February 21, 2023 Presidents' Day

The Liberty Gazette

February 21, 2023

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Who did you reflect on yesterday for Presidents’ Day? We thought of Barry Goldwater, who would have been an infinitely better choice than Johnson. 

Barry loved exploring the rugged landscape of his hometown. He was born in Phoenix before Arizona was a state. On advice from his high school principal, his parents sent him to Staunton Military Academy in Virginia to learn discipline. But when his father died suddenly of a heart attack, his military career was thwarted, and he left college to work at his family’s Goldwater’s Department Store, starting as a clerk for $15 a week.

He grew with the business, flew his own plane, and always carried a camera for the “wish-you-could-see-this” photos. Eventually, he turned his attention to community affairs, winning a seat on the Phoenix City Council. (Check it out, Tommy Brents: today, Liberty City Council, tomorrow Texas House – because Lord knows we need a decent state representative too – after that, sky’s the limit!)

When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Barry was a reserve first lieutenant in the Army with more than 200 hours logged. He couldn’t fly combat due to poor vision, but he served in the Air Transport Command and in the Burma-India theater, ferrying aircraft over the Himalayan Mountains in treacherous weather, over hostile terrain. Flying the hump (of Burma) was not for the faint of heart. When the P-47 was new, he flew it across the cold Atlantic to the UK, a risky mission due to the unknown of the aircraft at that time.

After WWII, he helped form the Arizona National Guard and joined the Air Force Reserve. Besides personal sacrifices and contributions to our country, he cared about humanity. As senator, he preached individualism, the sanctity of private property, anticommunism, and the dangers of centralized power. He listened to real, hard-working, honest Americans and helped present their views on limited government, welfare, and defense. In a nutshell, his motto was: “Live Free or Die.” He thought, “a guy running for office who says exactly what he really thinks would astound a lot of people.” But Lyndon Johnson was well-known for his hefty bag of dirty political tricks and used them prolifically. 

The Heritage Foundation called Barry Goldwater “the most consequential loser in American politics.” If he had been elected President in 1964, here are two things they say would have likely happened: 

First, there would be no “Great Society.” Barry believed in the Constitution and citizens helping each other – no need for government intervention.

Second, we’d have had nowhere near the death toll in the Vietnam War. He did not believe we should enter a ground war in Vietnam. 

Was he perfect? Of course not. While serving as an alter boy at his (Methodist) church, he fired a miniature cannon at the steeple. But the state of Arizona saw fit to enshrine him into the Aviation Hall of Fame and name a few airport terminals after him, so this Presidents’ Day, we elected to talk about Barry Goldwater.

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com 

February 14, 2023 On a Dime

The Liberty Gazette

February 14, 2023

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Twenty-five years before Tesla and rocket builder Elon Musk was born, Swiss engineer Walter Otto Wyss designed a concept car called the Plainsman. It was the vision of his employer, Walter Beech, the brains behind the building of great airplanes: Beechcraft Bonanza, military trainers, such as the T34, and others. The force that made it happen was Walter’s wife, Olive Ann Beech, aerospace businesswoman extraordinaire. 

The Plainsman’s four-cylinder air-cooled rear-mounted Franklin (aircraft) engine drove a generator that powered four electric motors, one for each wheel. It had fully independent air suspension, and, as you would expect from an aircraft manufacturer, an aluminum body, so it weighed only 2,200 pounds. It was capable of reaching 160 miles per hour, could seat six, and get 30 miles to the gallon – in 1946.

This wasn’t the only diversion for the Beechcraft company. They built corn harvesting machines for International Harvester and even designed a house, the Dymaxion House, a monolithic dome, similar to a Hershey’s Kiss, or the Hillside Church (formerly Maranatha) in Mont Belvieu. But why? 

