WMU Alumnus, Agricultural Aviation Entrepreneur and Engineer, Sky Bronco
WMU College of Aviation Hall of Honor Class or 2016
In 1970, William “Bill” Hatfield and his wife, Nancy, began a journey that would change their lives. Having recently graduated from Western Michigan University, where he earned his degree and pilot's license, the two Hatfields entered into the world of agricultural aviation and started Hatfield Spraying Service in Nunica, Mi. Over the past 46 years, Hatfield has been at the forefront of the agricultural aviation industry. For over four decades, he has been instrumental in establishing and running both the Michigan Association of Agricultural Aviation and the National Association of Agricultural Aviation. During the fall of 1990, Hatfield founded a new company, Turbine Conversions, Ltd, which works to develop new turbine-powered conversion options for agricultural aircraft. In October of 2013, Hatfield was the recipient of "The Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award" issued by the Federal Aviation Administration to individuals who have 50 or more years of civil and military flying experience, while in 2014 he was inducted into the National Agricultural Aviation Hall of Fame.