December 29, 2020 Alternate Endings

The Liberty Gazette

December 29, 2020

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Linda: We’re almost there. We’re nearing the light at the end of the 2020 tunnel that no one, even with 20/20 vision, could have seen coming (well, except Fauci, Gates, China, you know). Good things have continued to happen for many, but we must not forget the deep pain and grief of others. 

Considering the crazy year, we thought we’d offer some ideas for alternate endings and encourage you to think of your own: write it down, post it on social media, share it with a friend, or stick it on the fridge. You deserve it. You deserve to dream of better. Here are ours. 

Christmas break, camping out in Northern Finland. That’s my alternate ending to 2020. Fly to Helsinki, and from there to Ivalo. Several airlines go there: Finnair, Air France, Nordic Regional, Japan Airlines, Qatar Airways, Lufthansa. I’ll pick either Finnair or Lufthansa. Finnair because it’s the local, and you should (almost) always fly the local. For instance, in Cambodia, we chose Cambodian Air, not because it’s luxurious, but because that airline’s home is where we were going. Lots of unseen benefits in doing that. Usually of the political kind. Lufthansa is a superb airline, so they are never off the list. 

At the Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort, we have the choice of snow igloo, wood chalet, or an igloo made of thermal glass and steel. I’ll take glass. Think luxury here. Cold outside, but unbelievable views of Northern Lights from a snuggly warm inside. 

The resort boasts celebrity treatment with world-class service, surrounded by nature. It’s in the Saariselkä Fell region of Finnish Lapland. If you’re inclined to tell anyone where you are, there’s free WiFi, but in my alternate ending, I’ll keep that a secret to share later.

The restaurants serve Laplandic specialties such as reindeer and char-grilled salmon, but we’ll request the vegan options in advance. 

There’s a relaxation room with an open fireplace, and a nearby ice hole, in case we need to cool off.

Husky and reindeer safaris can be arranged, and we can go snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, rent Nordic walking sticks and snowshoes.

Mike: Not that I wouldn’t enjoy spending time in an igloo—I’ve built them while snow camping in the Sierra Nevada—but I’m thinking of a warmer climate. Say, the middle of the Indian Ocean. The Maldives. This country has about 1,200 coral islands on which to get lost. And they are all accessible by seaplane. 

Not far from the equator, and surrounded by so much water, the year-round temperatures rarely vary from the mid-eighties. We’d airline into Male, the capital, and from there, take one of the 50 DeHavilland Twin Otters on floats to the Conrad Resort on Rangali Island and stay in one of their underwater villas. 

I’m not sure who would think they were in an aquarium, the fish or us. But it’s a unique year-end destination, a long way from the other parts of this crazy world. 

We’re looking forward to a better year!

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com

December 22, 2020 Love is in the Air

The Liberty Gazette

December 22, 2020

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Linda: Rachel knew as a teen that she would be a pilot. She began flying lessons in Santa Paula, California, and after becoming a private pilot with an instrument rating, she began working toward a commercial certificate. One day, she drove out to the Camarillo airport to fly a different airplane, a Piper Arrow. And this was her lucky day. 

With an instructor, she was flying instrument approaches into Camarillo, followed by a few turns in the traffic pattern for touch-and-go’s. Since this airport has an air traffic control tower, pilots must radio the tower before entering their airspace. That rule put Rachel in direct contact with Tyler, a dashing young controller still in training, just a year out of the U.S. Air Force. 

Being the only single guy working in the tower, Tyler was the target of many attempts to be “fixed up” with lovely ladies. “I was their entertainment,” he laughs about his co-workers.

On that day, while Rachel mastered the Arrow, every time she radioed the tower, they teased Tyler, “She’s flirting with you, you know.” 

But Rachel protests the allegation with a great sense of humor. “Honestly, I was trying to get a clearance to land! I wasn’t even thinking about guys!”

Mike: However, they needled Tyler, urging him to invite her up for a tour. “I told them no, that was too forward,” he explains. That’s when good ol’ Dave took matters into his own hands, determined to help a buddy out. 

As Rachel taxied back to the ramp, Dave pressed the mic button and invited her up. In most circumstances, a controller giving a pilot the phone number to call the tower is an indication that the pilot has done something wrong. But in this case, giving her the number would enable her to call to get through the security gate. 

After parking the plane, she drove over to the tower and called. It was Tyler who picked up the phone and graciously let her in. 

