N801BH Gone West... (Ben Haas)

Blue skies Ben.

That guy knew his stuff and seemed like a good dude, what a loss
 
Sac Arrow said:
Oh man. I loved the man.

He conducted an NTSB sponsored investigation into a crash at his home field. Damn guy, I love you.
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I started to add that he really jumped into that investigation and how he was treated seemed quite wrong by the NTSB investigator in the end, but I admired him for sticking to it.

It was pretty clear he'd put a lot of thought and effort into it, and offered up his own shop to tear things down in, and do the hard parts of the investigation. He really dug in.

But it just seemed the wrong time to bring it up. Maybe it is. I don't know. Still just kinda sad here at the moment. His tenacity in that investigation really showed he dared to care about stuff. Stuff he didn't even need to.
 
I noticed some months ago he had stopped posting and wondered why.

RIP, Ben.
 
Very sorry to hear this. I enjoyed his posts, respected him from afar, and a goal was to fly myself GA to meet him.
Ted, thanks for kindly sharing this news with the POA extended family.
 
Really didn't expect to see this. I've been thinking about it all day.

I never bet Ben in person but he sure seemed like a hell of a good guy. I'll sure miss his input in this community.

A few years ago I needed a spacer for the prop on my Flybaby. Ben machined me up exactly what I needed based on a drawing I PM'd him. Not many people will machine you up a custom part for an airplane and mail it to you at at no cost.

Really wish I would have met him :( We need to have more fly-in events.

Jim Logajan said:
Here's a video Ben made:
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Thanks for that. Watched the whole thing.
 
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Tailwinds, Ben, I enjoyed your company here on PoA.
 
Quite sad to hear. He certainly had some good times in his project and Wyoming which he clearly loved. At least he didn't drop dead while working for a retirement that never came...

John
 
Wow - that sucks. What he did with the auto engine is pretty incredible.

RIP
 
Cajun_Flyer said:
If I'm understanding correctly, this is saying that someone named Joe Bradford who lives in "Phuket" (o_O) now owns it. If you translate the page, looks like it's all about how to select a pilot school.
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Yeah, not the greatest content, but not exactly a "hijack". That term in regards to DNS has a specific meaning, and it's not related to just grabbing a domain that wasn't paid up because someone passed on.

Someone in Canada has my first domain I ever registered. I let it go many years ago. No biggie.
 
This is sad news.
For some reason, I'm having a difficult time processing this.
I hope it's all CAVU for you, buddy.
 
I was looking for an obit for Ben. All I could find was a probate notice from early last year. I believe his full name was 'Stephen Bennett Haas' (based off FAA and land records).


IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE STATE OF
WYOMING,
IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF TETON,
NINTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT
IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF:
STEPHEN B. HAAS,
Deceased.
Probate No.: 3091
NOTICE OF PROBATE
You are hereby notified that on the 21st day of March, 2016,
the Last Will and Testament of Stephen B. Haas was admitted
to probate with administration by the above named
court. Any action to set aside the Will shall be filed in the
Court within three (3) months from the date of the first
publication of this Notice or thereafter be forever barred.

Notice is further given that all persons indebted to Stephen
B. Haas or to Stephen B. Haas’ Estate, are requested to
make immediate payment to Stephen B. Haas, in care of M.
Jason Majors, Majors Law Firm, P.C., PO Box 2922, 125 S.
King Street, Suite 2A, Jackson WY 83001.
Creditors having claims against the decedent or the estate
are required to file them in duplicate with the necessary
vouchers in the Office of the Clerk of Court on or before
three (3) months after the date of the first publication of
this notice; and if such claims are not so filed, unless otherwise
allowed or paid, they will be forever barred.
DATED March 29, 2016.
M. Jason Majors
Majors Law Firm, P.C.
P.O. Box 2922
125 S. King Street, Suite 2A
Jackson, WY 83001
(307) 733-4117
(307) 733-4227 Facsimile
Wyoming Bar Registration # 6-3789
Attorney for Co-Personal Representatives
Publish: 04/06, 04/13, 04/20/16


Ironically, his probate notice was posted right below a meeting notice for the Jackson Hole airport board. He would would have either laughed or blown a gasket if he knew.
 
