EAA Mourns Death of Pedal Plane Pioneer

June 7, 2018 - The EAA community is mourning the death of Marv Hoppenworth, a co-founder of the Emergency Aircraft Repair facility at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. Hoppenworth was perhaps best known for his thousands of successfully built pedal plane kits. He died Tuesday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Hoppenworth, EAA 2519, was a longtime member of EAA Chapter 33 in Cedar Rapids. In the 1960s when the EAA fly-in was still in Rockford, Illinois, Hoppenworth and fellow EAAer Marshall Turner began the emergency aircraft repair tent for those aircraft owners who needed a place to fix various airframe or powerplant maladies. He helped with hundreds of aircraft through the years, including for such luminaries as Bob Hoover.

Hoppenworth attended nearly every EAA fly-in convention and, in 2016, he and his wife, Cathy, were recognized for attending 60 consecutive EAA conventions.

His most visible legacy may be his designs of pedal planes for kids. In the time since he introduced them in the 1980s, more than 22,000 pedal plane kits have been sold. He initially designed the pedal planes to interest his own grandchildren in airplanes, and after seeing EAA founder Paul Poberezny with one of his granddaughters on the convention grounds. Many of his pedal planes are still used by EAA, at both AirVenture and Pioneer Airport.

Funeral services for Hoppenworth will take place on June 8 in Cedar Rapids.