“They gave me a tour, and everyone was professional and courteous,” Rachel says. “I thanked Tyler for his service to our country, and I thanked all the controllers for showing me the inside of the tower.”

That would have been all there was, but after the tour, Rachel hopped in the fuel truck with her friend Brittany, whose job was to drive it and fuel airplanes. Through the airport’s private frequency, the guys invited them back after quitting time to play basketball at the base of tower. 

Whether Rachel offered her phone number or Tyler asked for it depends on who you ask. But they ended up on a date that night. “We went to Universal Studios,” she says, “and our date lasted twelve hours. I never laughed so much for so long, and that’s what won me over about him.”

Today, Rachel is a first officer with a regional airline, Tyler is keeping flights in order from Houston’s approach control facilities, and there is a beautiful wedding on the horizon. 

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com

December 15, 2020 Astronomical Corned Beef

The Liberty Gazette

December 15, 2020

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Linda: When astronaut Wally Schirra walked into Wolfie’s Restaurant and Sandwich Shop in Cocoa Beach, Florida and bought an extra corned beef on rye, he probably never thought it would be famous. Or infamous. Or that a replica would be made for a museum. After all, it was just a practical joke. He saved the savory meal for two days and then handed it to fellow spaceman John Young just in time for Young’s first launch later that day. 

That was March 23, 1965, when Young, his smuggled sandwich hidden in his spacesuit, blasted off aboard Gemini 3 with his Command Pilot, Gus Grissom. Once they reached cruise altitude, which is way up there, Young pulled out the sandwich. The conversation went like this: 

Astronaut John Young

Grissom: “What is it?”

Young: “Corn beef sandwich.”

Grissom: “Where did that come from?”

Young: “I brought it with me. Let’s see how it tastes. Smells, doesn’t it?”

Grissom: “Yes, it’s breaking up. I’m going to stick it in my pocket.”

Young: “Is it?”

Young: “It was a thought, anyways.”

Grissom: “Yep.”

Young: “Not a very good one.”

Grissom: “Pretty good, though, if it would just hold together.”

Young: “Want some chicken leg?”

Unfortunately for the crew, the audio recording of that exchange eventually made its way to Congress, where critters live, and a couple of them nearly blew their head gaskets because they had arranged for the astronauts to test certain foods. It seems there was some heated speech about wasting taxpayer money because the critters assumed after hearing that recording that the two astronauts ate none of the compact and “safe” food assigned to them for testing. 

There’s a valid point that great care must be taken when considering food in a space capsule in zero gravity. You wouldn’t want crumbs getting into the equipment or instruments, and there could be some concern about tiny floating particles being inhaled. Sandwiches aren’t the best candidate for a launched lunch. But the space travelers didn’t actually skip their duty to reconstitute dehydrated test food with a water gun. I’m sure that was loads of fun. 

You know how things can go when politicians see a chance for media attention. The encapsulated incident was blown out of proportion when the House Appropriations Committee met to discuss the threat of “costing the country millions of dollars,” and one member whined that it was “disgusting.” Okay, two-day-old corned beef, I might agree. But I don’t think I’d have gone to such extremes. I suppose NASA admins felt political pressure to make Young the first space crew member to receive a reprimand. 

The rest of the story is better, though. John Young turned out to be NASA’s longest-serving astronaut, logging 865 hours in space and a walk on the Moon. And Commander Grissom wasn’t mad. For him, the great sandwich caper was the highlight of the flight. So great, in fact, that at the Grissom Memorial Museum in Mitchell, Indiana, you’ll find a replica of the sandwich preserved and encased.

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com  

Replica of the famous corned beef sandwich

December 8, 2020 Hangar Time

The Liberty Gazette

December 8, 2020

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Mike: Here we are, that time of year again when the Elyminator must go to Dr. Mechanic for an annual check-up. It’s not that different from a human one, really. Our mechanic happens to be male, but not all are. He will check the “heart,” being the compression in the cylinders, like a blood pressure check. He’ll check all the “internal organs,” too, and even the hind-end, although probably not to the extent of a colonoscopy, thank goodness.

