It was in this, at age 80+ with his younger wife, that the fabric covering failed and he crashed - not far from where I live. The fabric was painted with a dope that destroyed the strength of the material!