Friday, June 4th

The Biplane Expo started with good weather, and a large gathering of planes and people. Enthusiastic crowds mobbed the ty-down area and public facilities. A surprising number of biplanes made it to the fly-in, considering the weather. Storms to the south prevented some planes from attending, while severe weather earlier in the week and high winds on Thursday affected travel by many. By afternoon, there was 60 or so biplanes on the field. Several more biplanes and monoplanes were parked front and center on the ramp, having participated in the National Air Tour, conducted in September 2003.

Four Hatz were on the field. Jeff Cain flew Eve from Denver, battling winds along the way. Lorin had Snooty there with its LOM inverted engine. Dennis Simmons brought his sharp looking Hatz classic parking it across from the Hatz tent for all to see. The fourth Hatz at Bartlesville was Carrol Cheek's round engine version.

Jeff Cain flew in the famous 'EVE' (S/N 6; NX8032Y; blue Hatz to the left), built by Ray and Dorothy Hill. He has spanned the U.S. as a Hatz ambassador and flown countless young eagles. Eve has tradional flat sides with a pressure cowling over a 160 HP Lycoming. Eve was named while Ray was building the first rib, first flown in 1981, and a winner of numerous builder awards.

Snooty (NX500L - red Hatz on left) shows its snout in a jaunty manner. The 140 HP, fuel injected, and turbocharged inverted inline LOM engine allows a very graceful and streamlined cowling fit for a classic '30s appearance. It has numerous award winning refinements and details, including top wing raised three inches for easier front cockpit access, three inch lengthing of the landing gear, baggage bin, frise differential ailerons, and removable aluminum panels from the firewall to the rear cockpit.

Lorin Wilkinson has it up for sale (see weebeastie website for sale page).

Dennis Simmons' red Hatz Classic - NX601HC has a similar paint style to Billy Dawson's NX45WD. The Hatz classic style with its rounded fuselage, lowered cockpit windshelds, ailerons extended to the wing end, 180 HP, and beefed up structure compares well with the original Hatz CB-1 (see Eve). Build them original and light or beefed up with more power (but not heavy and low powered as the saying goes).

Carrol Cheek's light green round nose Hatz (N1957P) was built in 11 MONTHS. He brought it to the 35th Annual Hatz Reunion powered by a 6 cylinder Continental. Now he shows up to Biplane Expo, and lo and behold, he's got a 165 Warner on the front end.

Attendance at the hatz tent was very good, with people catching up on happenings during the previous year. Kevin Conner brought a set of completed (uncovered) upper and lower wings, Mark Marino brought parts of the Hatz Bantum he's designing and building, and several people brought builder logs to show. Personal one-on-one conversation, especially with builders bearing actual aircraft parts and construction photos for you to examine, really increases your knowledge of Hatz construction and how others handled the details.

Mark and Cassi Moore are seen here discussing construction details.

Late afternoon saw Jerry Brown hosting the State of the Biplane Nation forum (left photo), followed by dinner on the field. Six speakers discussed classic biplane and engine care and rebuilding, giving first hand accounts and current affairs of the biplane maintenance industry. Closing out the day, an Honor's Tribute and Award were given to Greg Herrick for organizing and leading the National Air Tour (right photo). This tour carried on the late 20's tradition of showing the safety, dependability, and availability of air transportation for the public. The 2003 Air Tour was the completion of the last planned, but unflown tour cancelled because of the 1930s depression. Tour aircraft were all vintage biplanes, monoplanes, and trimotors, some which flew in the original tours.

Saturday, June 5th

Drizzle was a great time to see the various Wacos, Fleets, Travel Airs, Great Lakes, Stearmans, Alexander Eaglerock, Fokker, SE-5a, Hatz, Stardusters, Pitts, etc. The crowd was thin allowing an intimacy with the planes. People came back as the morning progressed and the weather improved (and as brunches were finished).

Noon saw clearing skies with active flying. The National Tour planes, such as the Alexander Eaglerock (right photo) did several fly-bys, followed by various biplanes from the field. Hatz fly-bys displayed their well-mannered poise and 1930s heritage. Later in the afternoon, the ranks of planes thinned a bit as several pilots took advantage of the good weather to head home.

Hatz on the Move...


Left: Jeff Cain with Juerg Mueller - all grins.

Lower Left: Snooty over Bartlesville (from Eve),      Lower Right: Eve (from Snooty)

No national fly-in is complete without attending other aviation happenings to or from the main event. Here are photos of Mercury and Gemini capsules and rockets (engineering test articles) outside the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, Kansas (near Wichita), and NASA's Apollo 13 command capsule. The Cosmosphere is an impressive site, having a major collection of U.S. and Soviet space flight articles.

Brodhead and Airventure are coming up. Dates for Airventure at Oshkosh Wisconsin is July 27 - August 2, 2004. While attending Oshkosh, try to make-it to the vintage fly-in at Brodhead, WI on July 23 - 25, 2004 and support the new home of the Hatz Midwest Regional fly-in (more details at: midwest_regional2004.html

Photo and Text Credits: Eric Livo, Cassi Moore, and Kevin Conner