That irrepressible, irreverent streak
in Jimmy wasn’t limited to competitions,
either. Steven Hinton, who—at the age of
24—appeared to be on his way to a third
consecutive Unlimited National
Championship at Reno this year when the
accident happened, recalled the time he
and Jimmy sat next to each other at the
induction of Steven’s grandfather, Ed
Maloney, into the EAA Hall of Fame.
“I was about 14,” Steven said laughing,
“and during the ceremony, Jimmy was sit-
ting next to me in the back row, teaching me
how to shoot bottle caps.”
And yes, that’s another thread in the
memories people have about Jimmy
Leeward. They laugh a lot, as they recall
them. Because while he had a fierce compet-
itive spirit, Jimmy was, first and foremost, a
happy soul. And his love of fun and laughter
was contagious.
The Leeward Air Ranch fly-in community
he built in Ocala, Florida, was known for its
welcoming and fun atmosphere. If you
couldn’t remember why you loved flying
there, you might as well hang up your wings. I
got my first and only ride in a Breezy there, on
one of many spontaneous morning dawn
While he had a fierce
competitive spirit,
Jimmy was, first and
foremost, a happy soul.
patrols, and I soloed my old Cessna 120 on the
ranch’s beautiful 6,000-foot grass strip. I also
remember Jimmy himself flipping burgers
alongside that runway, laughing and joking
the whole time, as pilots from the Sun ’n Fun
and Titusville air shows flew in by the doz-
ens, like the squadron returning to England
after a mission, for a taste of
Leeward hospitality.
their four children, and his grandchildren
were—even more than racing and flying—
the center of his universe. When pilot
friends called, he was as likely to be at a
kid’s or grandkid’s stickball game, art class
graduation, or soccer match as at the airport, and he went to great lengths to be
involved in family activities. He even took
the Concorde back from Paris one time,
while he was working on a movie there, so
he could make his son Chad’s softball game.
“He was a family man first, a friend, second, and air racing came after that,” Jay said.
Jimmy also “lived more in 74 years than
most guys would in twice that time,” Denny
added. “He could be a serious racer, or just
in it for fun, but anytime you were around
Jimmy, you were laughing.”
Even, as it turned out, when Jimmy was
only there in spirit. More than 1,000 people
turned out for his memorial service and
wake at the Leeward Air Ranch in Ocala,
Florida, on September 30. And by all reports,
there was a lot of flying, a lot of stories, and a
lot of laughter mixed in with the tears.
“That was some party,” Denny recalled.
He paused, then chuckled slightly,
remembering. “It was fitting,” he
concluded. “If Jimmy had been there, he
would have loved it.”
