July 27, 2021 Uptown Funk

The Liberty Gazette

July 27, 2021

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Linda: We didn’t figure on writing about the recent private rocket trips – Sir Richard Branson in his SpaceShipTwo or Jeff Bezos in New Shepard. After all, the news was saturated with the incredibly wonderful story of Wally Funk. She stole the show. What could we add? 

But after receiving a few messages, we realized we could tell a story you won’t find in any other media. 

It started when Liberty native Benetta Rusk sent me a note. “Wally Funk was one of my instructors! She helped me on my instrument rating. I am so excited for her!” Benetta was flying out of the Addison airport, working on her instrument rating in 1993. A newcomer to the Dallas area, Wally came to a Ninety-Nines meeting, and that’s where they met. Benetta’s friend, Bill, a captain at Northwest Airlines, helped her study for her instrument exams, and she flew with Wally.

“We flew a Cessna 172, and because Wally had been an NTSB inspector, she drilled in safety. I liked flying with her. She was always calm and easy to understand and explained things very well. Plus, her multi-purpose ‘Wally stick’ was a must for preflight!” 

Wally Funk, Benetta Rusk, and Captain Bill, 
after Benetta passed her instrument checkride.

Wally stick? 

“Yes! She had measurements marked on it and used it to check fuel tanks – she had seen too many accidents from running out of fuel – and to tap propeller blades to check for cracks, and on several other areas of the plane during preflight inspection. I sure hope I still have my Wally stick!”

Benetta admires Wally’s contagious enthusiasm and that she is such a cheerleader for women in aviation. “Having her as my flight instructor and cheerleader, and Bill quizzing me constantly on possible oral questions, I was so focused.”

The memories kept pouring out. “My friend Kimberley and I went with her to Killeen to a collegiate flying competition. She signed us up to be line judges for the spot landing contest, and we helped her at the preflight inspection station where students had to identify all the things that would cause an airplane to fail a preflight. It was a fun day.”

Wally Funk, age 8.
Courtesy
Ninety-Nines.org.

Then Mom messaged me all excited. “Just started to read about Bezos and his edge-of-space trip. Shame we couldn’t leave him up there. But then I read that Mary Wallace Funk, aviation pioneer, was on the trip too! OMG, LINDA, I knew her when she was three years old!”

Mom grew up in Mattoon, Illinois, and Wally Funk’s grandmother lived there too. Wally’s mother, Virginia Funk, came to visit several times, with the kids in tow.

“My mother would always go to see her when she came with her son and little girl. You don't forget a girl named Mary Wallace, and that’s what they called her. She had a small Indian blanket that she would not let go of. She was cute and shy. If you see her again, tell her your grandmothers were friends.” 

Wally overcame shyness. How grand that she finally went up in a rocket. She trained for it decades ago and NASA turned her down. She deserves this. 

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com

July 20, 2021 Get a Move On

The Liberty Gazette

July 20, 2021

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Mike: Let’s get a move on. Since the onset of the most recent biological warfare, we haven’t been grounded by the shutdowns across the country, but we have had to pivot on travel plans. Like many folks, we became more creative and spent more time outdoors. Things are slowly opening up, yet perhaps not at an agreeable pace. 

Over the past fifteen months, our bikes have resided in the back of our airplane. With picnic lunches packed, we’ve taken off to find adventures. We’ve chronicled some of those jaunts, showing that it really didn’t matter that much where we were going, only that we were indeed going. 

To date, we’ve flown and biked around some interesting places which we might not otherwise have visited, since our trips usually cross several states. For instance, in San Antonio on the Mission Reach trail, riding right up to the front steps of the Alamo. We cycled along the top of the dam in Waco. In Texarkana, we found a small trail that drifted along a drainage culvert to a park bench under a couple of trees. At a beautiful little park just south of Lafayette, Louisiana’s downtown district, we gobbled sandwiches and guzzled lemonade. We enjoyed a similar treat in Ada, Oklahoma along the edges of a gorgeous lake. And, we headed down the coast to Mustang Beach where we walked barefoot, collecting sand between our toes as we dipped them in the waters of the gulf.  One of my favorite trips was to the hilltop at Lockhart State Park where we munched on crackers and cucumbers. 

I love hiking, but bikes offered us a quicker means to get out into the country from the airport. Besides, many of the paths are concrete which wreaks havoc on my shins, making biking a more body-friendly choice. On corporate trips to Salt Lake City over the winter, I climbed mountains both in heavy snow and later in brilliant sunshine. All of this gave my lungs a good workout and filled them with wonderfully freeing fresh air. 

We have also spent more time practicing instrument approaches. That’s something that many pilots have a tendency to put off when there are interesting places to go. Staying proficient is vital for instrument flying.

When we are not wandering the country’s airwaves hither and yon, we’ve thoroughly enjoyed virtual international travel with WithLocals.com. One host showed us how to Greek dance. With another learned host, an archeologist, we studied Pompei’s ruins from the awesomely frightful volcanic eruption at Mount Vesuvius in the year 79 A.D. We took a cooking class in Italy and were introduced to Krav Maga from Israel. We learned about Greek mythology and Venetian history, rode along with a German veterinarian who took us sight-seeing in Berlin, and these things only whetted our appetite for actually being there. 

As our country and the world slowly move out of this dark, oppressive period, we can only hope that things will return to normal. The real normal. 

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com

July 13, 2021 How to be an Emmy Winner

The Liberty Gazette

July 31, 2021

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Linda: Let’s continue with last week’s introduction to Kara and Adam White and their aviation documentary company, Hemlock Films, through which they bring history to life in astounding cinematography. 

From the Imagery page of HemlockFilms.com

Well-told stories are mighty, and as Kara says, “When creating, we want the audience to feel something. If we’re not evoking emotion, we’re failing. I know the editing is done when I’m crying.” That is, when she can feel the story’s power. But with great power comes an awesome responsibility. Everything they write is sent to historians to fact-check.

“We want do it right, and to tell stories that haven’t been told. That there were other women pilots besides Amelia. That all of these women are amazing. Mostly, we’re honoring veterans and women who did something courageous. We’re keeping our history alive — the entire world shall know about them. If just one person is affected, then it’s worth all these years of work.”

Affected by airplanes? Not quite. 

On scene with Adam and Kara White, Hemlock Films

“People may think we’re talking about airplanes, but we’re not. We’re talking about the people around them. The airplanes are wood, metal, fabric. The people are people. They aren’t black and white photos. They are real people. It’s their stories we tell.”

I wondered if Kara could pick a favorite. She reflected on an interview in the film, “Rise Above: WASP,” that has deep meaning for her. 

“It’s the part where Alyse Rohrer recalls her family’s reaction to her choice to join the Air Corps. She says, ‘My mother was very unhappy when I started taking lessons. She said, Dear, tumbling around in an airplane, in pants, the way a man does, is just not lady-like, and I said, Too bad.’ I love that part. It sums up their spirit and the whole theme of the movie about not letting anyone discourage you.”

But there’s more about “Rise Above: WASP” that tops the list for Kara. “We worked on it for years. I put everything into it. I knew it was a huge responsibility to tell the WASP story. No one had told it the way we were, the whole point being educational, for children. The film has the ability to affect young girls everywhere, so it holds a very special place in my heart.”

She also loves the feedback she gets from “Beyond the Powder,” another high-quality production with a strong message. “I’ve learned that it has caused some women to learn to fly. That gives me so much joy to know that a project I’ve put my whole self into has changed the course of someone’s life, given them a new horizon.” PBS has continually renewed their contract and has been airing “Beyond the Powder” nationally for six years and counting.

The latest: “Why I Fly,” (whyiflyseries.com) on the web and social media. In this series, they are posting two- to three-minute clips of people from all parts of the aviation the industry, not just pilots. 

To be astounded by the many other award-winning creations by Hemlock Films, you simply must visit hemlockfilms.com. When you watch any of their movies, you’ll notice something satisfying in your soul. 

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com

July 6, 2021 Grandfather is to blame

The Liberty Gazette

July 6, 2021

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Linda: Not often do I sit down and chat with multiple Emmy Award winning director/producers. Through their company, Hemlock Films, Kara White and her husband, Adam, produce the most stunning aviation documentaries.

I first met them on scene at an Air Race Classic race several years ago while they were filming their documentary, “Beyond the Powder,” about the history of the race. Theirs is a story as sweet as the movies they make. 

Kara graduated from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh with a degree in video production and went to work for HBO and A&E in New York City. After a few years’ experience under her belt, she decided it was time to return home to northeast Ohio. While job hunting, she came across Adam’s website. 

