Doug MacBeth's Name Added To Biplane Memorial
Events kicked off on Friday morning with a special dedication service at the Biplane Memorial Garden. Doug MacBeth's name was added to the memorial, in recognition of his tireless efforts on behalf of general aviation, especially all aviation related to home building, restoration and biplanes. The ceremony was punctuated with a formation fly-by of "the Tulsa Bunch" in their beautifully restored Stearmans. Charlie Harris, president of the Biplane Association, welcomed everyone to the Expo and introduced the NBA chaplain, who offered a prayer, a very fitting message of dedication and reflection, and then read the beautiful poem, High Flight, by John Gillespie Magee, Jr. Quite a few AHA members were able to attend, along with Doug's sister, Valerie MacBeth, and her daughter Callan.

Seven Hatzes Provide `Eye Candy' For AHA Members and Others
The good weather throughout the Midwest permitted seven Hatzes to fly into BVO for the Expo. They included one from Kansas (Mike Foote's beautiful 2001 Oshkosh Grand Champion Plans Built,) three from Oklahoma (Lorin Wilkinson's beautiful red, `Snooty Hatz' and Claude Jochmans' blue Hatz with cables instead of streamlined wires, and Julia Clay's O-320 Hatz with outrigger landing gear) and three from Texas (including Billy Dawson's prize winning green Hatz, Peter Glawe's prize winning red and cream Hatz and Woody Haston's very interesting WWI styled Hatz.)

Hatzers swarmed all over the seven examples to get ideas for their own projects and to just appreciate the innovation and workmanship displayed by these seven Hatz owners. As is always true, each Hatz is unique and all are beautiful. I have been able to fly in seven or eight different Hatzes over the past three years, adding a ride in Mike Foote's red and manila beauty this year. Each flies a little differently than all the others, and every one flies great! Mike Foote Takes Two More Major Awards

What a year for Mike Foote and his Hatz! Grand Champion Plans Built at AirVenture 2001 and now Grand Champion, Experimental and the coveted Airmanship Award at the Bartlesville Biplane Expo. Mike's Hatz is truly a work of art, providing inspiration to all of us who are still building and dreaming. Check out the June 2002 Sport Aviation for a great cover shot (nice smile on Chuck Nuffer in the front cockpit) and a very informative feature article. Lead on, Mike!

Texas Drivers Give Rides For Hours
Billy Dawson, John Benham and Peter Glawe used Saturday afternoon as "Hatz Familiarization Time" as they provided rides for many Hatzers and other Biplane Expo attendees. I am pretty sure they were in the air for the better part of 3 hours, stopping only for fuel and to stretch their legs occasionally. These rides have been a great public relations benefit for biplane flying and Hatz flying and building in particular. Every ride produced huge smiles. That's got to be good!

AHA Elections, Business Meeting and Billy Dawson's Hatz Forum
The Annual Meeting of the AHA was held June 1 at the Biplane Expo. The Board of Directors met to elect Mark Marino, Duluth, MN as director-north, and Lorin Wilkinson, founder of AHA, as vice president. Mark replaces Tiny Hotzfeld, Merrill, WI, who has served as director for AHA for several years. Thanks a lot, Tiny! Thanks a lot, Mark and Lorin!

The AHA will again hold its Midwest Regional Fly-In at the `Great Gathering of the Gaggle' on July 20, 2002, Poplar Grove Airport (C77), Poplar Grove, Illinois. Early arrivals on Friday afternoon can help set things up for the main events on Saturday. Saturday's most important moments will be spent as we dedicate the memorial for Doug MacBeth and Glenn `Smitty' Smith. Doug and Glenn died in a tragic airplane accident last year. We will be dedicating a memorial to Doug and Glenn and to their love of flying. The memorial consists of a flagpole and plaque, tastefully designed and installed near the new Poplar Grove Antique Airplane Museum, right on the airfield. Final preparations for the dedication are not yet set, but we hope to conduct the dedication program in the late morning or early afternoon, to accommodate those arriving on Saturday. Kim Spath, Doug's fiancée, has been very active in overseeing the design and construction of the memorial on behalf of Doug and Smitty's friends and families and the AHA.

The AHA members will gather for a sharing of ideas and plans during the day on Saturday, although no formal business meeting or forums will be held. We have learned that the best forums are the informal gatherings around Hatz and Kelly D biplanes, giving everyone a chance to ask questions, give advice and just enjoy the Hatzpitality that always surrounds these wonderful airplanes. If history is any forecast, quite a few of the folks attending the Midwest Regional will depart directly from Poplar Grove on Sunday to head northeast to attend the EAA AirVenture, which officially begins on Tuesday, July 23. Poplar Grove is a very pleasant blend of modern airport conveniences associated with paved runways and the charm of small town, grass strips. So whether you fly into the event in your Cessna or Piper or in your Citabria or Hatz, you'll find the airport very accommodating. Even better, there will be Hatzers there ready to greet you!

More details about the Midwest Regional, including a map, hotels and motel information, other activities available in the area, etc can be found elsewhere on this site. If you need information mailed or faxed, just contact Chuck Brownlow or Mike Devroy. See you at the Midwest Regional!

Al Sherman has announced that the AHA Fly-In will again be held at Cottage Grove, Oregon, August 31-September 2, 2002. Al has been providing an excuse for western and northwestern Hatzers and Kelly D folks to gather for the past several years, usually on Labor Day weekend. Don and Jean Berry, AHA directors-West Region, will be helping with the arrangements and will be providing small attendance plaques for all AHA members who drop in on the three-day event. Al informed me that the Hughes H-1 racer is nearly ready for its first flight, currently undergoing high speed taxi tests. He hopes that AHA members will be able to again visit the H-1 hangar during the Cottage Grove Fly-In and might even get to see it fly! Watch for more Cottage Grove details on the website. Hopefully we will have some photos and stories for the September newsletter.