Wittman “Bonzo”: Square Contender.

Former barnstormer turned airport manager Steve Wittman bought in 1934 an old used Curtiss D-12 engine and with it and the “built the smaller aircraft posible around a powerful engine” old formula he designed and built this astonishing artifact. Not a thing of beauty though -specially initially- with its original car-type radiator, short squared wing (it became shorter eventually) and lack of finesse. The Bonzo proved nevertheless to be a remarkably well mannered aircraft; at least between hazardous take-offs and landings. It took part in various of the classic Thompson Trophy contests with very honorable results.

Notice the innovative spring-steel landing gear. An innovation to be seen everywhere when Cessna made it their own

5 thoughts on “Wittman “Bonzo”: Square Contender.

  1. Pingback: Hostler Fury: Badly-timed temper. | The Dreamy Dodo

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.