Much was said about the surprise appearance of Steven Hinton at this year's Pylon Racing Seminar (PRS,) and even more was lauded about this young mans piloting skills and tenacity on the race course. AAFO sat down with the youngest certified race pilot, Steven “Stevo’ Hinton, to settle all the rumors about this young pilot’s future in air racing.

Since he was born, Steven Hinton has been deeply involved in the world of aviation and warbirds in particular, but being the son of Steve Hinton, Planes of Fame Museum President, Fighter Rebuilders Manager, Chino, CA, racing and warbird pilot extraordinaire, did not guarantee young Hinton success in the warbird community. It did, however, provide him with opportunities, and Steven took full advantage of them.

Like his father before him, Steven’s career as a warbird pilot started out, quite literally, from the ground floor of the Planes of Fame hangar with a broom handle in his hands. He would sweep and cleanup the work areas and help out with various chores related to the museum’s restoration projects. Before long, Steven was up to his elbows working as a mechanic on some of the very aircraft he would later have the opportunity to fly.

Steven cut his aviation teeth learning to fly in the “tricycle” Cessna 150 and 172. Soloing on his 16th birthday, he earned his full pilot’s license when he was 17. From the conventional gear Cessna’s, Hinton then followed the traditional warbird flight training pattern moving onto flying “taildraggers”. Steven then flew the Luscome, and after about 100 hours in that aircraft, “Stevo” moved to a Stinson L5, which Steven says is a heavier airplane, and has a little bit heavier feel to the controls. After about fifty hours in the Stinson Steven moved up to a 450HP Stearman, accumulating over 100 hours in that aircraft. “I kept moving myself up and eventually flew the North American T-6 trainer, and now the Mustang.” Steven said.

A Witches Spell

Steven grew up with the races and Strega was always a name mentioned around the museum as being one of the favorites to win at Reno, so it was only natural that Strega became an instant favorite of his. “I can remember in 2002, walking down the Sunday Gold line and seeing Strega on the ramp, and I instantly fell in love.” Steven said.

In 2004 Steven met with Bill “Tiger” Destefani, and asked if he could come by Shafter and see Strega up close. The following month Steven made the two hour flight to Shafter in the Luscome after calling Strega’s Crew Chief, LD Hughes. “We went up there with the mentality that even if we only got within fifty feet of the racer, it would have been two hours well spent.” Steven said.

Upon meeting with LD, Steven offered his help to get Strega ready for the 2005 campaign at Reno. From October 2004 until September 2005 Steven made many trips to Shafter to help prepare the “Witch”. When Strega arrived at Reno in 2005, she had a new crew member, as Steven did everything asked of him to help the team.

Steven would learn a great deal about campaigning the Strega, as it was an extremely brutal year for the team. A problem with the radiator made it necessary to pull the unit and make repairs. Then the team was faced with two motor changes within three days. In a very short time Steven was able to learn many things about Strega. “I was able to grow a lot with the airplane and learn a lot about the systems.” Steven said. More importantly, Steven was able to earn LD’s trust with the racer and was given more responsibilities as his duties widened.

Opportunity Comes Knocking

After four years with the Strega crew, Steven was asked if he would like the opportunity to pilot Strega. That first opportunity came in December of 2007, when Steven and his father flew to Shafter and sat down with aircraft owner Bill “Tiger” Destefani and his crew chief LD Hughes. Sensing some doubts from Steve Hinton [Sr.], Destafani suggested that he fly the racer to put aside any doubts he may have about the airplane. Steve Hinton flew Strega, and upon his return commented favorably about the Mustangs control handling. After a briefing, Steven was strapped into Strega, and soon found himself rocketing down the runway flying the aircraft that a few years earlier, he would have been content only being in close proxmity. As with all the other tail draggers he had flown, Steven eased the control stick back and gently freed “The Witch” from her earthly bonds. It was a flight to remember for Steven Hinton as he was able to live out a dream.

Steve Hinton had never talked about his racing career much when his son Steven was growing up but, when Steven started working on Strega, his father started opening up and talking about it more. “We would sit down at night and talk for hours. I would ask him questions and he would draw out ADI systems.” Steven said. When Steven started flying Strega, his father would talk about what he would change when he raced or things that he did that were helpful. More flights followed and Destafani suggested that Steven bring the racer to PRS, and learn from some of the best race pilots in the class and gain some experience on the world’s only Unlimited Air Racing course.

Racing 101

Steven arrived at PRS and found the learning curve for racing to be a very intense experience. Two full days spent in the classroom with lectures and discussions about racing procedures, rules and emergency procedures. Hours spent flying formation, and learning the do’s and don’ts around the course. “What I have really come away with during this whole PRS experience is the importance of getting up and down during a mayday situation.” Steven said. “Every flight we performed at Shafter was a mayday landing, and never a normal landing.” Steven added. Steven went on saying, “The big difference here is focusing where your position is on the course and how to recover the airplane during a mayday.”

The instruction he received from Dennis Sanders and Stu Eberhardt was extremely valuable, and Steven appreciated the opportunity to learn from these racing veterans. Additionally, Steven learned more about the racer’s systems, keeping an eye on the instruments while on the course and what the racer will take. With each circuit around the sticks, young Hinton was becoming more and more comfortable with “flying the course”. A miscue around one pylon would force him to concentrate on a better line the next lap. “The focus here is one step at a time, and to bring the whole package together.” Steven said. After PRS, Steven and Team Strega will prepare “The Witch” for what may be Bill “Tiger” Destafani’s last racing year. After this years campaign, Steven will continue to log hours in Strega while a race motor is built, and come 2009, Steven, his family, and Bill Destafani will sit down and discuss whether the youngest certified race pilot is race ready.

A Complete Package

Some of those outside the circle of air racing would say Steven Hinton’s evolution as a race pilot is privileged, and when you look around and see the experience he is able to pull from, this might well be an easy conclusion. Coming from Chino, Steven can garner the experience of a John Maloney, his father Steve Hinton, and then to go to Shafter and fly Strega for an hour, and sit down and talk with Bill Destafani for an hour. It truly is a unique situation for a very humble and unassuming young man.
“I have some of the best instructors available to me.” Steven said. Those who know Steven Hinton, however, maintain he has started from the ground up, and has worked hard for every opportunity afforded him. Steven Hinton is the first of a new generation of pilots to set his sights on Unlimited Air Racing. For the loyal fans of air racing, this impressive young man, with the lean tall look of a gunslinger, and the mad piloting skills of a master in the making, he is a breath of life into a decaying sport.

As for Steven, he see’s himself as just another guy out there who is living a dream.

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