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 a unique and successful airport in Hamilton, Ohio, in the 1930s, operating it for 50 years with skill, independence, and a strong family bond.
- Bill Hogan, a particularly colorful and skilled member, was renowned for restoring a P-51H and a highly modified Taperwing Waco, performing complex aerobatics, including extended inverted flight.
- Despite a serious incident involving the Taperwing's custom fuel system and an engine failure during takeoff, the Hogan family's aviation legacy endures through the next generation at Butler County Regional Airport, with the Taperwing itself destined to fly again.
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