JUST WHEN YOU THINK THINGS ARE GOING WELL

            Following World War II a lot of returning servicemen put to work new vocations they learned during their military experience. Many of these were those who learned how to fly. One such airman was Wayne Clevenger who started a crop dusting business at Salinas, CA.

            During the war Clevenger was a fighter pilot flying the famed North American P-51 Mustang. He saw a lot of action in Europe and at the end of the conflict he returned back to the United States, was discharged and with cash in his pocket he decided that the nearest thing to being a fighter pilot was becoming a crop duster. Buzzing across the ground at breath taking speed and only a few feet off the ground he put his “strafing” experience to good use.

            Settling near Salinas, he took advantage of the surplus airplanes that were on the market. Most newly formed crop duster operations settled on the bi-wing Stearman trainers what were sold at ridiculously low prices. At that time you could by a beautiful low time airplane for as little as $500. Other planes sold for even lower prices. Often times the gas in the airplane was worth more than the airplane.

            But for Clevenger he had a different plan. Rather than buy the famed Stearman he decided to buy used Stinson L-5’s. Why no one could figure out. If there was any airplane not adapted to the spraying industry it was the L-5!

            The airplane was a single inline engine high win, tandem two place aircraft that was used chiefly by the Army for observation, ferrying personnel and general use. It was not designed for combat fighting. None of this interfered with Clevenger’s plans however.  For what he would have had to pay for the more valued Stearman he could buy two of the Stinson’s.

            He bought 16 of them and started his spraying company.

            How he was going to utilize such an airplane as he had bought defied the imagination. But he had ideas of his own. The first thing he did was removing the inline six cylinder engines and replacing them with 220 horsepower Continental radial engines. Next he fitted Aeronca wing panels below the high wings making the airplane a “bi-wing.” Following this he took out the rear seats and put in spray tanks. But the final touch was the installation of air driven fans on each lower wing which broke up the material into a fine spray.

            Of the 16 remodeled airplanes no two flew alike. Some handled gently and others were a work in progress! One particular plane had the nasty habit of when you pulled off the power to land the nose would drop and no amount of back pressure on the elevator helped. You quickly learned that to land this “new and improved” gem it was necessary to lead with power until the wheels had touched the ground. An unwary pilot would quickly be initiated.

            The military pilots of that era were probably the best in the world. And many of them adapted to the crop dusting industry with ease. One such pilot Clevenger hired fit the bill with extraordinary talent. His name was Charlie King.

            Charlie could fly anything that had wings. Added to this he had no fear. Flying one of Clevenger’s planes for him wasn’t a test it was an adventure and he made the most of it. But he did have one flaw—he loved hard boiled eggs!

            It wasn’t unusual for Charlie to pack a few eggs in his coverall pockets when he flew.

           

When he had finished spraying a field he would climb to the dizzying altitude of maybe 50 feet and ferry back to the field satisfied and good humor. It was then he would take out one of his hard boiled eggs, crack it on the top of the control stick, peel it and take a bite. Unfortunately it was on one of these occasions that things didn’t go as planned.

Work usually started early in the morning with the sun just breaking from the east. The pilots would have their loaders service their planes, fill them with the required spray material and then take off for their assigned fields. Some of these fields were several miles from home base and by the time they arrived at their destination the fields would be aglow with morning sunshine.

On this particular morning everything seemed perfect. The temperature was comfortable and only a mild gentle breeze added to the beauty of the day. According to the law any wind over five miles per hour would shut down the application of an herbicide. But this morning Charlie was putting out an insecticide compatible with the surrounding crops.

Reaching the field he took the precaution to make a turn around the field to locate any hazards as telephone lines, irrigation stand pipes or power lines. Satisfied he gently lined up his first pass and dropped into the field. After putting out the load he pulled out of the field and headed back to home base. This is where the adventure began.

Sitting in the cockpit with the dependable engine humming, he climbed to an altitude of about 50 feet. Using his knees to steady the control stick he reached into his shirt pocket and took out an egg and gently cracked it with the aid of the stick. Looking down he peeled the delicacy and just as he looked up to put it in his mouth he flew into a tree! This was somewhat disconcerting. He managed however to swallow the egg so not too much was lost in the incident.

It was sometime in the morning that Clevenger started to get a bit nervous. His prize pilot should have been back at least two hours earlier but no word had arrived about his lateness. Then a California State Patrolman showed up in his police cruiser, stopped and Charlie stepped out. Going to the back of the patrol car the officer opened the trunk and Charlie took out an airplane battery. Rushing over to the two Clevenger asked what had happened.

Then the story came out. The patrolman said he spotted Charlie hitchhiking down the road with the battery on his shoulder and asked if he could help. Charlie said, with little embarrassment, that he was a crop duster and had hit a tree—he prudently didn’t mention the egg incident to the officer!

What baffled Clevenger most was the battery he brought back. The airplane was totally demolished, Charlie’s coveralls were tattered, and yet he took the airplane battery, hoisted on his shoulder and started walking down the road looking for a ride back the airfield when the patrolman came along. So when Clevenger asked “why” Charlie had the perfect answer.

“…Hell,” he said, “you know how those damn field workers are—they’ll steal anything!” and with that Clevenger shook his head and walked off. There was nothing else to say.