This is also the time of year when ceilings often are low, as cold fronts move in, and we wait on the ground for low visibility or high winds, or both, to pass on. Just before the weather hit over Thanksgiving, we landed the Elyminator at the Pearland Regional Airport and handed the keys over to the doc. He and his assistants remove the cowling to unveil the engine and poke around at all the vital parts. Sometimes things like o-rings and other seals need to be replaced. Sometimes there are surprises, like when you take your car to the dealer for scheduled maintenance and they find another problem to address. Except this airplane stuff isn’t like the reputation the auto repair or dealership businesses have. Generally, most aircraft mechanics are straight-up honest and are happy to let their customers work alongside them. This allows the customer to learn more about his or her airplane, and it also reduces the bill. We’ve been fortunate to have the best mechanics around. 

Linda: Meanwhile, here we are with an empty hangar. No time like this for cleaning and reorganizing. We went to work pulling cartons of things from the east wall. Out came the brooms, buckets, sponges, and mops. I especially like operating the five-horsepower shop vac, so the floor is once again clean enough to eat off. After picking up a couple of gallons of paint for the walls, we trapsed to a hardware store and put in the order for industrial shelving. Once delivered, all those items went into new bins, and viola! Organization began! Tools back there where the long workbench is. Cleaning supplies over here. Aviation reading material and DVDs in that spot. Extra parts in the west wing.  

Then, once we have the airplane back, we’ll anxiously await enjoyable winter flying weather, although, governments’ ridiculous reactions to this global flu virus ruined our travel plans this year (not to mention devastating businesses and economies). From our springtime trip to Rome and Sicily via airline, to a summer flight to Alaska in our own plane, to igloo camping in Northern Finland, every trip we scheduled has been displaced. But in a couple of weeks we will be able to claim victory in this hangar overhaul project, and the Elyminator will be sitting pretty—when it isn’t zooming us off somewhere. Someday, we hope the world will find its right mind again. Meanwhile, our fly-and-bike trips have given us fantastic new adventures, and we’ll keep finding ways to deal with irrationalities until the world gets a grip. 

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com 

December 1, 2020 Let's Go There

The Liberty Gazette

December 1, 2020

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Linda: Sometimes flying isn’t about seeing the most celebrated sight or the excitement in planning for specific experiences. Sometimes it’s best when we’re open to unknown adventure that lies ahead and in finding joy in simple things–just getting away from everyday life. 

We’ve especially looked forward to weekends this past month as breaks in Mike’s grueling work schedule. It seems we’ve developed a kind of mantra: In the air, doesn’t matter where, let’s go there. With that in mind, we’ve been keeping the bikes in the back of the airplane so that wherever we end up, we can extend the feeling of freedom cycling around, exploring a new town. Such was the case when we picked Texarkana. 

Mike: Wisps of clouds dotting the sky seemed to sweep by, and multiple shades of green landscape slipped under our wings as the Elyminator mightily trekked northward. The airwaves filled with the chatter of pilots announcing their position in the traffic patterns of many airports that share the same frequency. One pilot was taking off from Livingston’s airport while another was landing at Palestine. Each moment was a breath of fresh air that distanced me from the weariness of intensely focused work. 

Linda: Texarkana’s airport is conveniently close to town, on the Arkansas side. The friendly staff at TAC Air filled our tanks and offered to help us unload, but we’ve got this routine down pat. 

As Nick finished fueling the plane, I asked him about parks. What was the closest? Which was the best? While Spring Lake Park received a unanimous vote for best park, echoed by Michael and Kristina at the front desk, the Ed Worrell Memorial Park would be much closer, only about a ten-minute ride. We opted for the latter, only because of shortened daylight time. 

Mike: Some cities lack bike lanes or wide shoulders, so we study the routes from airport to town as part of our preflight exercises. Texarkana has a few busy streets, but after passing the best campaign sign ever (“Jesus–2020”), it didn’t take long to get to Worrell Memorial Park, which has a paved bike trail. It isn’t the most picturesque area, but the park served the purpose, and there were a couple lovely stretches. The autumn colors were mostly shades of brown. Piles of leaves surrounded bare trees, but the grass was green, and there were some pine trees, too. 

The trail followed a drainage ditch that meandered between neighborhoods. As we sat to eat, we laughed at the thought of traveling two hundred and twenty miles to sit on a rickety old wood bench with no table–because the park’s two picnic tables were already taken. But the munchies we brought still tasted great, we like each other’s company, and the journey itself is what draws us. 

Why fly two hours in the shortest daylight season of the year, just to bike for half an hour, find a picnic spot, and bike back for another two-hour flight? Adventure! Freedom, we say!

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com