Steve Hinton
Steve Hinton | |
---|---|
Born |
1 April 1952 China Lake, California |
Known for | Air Racing |
Children | Steven Hinton, Jr.[1] |
Steve Hinton is an American aviator who held a world speed record from 1979 to1989 and won six Unlimited-class air races, including two national championships.[2] He won four consecutive Unlimited races in one year, and remains the only pilot ever to do so.[3] He retired from racing in 1990. His son, Steven Hinton, Jr., became the youngest pilot to win the Reno Air Races Unlimited-class championship in 2009 at the age of 22.[4] Steve is the president of Planes of Fame Air Museum with locations in Chino, California and Valle-Grand Canyon, Arizona,[5] and owner of Fighter Rebuilders, a military aircraft restoration company.[6]
On August 14, 1979, Hinton set the piston-driven aircraft 3-kilometer world speed record at 499.018 mph[7][8] in the highly-modified RB51 Red Baron at Tonopah, Nevada, making Hinton, age 27, the youngest person ever to capture the speed record.[9]
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.[10][11]
Hinton became the chief test pilot for the Tsunami Racer in 1987.[12]
Some of Hinton's notable wins in air racing include:
- 1978, Mojave, Red Baron
- 1978, Reno (Unlimited National Champion), Red Baron
- 1979, Miami, Red Baron
- 1979, Mojave, Red Baron
- 1985, Reno (Unlimited National Champion), Super Corsair
- 1990, Sherman, Texas, Tsunami
Hinton is a member of the Screen Actors Guild[13] and charter member of the Motion Picture Pilots Association.[14] He has worked on more than 60 films. In 2002 he received a nomination from the World Stunt Awards for the Taurus Award, Best Aerial Work in Pearl Harbor.[15]
See also
Notes
- ↑ "The Rising Star of Steven Hilton Speed Racer". Sport Aviation. May 2012.
- ↑ acc.af.mil. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
- ↑ mustangsmustangs.us. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
- ↑ Hertfordshire Mercury. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
- ↑ planesoffame.org. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
- ↑ warbirdaeropress.com. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
- ↑ Chicago Tribune, 19 Dec 1999.
- ↑ aviationandspacearts.com. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
- ↑ enginehistory.org Retrieved 13 July 2011.
- ↑ Sports Illustrated, 29 Oct 1979.
- ↑ avweb.com Retrieved 13 July 2011.
- ↑ Gene Smith (September 1987). "Racer! the ultimate homebuit and its unique pilot". Air Progress.
- ↑ aerialcinematography.com Retrieved 12 July 2011.
- ↑ moviepilots.com Retrieved 12 July 2011.
- ↑ imdb.com Retrieved 12 July 2011.