Slats Rodgers and the Love Field Lunatics
The first flying circus in Texas, perhaps the world, was organized by Floyd H. "Slats" Rodgers and operated out of Love Field in Dallas. A Texas Historical Marker has been placed at the McAllen International Airport that documents Slats construction of the first airplane built in Texas its successful flight and his many escapades.
Floyd H. "Slats" Rodgers sits at the controls of his
airplane November, 1912 in downtown Cleburne, Texas. Charles Rodgers, Slats'
father proudly poses with his 23 year old son.
 At
the end of World War I, Love Field became a Mecca for gypsy barnstorming pilots
and a flying circus was formed called Slats Rodgers and the Love Field
Lunatics. The circus was used as a cover for the delivery of his
bootleg whiskey.
When Roosevelt was elected President of the United States in 1933, he repealed
the Volstead Act. The sixteen year window of time for bootleggers slammed
shut.
Mexico beckoned to Slats and he became a gun runner involved in a small
revolution. Later he left Mexico, a rich man.
With the gold he brought out of Mexico, he purchased an airfield in Mission,
Texas and went into the crop dusting business.
Texas historical marker stands today near a cantina at
the McAllen International Airport Terminal honoring Floyd H. (Slats) Rodgers.
Slats Rodgers Top Gun at Love Field
- Book Information:
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- Hard Back
- Includes 54 Pictures
- 265 Pages
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