Steve Hinton | |
|---|---|
 Hinton in 2013 | |
| Born | 1 April 1952 |
| Known for | Air Racing |
| Spouse | Karen Hinton (née Maloney) (m. 1980) |
Steve Hinton is an American aviator who held a world speed record from 1979 to 1989 and won six Unlimited-class air races, including two national championships. [2] He won four consecutive Unlimited races in one year. [3]
On August 14, 1979, Hinton set the piston-driven aircraft 3-kilometer world speed record at 499.018 mph [4] [5] in the highly-modified RB51 Red Baron at Tonopah, Nevada, making Hinton, age 27, the youngest person ever to capture the speed record. [6]
On September 16, 1979, Hinton was racing the RB-51 in Reno when the plane suffered catastrophic engine failure. Hinton finished the race in second place, but crashed short of the runway. Although the plane's fuel erupted in a fireball, the cockpit was thrown away from the fire and Hinton survived with a broken back, leg, and ankle. [7] [8]
Hinton became the chief test pilot for the Tsunami Racer in 1987. [9]
Some of Hinton's notable wins in air racing include:
Hinton retired from racing in 1990 to become a stunt aviator, demonstration pilot and aircraft restorer. Steve has restored and rebuilt more than 40 vintage aircraft, and is the President of Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino, CA. [10] [11]
Hinton is a member of the Screen Actors Guild [12] and charter member of the Motion Picture Pilots Association. [13] He has worked on more than 60 films. [14]
In 2002, he received a nomination from the World Stunt Awards for the Taurus Award, Best Aerial Work in Pearl Harbor. In 2018, he was part of the team which won the Taurus Stunt Award for Best Specialty Stunt for work on Dunkirk. The award was shared with Dan Friedkin, Craig Hosking, John Romain and Ed Shipley. [15] [16]
As a demonstration and heritage flight pilot, Hinton participated in a five plane formation flyover at Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the United States Air Force. Hinton piloted “Wee Willy II”, his rebuilt P-51 Mustang formerly known as Red Baron . [17]
In 1980, Hinton married Karen Maloney. Karen is the daughter of Steve's friend, American aviation legendary historian Ed Maloney. [1] Steven's son, Steven Hinton Jr., is also an aviator and air racer. [18] Steven Hinton Jr. became the youngest pilot to win Unlimited Gold at Reno at age 22 in 2009. [19] [20]
Elbert Leander "Burt" Rutan is a retired American aerospace engineer and entrepreneur noted for his originality in designing light, strong, unusual-looking, and energy-efficient air and space craft. He designed the record-breaking Voyager, which in 1986 was the first plane to fly around the world without stopping or refueling. He also designed the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, which in 2006 set the world record for the fastest and longest nonstop non-refueled circumnavigation flight in history. In 2004, Rutan's sub-orbital spaceplane design SpaceShipOne became the first privately funded spacecraft to enter the realm of space, winning the Ansari X-Prize that year for achieving the feat twice within a two-week period.
The Mojave Air and Space Port at Rutan Field is in Mojave, California, United States, at an elevation of 2,801 feet (854 m). It is the first facility to be licensed in the United States for horizontal launches of reusable spacecraft, being certified as a spaceport by the Federal Aviation Administration on June 17, 2004. The facility covers 2,998 acres and has three runways.
Air racing is a type of motorsport that involves airplanes or other types of aircraft that compete over a fixed course, with the winner either returning the shortest time, the one to complete it with the most points, or to come closest to a previously estimated time.
The Reno Air Races, officially known as the National Championship Air Races, are a multi-day event tailored to the aviation community that took place each September at the Reno Stead Airport a few miles north of Reno, Nevada, with the last races held in 2023. The Reno Air Racing Association plans to resume racing at a new venue in 2025. Air racing is billed as "the world's fastest motor sport" and Reno was one of the few remaining venues. The event includes races in six classes and demonstrations by airshow pilots.
The Scaled Composites Pond Racer was a twin-engine twin-boom aircraft developed for Bob Pond by Burt Rutan and his company Scaled Composites.
Darryl George Greenamyer was an American aviator. He started his flying career in the US Air Force Reserve. After leaving the Air Force, he then began to work at Lockheed where he eventually became an SR-71 test pilot at Skunk works. While working at Lockheed he met many of the engineers who would later help him make modifications to future race planes. He won his first victory in the Unlimited Class at the Reno Air Races in 1965. He is the third most successful competitor in Reno Air Race history.
The AMSOIL Racer, also known as the Rutan Biplane Racer and the Rutan Model 68 Racer, was a race tandem wing plane which was designed by Burt Rutan's Rutan Aircraft Factory, and built and flown by Dan Mortensen. It set several speed records, but crashed at the 1983 Reno Air Races.
Rare Bear is a highly modified Grumman F8F Bearcat that saw major success at the Reno Air Races over multiple decades.
Michael Eugene Mangold was an American aviator whose career spanned the United States Air Force, commercial airlines, and aerobatics. Mangold competed in the Red Bull Air Race World Series from 2004 through 2009, where he repeatedly placed first and won the World Championship in the 2005 World Series, as well as the 2007 World Series. His nickname and call sign in the military was "Mongo".
Dago Red is a North American P-51 Mustang (44-74996), restored as a competitive air racer by Frank Taylor in 1981. Dago Red holds several world records, including the 15 km (517.323 mph) set in 1983. Frank Taylor piloted the plane to most of its world records in the 1980s.
Vicki Cruse was an American aerobatic pilot and administrator. She won the U.S. national unlimited aerobatic title in 2007 out of a field of 101 participants. It was only the fourth time that a woman had become the national champion.
FlightPathTV is a New Zealand documentary television show about aviation. It was created by Malcolm Clement and Fletcher McKenzie and produced by Leading Edge Media. Filmed at locations around the world, FlightPathTV was produced in New Zealand.
Tsunami was an experimental purpose-built racing aircraft designed and built in the United States during the 1980s. After a short undistinguished career Tsunami crashed, killing its designer, John Sandberg, on 25 September 1991.
The Red Baron was a North American P-51D Mustang NX7715C, original serial number 44-84961. It raced from 1966 to 1973 under the names Miss R.J. and Roto-Finish Special, winning Unlimited Gold in 1972. In February 1974, it was purchased by Ed Browning of Red Baron Flying Service in Idaho Falls, Idaho and renamed the Red Baron.
Lyle Thomas Shelton (1934–2010) was an American aviator who set the world's absolute propeller-driven 3-kilometer speed record of 528.329 mph. He was born in Brownfield, Texas on June 15, 1933. A former US Naval Aviator, he was an airline pilot for his professional career, flying for Trans World Airlines (TWA). During his career at TWA, he flew Boeing 707s, 727s, Douglas DC-9s and the Lockheed L-1011. He retired from TWA in 1991.
The Galloping Ghost was a P-51D Mustang air racer that held various airspeed records and whose fatal crash in 2011 led to several NTSB recommendations to make air shows safer.
September Fury, given the race number 232, is a highly modified Hawker Sea Fury that is a regular racer at the Reno Air Races.
Voodoo is a highly modified North American P-51 Mustang that was the 2013, 2014 and 2016 Unlimited-class champion of the Reno Air Races. The pilot for these wins was Steven Hinton, Jr of Chino, California.
Wesley "Lee" Behel Jr was an American aviator and air racing champion. He was the creator and, at the time of his death, the president of the "Sport Class", a group of racing airplanes designed for planes under 1000 cubic inches in engine size that participate in the Reno Air Races every September, as well as a retired Lt. Colonel in the Nevada Air National Guard.