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I did some other digging and his house is for sale also, of course. Which comes as no surprise. But another sad piece of the puzzle. :(
 
He was justifiably proud of his Zenith. The building of the engine and especially the reduction gear showed how talented he was.

Ben had a thorough background in racing engines, and we traded a few PMs as I sought answers to a few problems I was having. A responsive, informative, and polite discussion was his hallmark.

What a shame he has passed on.
 
denverpilot said:
View attachment 53496

Just happened across this lovely photo of his airplane, and figured... might as well put a copy here for posterity.
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Ben was courteous enough to take a similar photo of me with the Navajo in 2010:

download.png

This is when I flew 52 cats from Joplin to Seattle. What a flight that was. Took off and headed straight for the mountains.
 
denverpilot said:
I did some other digging and his house is for sale also, of course. Which comes as no surprise. But another sad piece of the puzzle. :(
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I believe he owned at least two properties. One in a subdivision right off the Jackson Hole airport and the second one a ranch property about 50 miles south of there. The ranch is where he built his runway

43°00'26"N 110°19'02"W 43°00'26"N 110°19'02"W

Looks like a beautiful patch of earth. Sad that he didn't have more time to enjoy it.
 
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weilke said:
I believe he owned at least two properties. One in a subdivision right off the Jackson Hole airport and the second one a ranch property about 50 miles south of there. The ranch is where he built his runway

43°00'26"N 110°19'02"W 43°00'26"N 110°19'02"W

Looks like a beautiful patch of earth. Sad that he didn't have more time to enjoy it.
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He had owned that plot for a good amount of time. It was in the early 2000s that the runway opened up. I did a look on Google Earth there was no house next to the air strip, looked like the nearest house was a mile or so away. Laurie said that out west that's actually fairly common - have a ranch runway not near any houses. But I can't remember what Ben's plan was for the land, if he was going to retire there, or what exactly. He did say that Harrison Ford would fly out and land there sometimes in his planes.

I'm not sure how often he flew out there, but he did try to fly his plane every day.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
He had owned that plot for a good amount of time. It was in the early 2000s that the runway opened up. I did a look on Google Earth there was no house next to the air strip, looked like the nearest house was a mile or so away. Laurie said that out west that's actually fairly common - have a ranch runway not near any houses. But I can't remember what Ben's plan was for the land, if he was going to retire there, or what exactly. He did say that Harrison Ford would fly out and land there sometimes in his planes.

I'm not sure how often he flew out there, but he did try to fly his plane every day.
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I just looked through some old threads where he had chimed in.

In one dealing with estate planning, he mentioned that most of his estate will go to EAA, young eagles and scholarschips for female pilots. Now he also said the plane would go to you and that didn't happen, but I wonder whether the will that was probated in Jackson actually contained those beneficiaries.
 
Anyone know the cause of death? Was this a sudden thing or something he had been fighting for awhile?
 
weilke said:
I believe he owned at least two properties. One in a subdivision right off the Jackson Hole airport and the second one a ranch property about 50 miles south of there. The ranch is where he built his runway

43°00'26"N 110°19'02"W 43°00'26"N 110°19'02"W

Looks like a beautiful patch of earth. Sad that he didn't have more time to enjoy it.
Click to expand...

Wasn't he trying to sell the property with the runway? I thought I remembered him posting about it being for sale.
 
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weilke said:
In one dealing with estate planning, he mentioned that most of his estate will go to EAA, young eagles and scholarschips for female pilots. Now he also said the plane would go to you and that didn't happen, but I wonder whether the will that was probated in Jackson actually contained those beneficiaries.
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There's a good lesson. If you don't put it in writing, it doesn't happen.
 
weilke said:
I just looked through some old threads where he had chimed in.

In one dealing with estate planning, he mentioned that most of his estate will go to EAA, young eagles and scholarschips for female pilots. Now he also said the plane would go to you and that didn't happen, but I wonder whether the will that was probated in Jackson actually contained those beneficiaries.
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That's a good question. Honestly I had expected I'd hear from the executor of his estate when he died because I had taken him seriously. That said, a lot of times people mean to do something but never get around to it for whatever reason (which reminds me, I need to sit down with an estate attorney).

I did speak to the seller of the plane, who was a friend of Ben's. He did pass away last year. Some things, they'll just remain a mystery, which honestly I think it probably how Ben would've wanted it. I told him that Ben was well missed over here.
 
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