Tailwind (in more ways than one)

Things have a way of repeating themselves… and good designs aren’t forgotten. Some Wittman design history here

The precessor to the Tailwind was the 1937
Buttercup, powered by an A-65 Continental IIRC and having leading edge slats for low speed performance. Fairchild was all set to put those into production, or perhaps a four seat version called the Big X, except that WW 2 came along.

The Tailwind arrived postwar, configured like the Buttercup but designed to go faster. They were likewise originally built with small Continentals, 85 or 90 HP was typical for the first Tailwinds and they were very light – like 685 lbs or 311 kg!

Then as time went on, people put all kinds of (bigger) engines in Tailwinds, Wittman himself liked the the 145 HP six cylinder O-300 Continental for its smoothness and a lot were built with those. Then he took the cylinder count one step further with an upside down all-aluminum Buick/Oldsmobile V8, the early 1960s car engine that was eventually bought and used until about 2006 by Rover Cars in the UK. Nowadays almost all Tailwinds are built with Lycoming four cylinder engines, because they work and make sense.

Sonex products are a lot like Wittman’s designs in that they are designed to maximize performance with minimized cost, with light weight being an enabler. Monnett is a Wittman fan and associate, he long ago moved from Ohio to Wittman Field in Oshkosh (where SW was the airport manager) and the original 1970s Sonerai was a lot like the 1948 Wittman ‘Little Bonzo’ air racer. When Sonex designed a high wing plane it was probably inevitable that it would be a lot like a Tailwind, and I think it’ll be exciting to see it.