Mr. and Mrs. Beech began building airplanes in 1932, the dawn of the golden era of aviation. But after the boom came World War II, and life changed. Like other aircraft manufacturers, Beechcraft survived on military contracts, employing thousands of workers. VJ Day was a good thing, but with the lucrative contracts over, they had to let thousands of workers go. Olive Ann and her team had to take a hard look at their business model. What was the future of personal and commercial aviation? What would the market be for their airplanes? A friend once told me, “You know why we’re survivors? Because we can pivot on a dime.” That describes Walter and Olive Ann. By diversifying and remaining flexible to pivot, they weathered the hard times, positioning their company to be ready to build whatever would sell. 

The Plainsman concept car was ahead of its time; maybe ours too. Even though the engine was in the back, the car had a front grill, in case they wanted to move the engine to the front. Instead of door handles, there were buttons flush with the body. With the four-wheel electric drive, they didn’t need a differential, clutch, and transmission, which also meant no hump on the floor. It had cruise control and traction control. Plus, they tested it in a wind tunnel for aerodynamics. Of course they did. 

Airplane geeks will look at the silhouette and say, “Yes, I can see the aero-influence! Why look, there’s even an ADF radio antenna on the roof!” Car buffs will nod at the flavors of Chevy Fleetline, hints of Hudson, whispers of Mercury, winks of a ’49 Lincoln or shadows of an over-sized Renault Dauphine. 

Ever the wise businesswoman, Olive Ann called for the Plainsman and other projects to be shelved when the Cold War brought new government airplane-building contracts in the tens of millions of dollars, and they could feed more families as they re-grew their workforce. 

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com 

February 7, 2023 Stories to Tell

The Liberty Gazette

February 7, 2023

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Mike: Everyone has stories they like to tell, and I’ve got a few. I’ve spent a good many years wandering dirt roads, hiking trails, and flying over deserts getting a bird’s-eye view. One of my first flying jobs other than flight instructing was flying charter. One of the places I used to fly to on a regular basis was the Grand Canyon. I flew tourists on day trips out of Southern California. I’d drop them off at Grand Canyon National Park Airport. Then I’d catch a bus to the Maswik Lodge in the Grand Canyon village on the southern rim where a complimentary lunch for the pilots and tour bus drivers awaited.

Most of the time, I picked up my passengers at Burbank Airport and crossed over the ridge north of the San Fernando Valley, then over the Antelope Valley and the Mojave Desert. From there, I went east toward Peach Springs on the southwest corner of “the big ditch.”

Over the high desert, the views go on forever with visibility often exceeding 50 miles. Below, a blanket of broken hills, red cinder cones from long-extinct volcanoes, and the blue streak of Colorado River as it meandered through broken rock canyons and fertile flat farmland. That was before approaching the VOR at Peach Springs and the canyon. Then I heard oohs and aahs from the passengers as we continued traversing the pinion pine and scrub mesquite bush-covered southern rim. 

Once, while I awaited my passengers at what was then Martin Aviation at Hollywood-Burbank Airport, I sat watching, along with everyone else in the waiting area, the spectacle outside the window. Warner Brothers Studios’ Gulfstream was preparing for departure. Two limousines had pulled up alongside the corporate jet and out stepped Sylvester Stallone and his wife, Brigitte Nielsen. It looked as if she was a foot taller than him. Next, from the other limo, a band emerged. I think it was AC/DC but I don’t really know. They boarded the luxury jet, a little more wildly and enthusiastically jumping up the stairs.

As all this was happening in front of me, I was vaguely aware of low murmurs and conversation as someone walked up behind me. Bam! I was hit on the shoulder and a body careened over me, landing squarely in my lap. I sat dumbfounded as a clearly startled Ali MacGraw–the actress from the movie Love Story–lay in my arms staring up at me. She then burst out laughing. Aware of a looming presence over and behind me, I looked up into the eyes of her travel companion, a smirk etched on his face. He shook his head in disbelief. We helped Ms. MacGraw back to her feet and she apologized, still laughing. The couple crossed the lobby and proceeded through the doors. As they disappeared through the jet’s door, I could see she was still laughing.

Many pilots have conveyed many famous people, but not many can claim they had Ali MacGraw falling all over them. 

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com