Guy McClary’s roots are in central South Carolina. He grew up on a tobacco farm, and as the son of a multi-generational tobacco farmer, Guy was destined to follow in the family tradition. Guy’s father, J.W. McClary, was a WWII veteran and one of 12 children. He was born and raised in the Williamsburg, South Carolina area, just as Guy was, and spent his life cultivating tobacco. However, Guy aspired to play professional baseball and was accepted into college to do just that. A shoulder injury, one of the first setbacks in McClary’s life, set the stage for his lifelong determination and the never-give-up attitude he carries to this day. After the injury, Guy found himself ready to join the family business of farming.
“If you’re going to get into farming, you’re going to get into farming,” Guy explains what his dad told him in 1974, right before he took him to the local Production Credit Association to co-sign a loan. It was either “make it or break it,” according to Guy’s dad. He took out a crop loan for tractors, cultivators, and other items. Guy was now in farming and had the debt to prove it.
In Guy’s spare time, a local friend was flying Cessna 188s in the area, and Guy would assist him in loading the airplane and helping with the flying operation. The friend also owned a Cherokee 140, piquing Guy’s interest in aviation, specifically ag aviation. Guy went on to obtain his Private and Commercial certificates. After many afternoons of sitting, talking, planning, and learning, Guy started his ag flying career in a Cessna 188 with Henry Haddock of Haddock Flying Service, operating three Cessna 188s.
Guy’s first year wasn’t without challenges, having several encounters with power lines in the Cessna. True to what was shaping up to be his mantra, Guy didn’t give up and learned from the experience. He continued flying for Haddock Flying Service for the next 13 years.
In the mid-1980s, after a downturn in local farming and a hurricane, the Cessnas were replaced with two AT-301s, and a third AT-301 was added to the fleet. Guy and Henry became partners in the business and added two Hiller 12Es for row crop and forestry work.
By the end of the 1980s, the pair added turbine power to their fleet, replacing the AT-301s with an AT-402. This arrangement continued until the partnership dissolved in 2000, and Guy formed Williamsburg Air Service with the AT-402.
Williamsburg Air Service grew throughout the next decade with Guy at the helm. Multiple airplanes and helicopters were added to the fleet, and mosquito control was added to the forestry contracts. Guy mentored a new pilot during this period, Tommy Phillips, just as Guy was mentored in the 1970s with a Cessna 188. But, the growth wasn’t without challenges. With three AT-402s and various other aircraft, Williamsburg Air Service suffered a hangar fire that took out most of its fleet. Vowing not to quit and with perseverance, Guy pushed through.
Guy says, “When I lost all the airplanes in the fire, I thought this was it. But I don’t give up; I get up. As in sports, when I am injured or whatever life throws, I don’t give up; I get up.”
In 2013, Guy added a brand new AT-402 to Williamsburg Air Service, and in 2021, he traded his two AT-402s for a new 502XP. The AT-502XP was a game changer for Williamsburg Air Service, so much so that in 2023, he bought another one.
Williamsburg Air Service currently runs two AT-502XPs, an AT-402, a Cessna 188 equipped with CPs, and two Piper Aztecs with Micronairs for mosquito control. The Aztecs handle numerous mosquito contracts along the Eastern seaboard.
The fleet is equipped with Ag-Nav GPS guidance, which Guy has been a proponent of since he began using GPS. “The Ag-Nav GPS units are all we have ever used, and I couldn’t be happier with them; from row crop to forestry to mosquito control, they just work,” comments Guy.
Williamsburg Air Service mostly does 2-5 gallon applications for row crops and ULV applications for mosquito control.
Williamsburg Air Service is a family affair, with Guy’s daughter working alongside him, as do his grandchildren when they aren’t playing sports or in school. The family also runs a spray parts service for local growers as part of Williamsburg Air Service and even sells ammunition in the off-season.
Guy McClary credits God for his success through all his challenges and accomplishments. Over his long career in agriculture and aviation, his mantra has served him well: “I don’t give up; I get up.”
