November 26, 2019 Abby's Turn

The Liberty Gazette

November 26, 2019

Ely Air Lines
By special guest author, Abby

Hi, my name is Abby. I’m the furry four-legger who lives with Mike and Linda. I wanted to share what I’m thankful for, so while they were sleeping, I accessed Google Translate to get my thoughts onto their computer. I have so much to say about airplanes and flying, and given they’ve had this space every week for twelve and half years, I don’t feel bad about hijacking it just once.

When I was a young girl, the Elys found me at a shelter. I had been paired in a crate with a boy named Chip, and the lady from the shelter talked them into taking us both. I’m glad we came to Liberty to live because when they leave the big front door open, I love to watch through the glass door and bark at all the people who go by. I also bark at the deer at night, but those coyotes and hogs, well, they’re kind of scary.

But you know what’s not scary? Flying! Okay, I will admit I was a wee bit nervous the first time. But when we landed in Llano and got out to sniff the grass… ah, the new smells! The new spots to pee! It was doggie paradise!

And you know what? There are more dogs like me who have been helped by pilots and airplanes. I heard Mike and Linda talking about a program called Pilots N Paws, and it warms my heart to know that so many people who fly love animals that much!

My tail can’t stop wagging from reading all the wonderful stories on the Pilots N Paws website, http://www.pilotsnpaws.org/.

Like Mary and her husband, Todd, pilots from Hunstville, Alabama. On their 73rd Pilots N Paws flight, they flew eight puppies to Jacksonville, Florida, where another pilot took them on to their final destination in Sanford. This was Mary’s way of celebrating her birthday. I’m going to quote her here, because I love what she said. “Unfortunately, many others aren’t as lucky, and as you all know, the only answer to this devastating issue is to spay, neuter, and rescue. All of these dogs are really sweet, and they deserve to be curled up on the living room floor at night—not tossed out like trash.” I love you, Mary!

Oh, and Brad. He is so handsome! You must check him out on the website. I’m thinking of asking Mike and Linda if they’d like to take me to Florida to meet him. Brad was living in a shelter in Bainbridge, Georgia when the Pilots N Paws group offered to help get him to the Labrador Retriever Rescue near Tampa. Pilots Preston and Jenna flew him there, and now he’s in safe hands. He’s so good-looking, I bet he’ll have a forever home in no time!

And I don’t even mind that they help cats, too. In fact, I would be thankful if that orange cat that runs the neighborhood got on a one-way flight somewhere.

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com

November 19, 2019 Challenge Air

The Liberty Gazette

November 19, 2019

Ely Air Lines
By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Linda: It’s that time of year again when pilots eager to share their love of flight descend on Conroe-North Houston Regional Airport and meet up with families of special needs children and a hundred volunteers. The day is simultaneously rewarding and exhausting. I always come away with a few favorite stories. One this year is about a young man with Down syndrome. A recent high school graduate who had served in the JROTC, graduating with the rank of Major, he was one of the last co-pilots to fly before the sun set.

He returned to the hangar, escorted under the balloon arch and down the red carpet lined with cheering fans, and met his mom at the end. I turned back to look again, and saw his mom wrap her arms around him, his head buried in her. I walked over to them and asked, “Is everything okay? Is there anything you need?”

His mom just smiled and replied, “No, thanks, we’re fine. He’s just overwhelmed. His grandfather flew bombers in World War II, so flying in a plane today is very important to him.”

That’s enough to move me to tears, too. Here was one proud young fellow who had just flown with a special mission in mind: “I flew for my grandfather,” he said.

The great celebration in the hangar included clowns, face painting, arts and crafts, the Chick-fil-A cow, the H-E-B walking grocery bag, Santa Claus, and someone in a pink dinosaur costume. Families and volunteers danced to the music the disc jockey blasted out from hi-fidelity speakers, and everyone loved it. Except, that is, those who are sensory sensitive. Mostly, kids with autism.

“Special needs” covers a wide range, and events intended for “special needs kids” are too often planned without regard to the special needs of kids with autism who cannot take heavy doses of stimuli. I learned this from Jennifer and Wes, a couple who brought their son to Challenge Air last year. “The flight was great,” they explained, “but the rest of it is too much.” So, they offered to make it better for other kids this year.

They set up a walled tent and equipped it with individual floor mats, bean bag chairs, small hand-size plush toys perfect for squeezing, and weighted blankets. This was what they wished had been there last year when their son was bothered by all the noise and activity while awaiting his turn to fly.

One boy came in and immediately lay down on one of the floor mats, finally in a quiet space where he felt comfortable. He tapped the floor mat and said, “Like.” When Santa Claus peeked in the tent to check on how things were going, Jennifer invited him to lie down quietly with the boy. There, in his own element, calming before his flight, he and Santa had a heartwarming bonding.

Thanks to Jen and Wes, the sensory-sensitive tent was a big hit. We look forward to its expanded presence next year.

