A Remarkable Friend - Martin Jensemn

I first met Martin Jensen while working on assignment at the Douglas Aircraft Company plant in Long Beach, California. That was sometime in 1965, after my discharge from the navy and before marrying my wife. I was deep in resolving a problem that had cropped up in the hydraulic plumbing design that had been my current assignment.

I must have appeared as stressed as I felt when I heard a very cheerful "Would you like some help? You look like you could use some." My first reaction was thinking "Damn, that's all I need a helper from hell." I took a few seconds to calm myself and "put on" my pleasant and professional face.

When I looked up I was looking into a round somewhat chubby, pink smiling face. The eyes were direct and clear. They were sort of blue. His hair was snowy white and somewhat disarrayed. My overall first impression was of something like a happy imp. Despite my efforts to appear professional and serious I found myself smiling back at him.

He was dressed in a blue suit, the standard white shirt, with a red and white tie. His badge identified him as a very senior member of the Douglas Engineering management staff. Obviously my face reflected my initial discomfort because he introduced himself by saying "My name is Martin Jensen. Please call me Marty all of my friends do. Forget the badge we both know I'm older. It simply means I've got more aircraft experience than you." I couldn't help thanking him while smiling even wider as I told him my name and shook his hand.

He replied "Great! Now let's look at this problem of yours." As he looked the problem over he asked many questions. All of them were incisive and insightful. Several of them revealed other possible approaches to resolving the problem. As Marty queried me I found a growing sense of awe and appreciation for him. Then suddenly he looked directly at me and asked me "What do you think of your problem now?" I replied by describing the approach that I believed would work best to resolve that problem. Then I thanked him for the other approaches that his questions had revealed to me. Marty grinned very broadly. He agreed with my resolution approach. Then he thanked me for letting him know that he had helped. He pointed out that many of my co-workers rarely acknowledged his help.

At this point Marty noted that he suspected that many of my co-workers were unable to recognize that everyone benefits from a helping hand. In his words "Both the helper and the helped get better and learn more from that help." I noted that he had a decidedly impish grin when he said that. Frankly, I was puzzled by his remark. At that time I was unaware that many people were able to gain recognition in engineering. Yet, they were unable (or unwilling) to see that their recognition depended on the work of so many others. Marty then asked if I minded if he stopped by to see me from time to time. I was very pleased to tell him that he was welcome anytime. I added that I looked forward to his next visit.

Marty stopped. He came back looked briefly at my work. Then he suggested that whenever I 'ran into' a problem I should develop at least three approaches to resolve that problem before I started on the resolution. I immediately saw that his suggestion would keep me from having to start from the beginning if an approach failed. I had to say "Thanks, Mr. Jensen. That's a great idea." He smiled and replied "Jack, ALL of my friends call me Marty." I felt my embarrassment and pride rise in me like a pink tide. Marty, chuckled and said "I'll stop by tomorrow to see how you are doing."

That was how I first met Martin Jensen one of those men now identified as a pioneer in aviation and aerospace. Marty did stop by the next day and looked at my progress. He liked what he saw. After that first meeting Marty would usually stop at my desk every other week. Sometimes he invited me to lunch with him.

However, because I was working to earn a degree in engineering it didn't happen as often as we'd have liked. Whenever we did have lunch together it usually was during school breaks, either at my desk or a local restaurant.

The Race

During one of those lunches Marty asked me if I had ever heard of the Dole Pineapple Race. When he learned that I had not he was very pleased. It gave him a chance to talk of a major event in his life. I learned from Marty that the race was flown on 16 August, 1927. It was a race for $35,000.00 in prize money. The race course was from Oakland, California to Honolulu, Hawaii.

Marty and his navigator, a German merchant sailor named Paul Schluter, flew the race in a yellow monoplane. The aircraft was a unique design by Vance Breese of San Francisco. Marty named the aircraft "Aloha". I never learned what became of that aircraft.

There were eight aircraft that participated in the actual race. Although eleven aircraft had been entered, three of the eleven crashed before they ever reached Oakland. Only two of those starting eight completed the race. One of the six that didn't complete aborted over San Francisco and returned to Oakland. Two of the six crashed on takeoff, one of them crashing twice. The other three were lost at sea, they were never heard from again.

One of the three that was lost at sea in the Dole Pineapple Race had aborted and returned for repairs. After completing their repairs they joined in the search for the two that had been declared missing. That repaired search aircraft with its crew were also lost at sea.

Thus, of the eleven aircraft that entered the race five crashed, one aborted, two completed, and three were lost at sea. Additionally, of the twenty one people who were aircrew for those eleven aircraft only four completed the race. Ten of the remaining seventeen died preparing for, trying to reach, or while participating in the race.

Marty told me that he had come in second in the race. When I pointed out that he had come in last, he grinned. Then he informed me that his cost for his aircraft and personal expenses were more than $15,000.00. Still grinning he added "My wife got the plane and found our sponsors, BUT the sponsors got the money."

