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. 

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