The Chapter was looking for a way to celebrate the 100th anniversary of flight which was December 17th, 2003. To commemorate this event, various ideas were kicked around at general meetings and board meetings. Finally, we found out that the first aircraft ever to leave the ground and come back down in Iowa was in the Davenport, Iowa in 1910. A brave (possibly foolish) soul named Albert Hartmann, using some Bleriot drawings and some ingenuity, created an aircraft that actually did fly--albeit not very well. With wing warping and limited control, the plane made a take off and then a, somewhat, controlled crash. Albert, not to be denied, keep refining his design over the years and came up with a machine that flew quite well.

The original aircraft was all wood and cloth, and the final design was a tubular steel fuselage with a wood wing. Wing warping was replaced by ailerons over the years, and the final version of the Hartmann flew for the last time in 1953. This final version of Albert Hartmann's plane can be viewed hanging from the ceiling of Harold Warp's Pioneer Village in Minden, Nebraska.

The Chapter is, at this time, in the process of constructing a full sized replica of the original 1910 design. This should yield an aircraft with a wingspan of about 31'-8"; a length of 19'-10" and a height of 7'-6". At the completion of the aircraft replica, the Chapter is planning on donating the aircraft and associated data, pictures, and other information on the aircraft to a local airport, museum, or other local where the achievement of Albert Hartmann can be honored and viewed by the public for years to come.