William H. Statler
1917 - 2005

Designer/Engineer/Owner

Mr. Statler, a Skunk Works engineer, was formerly with the Lockheed Aircraft Company (California) where he was Director of Science and Engineering and supervised all research, development, design, prototyping and certification of aircraft through the L-1011 Tristar. Starting his career with Lockheed in 1940, he was involved in all aspects of aircraft design, research, flight test and certification. He is the holder of seven design patents in connection with the C-130, Jetstar, C-5, Electra, SST, helicopters and others. He has authored more than thirty technical articles published in various journals in four countries. Bill has a B.S.M.E. degree in aeronautics from Carnegie Institute of Technology and has been involved in the design and modification of air racers for more than 50 years.

William G. Statler, Jr.

Production/Modification/Owner

Bill Statler (jr.) is currently working for Lockheed Martin Aircraft (Skunk Works-Palmdale) as a lead engineer on various U-2 upgrade projects. He began his career at Lockheed in 1972, and has worked on various projects as the S-3A, P-3C, F-117 Stealth and the SR-71 as an engineer and manager, with experience in mass properties, structures, flight test and maintenance training development. Bill was also a Design Specialist for Northrop Grumman on the B-2 Stealth Bomber for five years. He holds a B.S. degree in Maintenance Engineering from Northrop Institute of Technology. Bill has been involved with WWII aircraft modifications/restorations as well as racing aircraft for over 35 years.

Gregory Benson

Assistant Crew Chief/Structures/QA

Greg is currently Associate Manager for Operations working for Lockheed Martin Technical Operations Co. at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Ca. He has been involved in all operations of missile ground support as a Mechanical Technician and Inspector for almost 15 years. Previously, Greg was a sheet metal mechanic for Trans World Airlines for almost ten years. He has been involved in the modification and fabrication of air racers for over 25 years and been a licensed A&P mechanic for thirty years.

Paul Novacek

Electrical/Avionics/Promotions

Paul is currently the VP of Development for ElectronicFlight Solutions where he creates computer-based training programs for avionics. He previously was a Principle Investigator on various Human Factors research projects related to advanced cockpit technology for NASA-Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. Paul has been an avionics technician/system designer/A&P/avionics test pilot for 23 years, working for Raytheon Aircraft, various avionics shops and completion centers. He is an active Master Flight Instructor and aviation journalist for many aviation magazines. Paul holds a B.S. degree in avionics, and an M.S. degree in Human Factors from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He has been involved in various aircraft restorations for 20 years.

Dennis Wittman

Crew Member

Dennis has been employed by Cal-Tech for the past 30 years working with the University or on special NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory projects, including the Viking Mars landers, Voyager, Infrared Astronomical satellite and currently the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF). He is a Senior Systems Analyst and has been supporting NASA's astronomical science research center, IPAC since 1985. Dennis earned a degree in Computer Science from Cal-Poly, San Luis Obispo. He owns a 1946 Globe Swift aircraft which he has restored from a basket case while also working on Wildfire. Dennis has crewed on several air racers since 1975.

Greg Austin

Crew Member

Small business owner and holder of an FAA Airframe and Powerplant Certificate. Greg has an extensive background in auto racing, both as a mechanic and driver.

Martin J. King, Sr.

Crew Member

Marty started his carburetor career in 1984 at Precision Air in Miami, Florida under the supervision of Gene Wrigley and retired Bendix engineer Gerry Church where he was employed to service and overhaul everything from float carburetors to pressure injection carburetors. In 1989, he went to work with Bill Rivenbark at Southeast Fuel Systems in Rockledge, Florida where he continued his training and developed his expertise in the overhaul process. In 2003, he partnered with Mike Nixon to start Vintage Carburetors, Inc. in Tehachapi, California where he is presently managing the certified 145 repair station.

Dave Morss

Test Pilot/Race Pilot

One of aviation's top test pilots, Dave holds ATP, AMEL, Learjet, Commercial ASELS, RH, G. Flight Instructor ASMEGI, A&P, DAR, Flight Engineer Turbojet and Designated Pilot Examiner Certificates. Dave is a two-time recipient of the Pulitzer Aviation Award for speed records in Sport Class. He holds thirteen world speed records, ten of which stand. He has over 22,000 hours in over 300 different types of aircraft. He is the recipient of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, Spirit of Flight Award for his accomplishments in testing. Dave started Myriad Research, a test flight business, in 1984. He has done first flights in 33 prototype aircraft. Dave has raced at the National Championship Air Races for 24 years competing in Biplane, Formula One, Sport Class and Unlimited. He is the three-time Sport Class Gold Champion.

Tyler Crispin

Web Master

Tyler began his career in aviation in 1996 at SkyWest Airlines, Santa Maria. He worked as a cross utilized agent, learning the functions of a major airline carrier. He was promoted to facility manager of LAX in 1999, where he supervised the construction of the SkyWest Airlines Cargo building. It was at this time Tyler gained the knowledge of federal aviation regulations, network infrastructures, and telecommunications. Currently, he is a Senior Communications Controller at Indyne, Inc. located on Vandenberg Air Force Base.  His primary responsibilities include: UHF/VHF radio communications, Global HF, launch facility signaling, and missile defense support. He lives in Lompoc, CA. with his wife Kristi.