John Hatz

John Hatz was born in 1925 and raised on a farm along the Wisconsin River where he was first introduced to airplanes. He built and flew model airplanes and took his first lesson in a Piper J-3 Cub when he was 17. Service in the Army afforded John the chance to use the Montgomery GI Bill to attend Curry’s School of Aeronautics, earning his airframe and powerplant license, and his commercial pilot and instructor ratings. In 1952 John moved to Wausau, Wisconsin, to work for the next 11 years as a mechanic and instructor, eventually marrying and starting a family.

Unable to find plans for an affordable, easy-to-fly two-place biplane to build, John rebuilt a Piper J-3 Cub. While convalescing from an injury, he drew plans and built wing ribs for his own biplane design. The wings and center section were soon mounted on his fuselage design while he purchased a farm east of Wausau to construct a grass strip for his new bird. In 1963 he became the manager of the Merrill Municipal Airport (KRRL), Wisconsin.

The first flight of the Hatz Biplane was in the spring of 1968. It quickly attracted the attention of prospective builders, but John only had rough drawings as he never intended to sell plans. In a chance meeting in Ottumwa, Iowa, Dudley Kelly of Kentucky offered to measure, draw, and sell the plans. John dismissed the idea until Dudley showed up in Merrill one week later, ready to work.

John Hatz retired in 1974, bought another farm with a private runway and spent his remaining days doing what he loved most: teaching people to fly in a J-3. John flew west in 1989. It is his passion and ingenuity that places him into the Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame.