They were a big Irish family in Hamilton, Ohio. I’m not sure if Bernie or Joe was the oldest, but Art and Bill came along about 10 years later with another brother and three sisters somewhere in between. In 1929, after a neighboring farmer, “Pop” Muhlburger, taught the two oldest boys to fly in his Waco 10, the Hogan family bought both Muhlburger’s farm and the Waco. By the early 1930s, Art and Bill were flying and their sisters were helping run what had now become an airport. To paraphrase Gill Robb Wilson’s poem, the springing turf of that green meadow became a catapult from which, 86 years later, men are still leaping.
Unusual Attitudes: A Big Irish Family
Key Takeaways:
- The Hogan family established an iconic airport in Hamilton, Ohio, in the 1930s, successfully operating it for 50 years with siblings contributing as pilots, mechanics, and administrators.
- Brother Bill Hogan was a renowned pilot and mechanic, famous for restoring and extensively modifying a Taperwing Waco, including a custom fuel system for unique aerobatic performances like extended inverted flight.
- A later incident involved Bill's son Terry crashing the Taperwing due to a misunderstanding of its complex, modified fuel system during a check-out flight, from which both miraculously survived.
- The Hogan family's aviation legacy endures through the next generation, who continue to operate a flying school and shop at the same location (now Butler County Regional Airport).
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