Hatz Biplane Association

I was thumbing through the latest issue of Kitplane Magazine and found an article on how to choose the engine for your home built. Low and behold, midway through the article I saw a picture of my Hatz LB-1 tied down at Oshkosh! Cool, I'll read what he had to say. I found out, according to this author, I've done everything wrong in choosing my engine and now the whole world knows about it. He poo-pooed my choice of the O-290 as being too heavy and obsolete for the added 13 horsepower and if you turn the page you'll find I committed a cardinal sin by choosing the O-290-G! Gads, I hope I'll still be accepted at Broadhead or will I need to sneak in under the cover of darkness? ( which I've already done a couple of times)

Jeff Moore

I'm curious how many airplanes the author has built from scratch?Remember what they say about opinions?They're like hemmoroids...sooner or later every @$$!^ole gets one. Fly proud Jeff. You've got a very nice and dependable Biplane!

Another thought, Jeff...We know how meticulous of a builder you are and it's fer sure you knew the aspects of the 0-290G before you bolted it on. So there!

Hey Jeff,

I guess I'm going to commit the same dumb error by puttin an 0-290 on my Hatz. Did this geniuos offer a better alternative for the Hatz? In my thoughtless and inexperienced estimation the Lycoming is still a bulletproof design that has provided countless trouble free hours for many homebuilders. You hang it on the front of a Hatz Biplane and have years of fun flying and can take it anywhere and afford to operate it on a workin mans pay. Some of these experts just don't get it. I'd rather be a happy dummy.

The article centered around the O-320 because, in his opinion, it is readily available, proven, parts are available etc. He mentioned the O-235 in his comparison to my O-290.....

He also states:
"If you are looking at a Hatz Classic, the only recommended engine is the O-320, so your choice is merely between the 150- or the 160-horsepower versions"

This is not true as the plans were updated some time ago to also include the Rotec R3600.

Hey Jeff, who's the author?

Dave Prizio....

Never heard of him...

Saw that article as well. My first thought was, the airplane made it to Oshkosh, for cry'n out loud! Also I wondered if the author took into consideration that just maybe this particular engine was available at the time, and at the right price.


I had a chance to look your airplane over at OSH. Very nice job!

Course, I'da put a different engine in it......