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com

November 12, 2019 Auto-land

The Liberty Gazette

November 12, 2019

Ely Air Lines
By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Linda: Electronics manufacturer Garmin announced at the end of last month a project they’d been secretly working on for eight years – Garmin Autoland – which they say can save an airplane with an incapacitated pilot or even take over and land when the weather is too rough for the pilot to land.

Eventually they may offer this for small aircraft such as ours, but for now, they’re starting with small jets, the Piper M600, and then the Cessna Vision Jet. Aircraft must be already equipped with the Garmin’s G3000 advanced navigation system and auto-throttle.

It took the dedication of over 100 Garmin engineers to come to this marvel that is being so widely celebrated in the aviation industry. Among those were human factors experts whose input included requirements built so that non-pilot passengers would be able to switch on the device and understand what’s happening.

The company has already flown more than 800 auto-lands while testing in a variety of aircraft, including piston airplanes. And it seems they’ve thought of everything. All the pilot has to do before flight is show the passenger(s) where the button is, and explain that if the pilot becomes incapacitated, just push that button. The airplane will take over from there.

It will find the nearest safe airport to land on, it will radio for emergency help, it will slow the plane as it descends and lower the landing gear and flaps. It will line up and land right on the center line of the runway, slow to a stop, and shut off the engine(s).

On three screens, passenger(s) will be advised of what is happening at all times, including a map showing the path the airplane is taking, a view with synthetic vision, and a timer advising how many minutes and miles to go. There is also voice command, which will warn passengers not to touch any controls, and when the airplane lands, instructions how to open the doors to exit.

This news has been the buzz ever since it hit the skies, and my friend Yasmina, with whom Mike and I have conducted many a Pinch Hitter course, texted me the morning of the announcement, saying, “I guess we won’t be teaching non pilots how to land airplanes anymore!”

Mike: Avionics have come a long way since I started flying over forty years ago. These tools have made life easier in the cockpit, allowing pilots to stay on top of everything that goes on while flying. Technology is also being tested on simulated hijacking scenarios so that a remote pilot can take over and land the aircraft.

But as nifty as these gadgets are, they are just tools. However smart these machines seem, artificial intelligence will never replace the pilot’s reasoning, born from skills developed by good training, and judgement developed through experience. Falling back on tech as a safety device is okay, relying on it as a primary or sole means of operation is a recipe for disaster.

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com

November 5, 2019 A Different Windy City

The Liberty Gazette

November 5, 2019

Ely Air Lines
By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Linda: When high winds hit New York City in mid-October, many flights were delayed or canceled. The average delay was just over four hours for those who had not yet departed for New York. For those enroute, the average hold time in the air was 44 minutes. Flights operated with smaller aircraft that have less capability for landing in high crosswinds were nixed altogether. Those mostly were coming from cities closer to New York, whereas larger aircraft are used for longer distances. And how did I come by the details of this not uncommon scenario at this particular time? Mom’s bucket list.

Mom said the last thing she wanted to be sure she did before she leaves this life was to go to the top of the World Trade Center with her three daughters. She wanted a “ladies-only” weekend trip to New York City where we could have a slumber party in a hotel on Times Square and take in Manhattan. I’ll do anything for my mom. Even that.

My sister Diane flew from Bellingham to Seattle, and then took a direct flight from Seattle to JFK on a Boeing 737-900. The crosswinds at JFK were reported to be straight out of the west at 29 knots, gusting to 37. The runways are oriented northeast-southwest, and northwest-southeast. Just picture an X. Those are the options for landing. With the wind coming from straight west, no matter which runway you pick, you have a crosswind. However, it wouldn’t be a direct 90-degree crosswind, since you’d be angled one way or another. Using the highest number, 37-knot gusts, the indirect crosswind came to about 28.3 knots at JFK. That number is well within the 737-900’s capabilities, as long as the runway is dry and in good condition.

However, Mom and my sister Barbara were coming from Indianapolis, a much shorter distance. Their chariot was an Embraer 175. The maximum crosswind of this aircraft is about 7 or 8 knots less, putting them much closer to their limitation. With the forecast calling for continued high winds throughout the night, the airline canceled that flight.

And here I was, heading to Bush Intercontinental, for a flight I knew would be delayed, but on an aircraft I knew could land there.

Long story shortened, we all made it. Mom and Barbara caught a different flight, and I was the last one in, arriving around 1:00 a.m.

Mom won’t be deterred, so we got up early enough to walk Central Park and experience the famous Russian Tea Room, one of Mom’s favorite places. The rest of the weekend included seeing Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway—in Yiddish; dinner at the exclusive Patsy’s Italian Restaurant (where Frank Sinatra had his own spot), and we even scored one of the five tables in the Sinatra Room; and lunch at the top of the World Trade Center, the impetus for this trip.

Mom was determined to take part in the victory of being American, rising from the ashes, no matter which way the wind blows.

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com