I told him how awed I was by the navigation and fuel management challenges that Marty and his navigator overcame. He chuckled as he told me how they refueled in flight. Paul Schluter emptied five gallon gas cans into the fuel system by hand. Then Marty would transfer that fuel using a hand operated wobble pump while flying the aircraft. According to Marty that was "a little tricky at times". Marty and his navigator communicated during the flight using a long bamboo pole to pass handwritten notes between them. Later I learned that the Aloha had touched the Pacific Ocean once during the race.

As for the navigation challenge, Marty wryly noted that he came in second because he was forced to circle for over two and a half hours while Paul Schluter used a compass, sextant, and watch to determine their position. Marty smiled when I noted that if their course was off by as little as three degrees they could have completely missed Hawaii.

Marty showed me a personal card which included a copy of the $10,000.00 check he and his navigator had won. I remarked on the unique nature of the card as well as the graphic beauty. As I was returning it, Marty said "Jack, I gave that to you. It's yours. Use it as a kind of reminder of me." I thanked him while making it clear that he would never be forgotten by me.

Our Parting

During the time I was on assignment at Douglas Aircraft, Marty told me that he was born in Kansas in 1900. He also talked about his wife, Marguerite, whom he married in 1925. Marty believed that making his home in Hawaii in 1927 had helped him to gain entry in the race.

My assignment at Douglas Aircraft ended in early 1967. My next assignment took my wife and me to Seattle to work at Boeing. When I told Marty of the upcoming change he wished me well. Then he pointed out that as long as I was in aviation I had to expect a lot of changes. He added that such changes would include changes in people, places, aircraft, and how things happen. That seemed obvious to me at the time. Later however, I found that those changes would be very great indeed.

That was the last time I ever saw or heard from Marty. I thought of him often. As my career in aviation continued I heard of him many times. Many aviation notables whom I later met had a high respect for Marty and his accomplishments. Those notables included people who pointed out that Marty had been very lucky.

I also found that people who chose to belittle or speak disparagingly of him proved to be small and untrustworthy people. Those people often described Marty as an adman or stunt man rather than as a pilot and engineer. It still astounds me how some are unable to drop their jealousy to really appreciate the achievements and contributions of Martin Jensen and those like him.

What I later found about Marty

I heard that Marty had moved to El Cajon, California after retiring from Douglas Aircraft in the late 1960's. He died there on February 8, 1992. I knew that Marty continued to work in aerospace and aviation as a private inventor and consulting engineer. He also corresponded with many other aviators for the rest of his life. After he died I started to learn more about this man who had helped me so much at the beginning of my career.

I found that he was born in Jamestown, Kansas. In World War 1 he was an aviator in the United States Navy. After the war he became a barnstormer and stunt pilot flying a biplane he had designed and built. He flew that plane all over the country.

In 1924 he established the Jensen Flying School at Dutch Flats in the San Diego, California area. During 1925 Marty flew across the country in an OX-5 biplane. He also married Marguerite that year. Their marriage was somewhat unique in that he and Marguerite had the ceremony performed on the wing of an aircraft over Yuma, Arizona.

1927 was a full year for Marty. Besides the Dole Pineapple Race he was chosen to fly MGM studio's mascot, Leo the Lion, across the country to New York City in a Ryan monoplane similar to the one used by Charles Lindbergh on his famous flight. Unfortunately, he was forced to crash land in the canyons of Arizona. He managed, after providing food and water for Leo, to get help from local ranchers and cowboys. Together they successfully rescued Leo, who continued his journey to New York by truck. That year Marty also designed a trainer which was later built and sold by his company - Jensen Aircraft Company.

1929 proved both full and eventful for Marty. First on March 28 Marty established a world solo flight endurance record of 35 hours, 33 minutes, and 21 seconds. He landed at Roosevelt Field, New York where Charles Lindbergh began his famous flight. With the stock market crash in October, Marty lost Jensen Aircraft Company.

After the loss of his company Marty became both Dean of Aviation and aeronautics instructor at Beckley College in Pennsylvania. He also did some show flying for both the New York Daily News newspaper and for the Tidewater Oil Company.

Then, in 1935 he joined Langley Aircraft as first vice-president. In 1940 Marty left Langley to join Bendix Aviation, later Bendix Helicopters, as a designer of helicopters. There he designed and helped build their successful Model J helicopter. It was in 1951 that he left Bendix Helicopters to become a Senior Engineer at Douglas Aircraft Company.

Goodbye to a good friend

As I look over the achievements and accomplishments of my friend, Martin Jensen, I remember his optimism, confidence, courtesy, cheerfulness, and humor. Marty, besides being very interesting always was glad to share the funny, sometimes silly aspects of his life. If anyone was willing, he relished in sharing those aspects of his experiences. Even though I knew Marty a short time, what he taught me helped me throughout my career in aviation. Marty's guidance has always helped me to readily accept and then overcome the challenges of my career. Those who have known Marty Jensen must miss him as do I.