July 5, 2022 Meeting Your Room at the Airport

The Liberty Gazette

July 5, 2022

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Imagine flying yourself on a lovely journey from here to Alaska. You check the weather, file a flight plan, pre-flight the airplane, hop in, and take off. Of course, you have your passport, radio license (necessary for international flight), and the little sticker on your airplane with a “22” for the current year, which you received when you submitted the application and payment for flying outside the U.S. And, you will have already made all of your overnight accommodations along the way, because if you’re not airlining, it will probably take you more than a day to get there from here. You’ve already checked ahead for the best places to stop for fuel and submitted your border crossing papers because you will want to fly over Canadian airspace (since we’re imagining, let’s imagine a better person than Trudeau is leading Canada, and that you will actually enjoy this part). The other option, over 500 miles over icy water along the coast of British Columbia, is a gamble because the weather closes in quickly, and it happens fairly often. So, for a less stressful flight, you plan on entering Canada. 

And now, here you are, launching into the wild blue yonder, looking forward to the flight and the destination. Denali State Park, perhaps a nautical excursion such as whale-watching or glacier-viewing. Puffins. Don’t forget to see Puffins. If you eat salmon, be sure to book one of the boat rides that serves a fresh catch. 

But have you considered how you will get around once you’ve landed? If you’re not going to hop around by air and just catching a ride to your room for the night, you could choose a rental car or an RV. And that’s where this group comes in, fly2rv.com. Jim Schivley, a pilot from Florida, got to thinking about this business idea when a trip he planned all went well, except for the pick-up and return of the RV he rented. That part didn’t go well at all. Find a need. Fill it. 

Thanks to Jim, you can fly to Alaska (or somewhere else) and have an RV waiting for you on the ramp, someone to help you unload your airplane and load it all in the RV and send you happily on your way. You could drive off into the midnight sun in a Voyager 32-foot “Bunkhouse,” which sleeps eight, for only $235 a night. With that, you could mosey on up to North Pole, Nome, or Fairbanks, where there’s a great ice museum. 

Lest you think this is only for those with personal wings, we should add that this service is also available to anyone flying commercially. They serve over 40 locations now, and the list is growing. Maybe you want to visit beautiful Idaho Falls. You’d have plenty of RVs to choose from, some for under $200 a night. When your commercial flight lands, you go straight to your waiting RV. And who knows, you might run into long-time, avid RV’ers, Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife. 

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com