May 19, 2020 Margaret

The Liberty Gazette

May 19, 2020

Ely Air Lines
By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Linda: As Mike came in from the mailbox, he handed me the Indiana Historical Society’s bi-monthly magazine, INPerspective, saying, “Margaret Ringenberg is on the cover.”

Margaret Ringenberg, circa 1942

My heart jumped when I saw her photo gracing the cover of the May/June issue. It’s s a beautiful close-up of young Margaret next to a Piper J-3 Cub, her right hand resting on cylinder number four, the left rear of the four-cylinder engine. The cylinders partially stick out of the cowling, as this was the design in those days, where the exhaust stack protruded from the engine up front. The photo is circa 1942. Margaret was from Fort Wayne, Indiana.

On June 21, 2008, I was in Bozeman, Montana preparing for the start of my first Air Race Classic, the annual 2,400 nautical mile, all-woman, cross-country air race that would begin a few days later. The city of Bozeman made a big fuss over us all, with the mayor coming to a barbeque held in our honor. That afternoon, I sat down at a picnic table next to Margaret. She had won the Air Race Classic several times and competed in many other air races, including an around-the-world air race. She was also a WASP (Women’s Air Force Service Pilot). Hers was a fabulous story to hear, and I soaked up every minute I could get with her.

I had such a great experience that year, that I came back to race it three more times. Margaret was a big part of that inspiration for me, to be part of something women like her were part of.

She was an amazing lady, an Indiana farm girl who wanted to learn to fly when women weren’t supposed to do that. She was humble and kind, the grown-up eight-year-old who got her first ride with a barnstormer and never let go of her dream. What I loved most was watching how the men crowded around her. It reminded me in a way of a bunch of high school boys slobbering over a cheerleader, but in a much different, more respectable realm. The men at our picnic table were silent as Margaret told stories, like the time she was flying a heavily damaged WWII aircraft and the engine blew. She was supposed to bail out, using her parachute. But she kept control of the airplane and landed it instead. Margaret was full of life, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to have met her.

Thirty-seven days later, on July 28, 2008, the aviatrix extraordinaire died in her sleep. She was 87. She was in Oshkosh to be honored at the annual mega-aviation convention, AirVenture, for her years of service and her contributions to general aviation, to women, and to America as a WASP during WWII.

Over the years, I’ve thought many times of all that Margaret gave to the world, and to me. It’s been a nice treat to see her again, on the cover of a Hoosier history magazine.

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com

May 12, 2020 Common Sense

The Liberty Gazette

May 12, 2020

Ely Air Lines
By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Linda: Browsing the online bookstore Zubal Books as I occasionally do, I came across a rare opportunity to purchase a copy of Thomas Paine’s anonymously published “Common Sense,” described as: “addressed to the Inhabitants of America, On the following interesting subjects. I. Of the Origin and Design of Government in general, with concise Remarks on the English Constitution. II. Of Monarchy and Hereditary Succession. III. Thoughts on the present state of American Affairs. IV. Of the present Ability of America; with some miscellaneous Reflections.”

This is a scarce Norwich printing from 1776. It’s 56 pages, and the condition is described as general toning with age staining throughout, a light damp stain near the center of title leaf and the verso has ink signatures of two previous owners, one modern and the other in an old hand. The book is untrimmed and string-tied in self-wrappers.

What’s that got to do with aviation? Probably nothing, but it got me thinking how badly this country needs some common sense. In every corner of the nation. The opinions I express here are mine alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Liberty Gazette, its owner, staff, advertisers, or other columnists. Whether a person agrees or disagrees with me is immaterial to me on this matter.

I’m willing to forgive the mistakes that come from not knowing, but it’s time we get back to life. It’s time we accept that with life comes death. Our economy is dying and could ruin more lives than the virus. We must be responsible and accept the risks that we cannot escape, because “escape” is a damaging hallucination. People at high risk know they are at high risk and can take precautions. Low risk people must get back to work, open the shops and carry the burden of getting our country’s economic health back. The longer we cower, the longer it will take us to stand up straight, and the longer we will be crippled.

Before all this started, we had dropped off the Elyminator at an avionics shop for some significant upgrades. With new, state-of-the-art navigation equipment, we’d bring our old 1979 Grumman Cheetah into today’s world with amazing digital displays containing every bit of available information: terrain, obstacles, airports, waypoints, routes, departures, arrivals, approaches, runways, traffic patterns, weather, traffic in the air, radio frequencies, and so much more at our fingertips.

Two months later, we picked up the airplane and flew it back home and started the month of May the right way—flying. Despite having no destination because nothing was open yet, we practiced using our shiny new instruments, flew approaches to airports in Liberty, Jefferson, and Chambers counties and said a word of “Thanks” for the freedom to fly.

Time will judge how we as a country reacted to the pandemic. Hindsight will reveal our measure of rationality, prudence, and wisdom. Meanwhile, despite layoffs in the aviation industry, we’re grateful to have wings of our own, and, as we see it, common sense.

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com

May 5, 2020 Air Sinai

The Liberty Gazette

May 5, 2020

Ely Air Lines
By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Jews and Arabs have been at odds with each other for millennia, since the time of their ancestors, Isaac and Ishmael. So, in 1979, the peace treaty opening diplomatic relations between Israel and Egypt was something of a miracle. Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Still, there has always been tension between the Jewish and Arab nations. Egypt was the first to recognize Israel as a State. Today, an estimated ten million Coptic Christians live in Egypt. That’s about ten percent of the country’s population. Coptic Christians trace their foundation to the apostle Saint Mark and are the largest Christian community in the Middle East. They even have their own pope.

As Christians are drawn to pilgrimages to Israel, the motherland of the faith, there were millions living right next door, but for centuries unable to visit. The peace treaty was a step toward thawing relations. The hope was that times had changed, and as part of the treaty, within three years of the signing, airlines would offer civilian routes for people to travel to and from Cairo and Tel Aviv. The United States was the overseer of the treaty and flying wasn’t just faster than camel-back. The requirement for direct flights to be maintained by and between Israel and Egypt would encourage even those with opposing worldviews to work toward peace. While that’s not likely to happen globally or forever, what the treaty did was create easier access for those who are motivated to take advantage of the open doors for positive change.

While much of the rest of the Arab world shunned Egypt, President Sadat pushed forward, and Egyptian Christians, missionaries, and business people bought airline tickets and felt the depth of this historic change in the world to their very core.

An Egyptian entrepreneur founded Nefertiti Airlines, and Israel’s national carrier, El Al, offered the flights from their side. But the entrepreneur also had bus lines, and apparently wanted to get out of the aviation business. His country would have to fill the gap and provide the transportation agreed to.

Hatred toward Israel among the general Egyptian population made the government reluctant to fly their EgyptAir airline to Tel Aviv. At least publicly. Sadat was assassinated by his own men in 1981. Out of fear, they created Air Sinai in 1982. The national carrier owned and operated the planes and employed the crews, but the only place one could find evidence of EgyptAir’s presence that fulfilled the country’s obligation to the treaty was on paper. The fleet of aircraft was painted white, with no logos, no names. Booking a flight was a challenge, too. Passengers had to go through travel agents, and once in the airport, there were no signs for the gates.

Relations are still tense, especially since 2012, with the threat of “Arab Spring,” but seem to be warming. Air Sinai is the only airline flying the routes now, in rather ghostly-looking airplanes.

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com