Aviation documentaries? You can do that? she wondered. 

Let me step back for a moment and tell you that growing up, her best friend was her grandfather. “My grandfather is to blame for everything,” she grins. “He taped movies on VHS, and we used to watch Turner Classic Movies together all the time. His name was Richard Moore, and he liked ‘Band of Brothers,’ not only because it’s a great story, but there’s also a guy named Moore in it.”

So, when she had this assignment in college to interview someone not of her generation, she naturally chose her grandfather. “What shall we talk about?” he asked. Anything would have been fine with Kara, but he had a perfect suggestion. “How about the war?”

“Grandpa had been a tail gunner on a B-24 in the Pacific during World War Two,” Kara explained. “I was 18, and it was my first documentary. He died in 2006, and I am so glad I have all those stories. He had all the letters he had written to my grandmother. Their whole courtship. It was so beautiful, I made it into a book, “My Very Dearest Anna.” I fell in love with his scrapbook and then with airplanes.” 

Fast-forward, now she had discovered this niche film company. Could there be a more perfect job than this, with Hemlock Films? She contacted Adam, and they met for an interview. Everything went so well, that the next day they went on their first date — he took her flying in a Cessna 172. It was love at first flight.

Adam’s degree is in motion picture production from Wright State University’s prestigious film program. Together, their passion for aviation, history, and the art of storytelling drives them to make movies that are profound. While most folks can tell if a movie is or isn’t good, knowing how to make it magnificent is a gift. How to capture an image technically is one thing, but how to tell a story is another. Kara is a huge part of the reason Hemlock Films produces the kind of movies that cuddle up to your heart, open your mind, and settle well in your soul.

Come back next week to find out what it means to tell stories that change lives.

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com

June 29, 2021 Earthrounders

The Liberty Gazette

June 29, 2021

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Mike: Ed Yost was adrift in the middle of the ocean. His craft rocked from side to side as it floated up and down with each swell. He had released his balloon after coming down in the water. Now, he just had to wait to be rescued with nothing but his thoughts to keep him company.  

It was 1976, and it was his grandest attempt yet. He had tried to be the first person to sail a balloon across the Atlantic. Even though he had set 13 world records, he did not make it to Europe. The wind blew his craft too far south and left him stranded. But fourteen years earlier, he and fellow balloonist Don Piccard had piloted the first balloon across the English Channel.

Chronicled in the February 1977 issue of National Geographic, he recounted how search and rescue pilots found him and dispatched a boat to pick him up. The light-hearted air crew dropped him some supplies along with something to read while he waited—the novel, Jaws.

While Ed never did succeed in ballooning across the Atlantic, he designed the first one that did, the Double Eagle II. Two years after Ed’s attempt, a farmer in France watched as a large silver-looking bag settle into the middle of his barley field. The bag was eleven stories tall until it collapsed. In the balloon’s gondola, Maxie Anderson, Ben Abruzzo, and Larry Newman made history having piloted the craft all the way from Maine. Later, Maxie Anderson and Ben Abruzzo, along with two other crew members, flew another of Ed’s creations, the Double Eagle V, across the Pacific Ocean non-stop from Japan to Oregon, in just four days.

Eighteen years later, Bertrand Piccard, cousin to Don Piccard, Ed’s old flying bud, and Brian Jones circumnavigated the globe in the Breitling Orbiter 3, a Rozière balloon, designed to use both heated air and helium gas. They traveled 25,360 miles in just short of 20 days. Not bad for letting the wind push and steer them. 

The Breitling crew had an additional hurdle staying clear of China’s airspace which didn’t let any foreign aircraft fly over their country then. Piccard and Jones picked different altitudes so the direction of the wind would blow them around the country. 

This summer, British balloonists Deborah Day and Mike Scholes will use another Rozière balloon in their Transatlantic attempt. Deborah plans to be the first woman to pilot a balloon across the Atlantic and Mike wants to be the first legally blind person to do so. 

Recently, Shinji Maeda, from Japan, now living in Seattle, flew his Bonanza solo around the world. He was the first a one-eyed pilot to claim this accomplishment. His was a great personal victory that took a lot of planning, good judgment, and the support of many people. His message to those struggling with a disability: “Nothing is impossible.”

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com