October 12, 1998.

It was one of those days when an assignment was as much fun as opening birthday presents.

Sam Johnson, chairman of S.C. Johnson and Son (Johnson Wax), is embarking on a mind-boggling aviation adventure, and I got to be the guy behind the cameras that will show our readers what it's all about.

Johnson has decided to recreate his father's legendary 1935 trip to Brazil in search of the carnauba wax that was so important to the company. Sam is a pilot, and his first thought 10 years ago when he conceived of the trip, was to take his seaplane. That's not good enough, someone said, you have to take the Sikorsky.

The Sikorsky was a striking black, red, and yellow amphibious plane in which his father, the late H.F. Johnson, and four other men, flew to Brazil. Sam tracked the Sikorsky to Indonesia, and went there looking for it, but there was no trace of the plane left.

The newly constructed replica of the Sikorsky S-38 amphibious plane, which will recreate the 1935 S. C. Johnson and Son trip to Brazil, flies over the landmark Wind Point Lighthouse on a test flight, Friday October 9, 1998. Photo by Mark Hertzberg © 1998 Racine Journal Times

Enter Born Again Restorations of Owatonna, Minnesota, and two days ago Johnson proudly piloted his new replica of the Sikorsky from Owatonna to Racine. The company has a legendary aviation department, with a staff of corporate pilots, but they'll be flying support planes, because Sam, himself, will be the man at the wheel of the new Sikorsky. He'll be accompanied in the plane by his sons, Curt and Fisk.

I was pleased that we were able to arrange for me to shoot air-to-air photos of the plane so soon after its arrival here. The icing on the cake came when I found out that Johnson would be coming to the airport for another training flight about a half hour after Tom Kalina, a corporate pilot, got done putting the plane through its paces for me, and I could photograph him.

Bear in mind that Johnson is the successful head of a successful international corporation. And bear in mind that Johnson had a replica of his father's plane built from the ground up. Then remember that he is unpretentious and shies away from personal publicity.

The interior and cockpit of the Sikorsky Photo by Mark Hertzberg © 1998 Racine Journal Times

Sam Johnson, chairman of S. C. Johnson and Son, will pilot the newly constructed replica of the Sikorsky S-38 amphibious plane, which will recreate the 1935 S. C. Johnson and Son trip to Brazil. He is shown with the plane Friday October 9, 1998. Photo by Mark Hertzberg © 1998 Racine Journal Times

After awhile I saw a guy in slacks and a pullover sweater amble out onto the ramp. He was wearing a baseball cap and a worn leather flying jacket. The cap and jacket both had 1935-1998 Spirit of Carnauba insignia on them. He asked me what I thought of the plane. He compared it to driving his old Rolls Royce, a bit hard to steer, but "elegant," he said. Johnson pulled out a notebook and started comparing notes with Kalina. Kalina mentioned some specifications that had been refigured, and Johnson grinned. He had come up with the same figure on his own.

The trip will take several months and will culminate with an announcement of major ecological importance in Brazil. It will be the subject of a movie that the company has commissioned, and it will bring lots of publicity to the company.