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 and successfully operated an independent airport in Hamilton, Ohio, for 50 years, known for the brothers' diverse skills as pilots, mechanics, and their close-knit, resourceful spirit.
- Bill Hogan, the youngest and most colorful brother, was an exceptional aviator who restored and performed aerobatics in unique aircraft like a P-51H and a custom-modified Taperwing Waco, even engineering a solution for extended inverted flight.
- Despite challenges, including the sale of their original airport and a crash involving the Taperwing due to a fuel system misunderstanding, the Hogan family's aviation legacy endures through the next generation at Butler County Regional Airport.
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