Steve Hinton
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. He won four consecutive Unlimited races in one year.
Biography
On August 14, 1979, Hinton set the piston-driven aircraft 3-kilometer world speed record at 499.018 mph in the highly-modified RB51 Red Baron at Tonopah, Nevada, making Hinton, age 27, the youngest person ever to capture the speed record.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.
By 1983, Hinton had established his own aircraft restoration shop, called Fighter Rebuilders.
Hinton became the chief test pilot for the Tsunami Racer in 1987.
Some of Hinton's notable wins in air racing include:
- 1978, Mojave, Red Baron
- 1978, Reno, Red Baron
- 1979, Miami, Red Baron
- 1979, Mojave, Red Baron
- 1985, Reno, Super Corsair
- 1990, Sherman, Texas, Tsunami
Film and demonstration aviation
Hinton is a member of the Screen Actors Guild and charter member of the Motion Picture Pilots Association. 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. 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.
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.