October 17, 2023 Our Type of Club

The Liberty Gazette

October 17, 2023

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Mike: The heat is finally giving way to Fall breezes. With the cooler yet not-so-cold temps, people are emerging from their air-conditioned abodes and hitting the road—or, in our case, the airways. October in particular boasts a large number of fly-in events. Wings Over Houston, the Ranger Old School Fly-In and Campout in Ranger, Texas, and club outings, to name a few.

Affinity clubs are popular for car and motorcycle owners. Think MG and Mustang, Indian and Harley. It’s the same for airplane owners with groups such as the Cessna Pilots Association and Piper Owner Society. The manufacturer of our plane was Gulfstream-American, more often called Grumman American, the previous builder. The Elyminator’s model designation “AA-5A” comes from American Aircraft Company, the maker before them. The airplanes are simply known as Grummans. The national group that encompasses all these planes is the Grumman Owners and Pilots Association, or GOPA. It’s a networking organization where owners and pilots socialize, learn maintenance and safety tips, get specialized training, and share experiences that help promote, maintain, and preserve their Grumman. GOPA and its regional chapters host weekend fly-ins, flight clinics, and sometimes just meet at airport restaurants for some good ol’ hangar flying. 

This summer, because of the record-breaking heat, not too many activities were planned by Region 5, of which Texas is a part. We missed the national convention at Palm Springs in May, but this past weekend, with the first cool period signaling Fall, we topped the tanks, slid the canopy closed, and let the Texas landscape slide beneath our wings on our way to GOPA Region 5’s “Grumman Gang” gathering at Pecan Plantation Airpark near Granbury. We made new friends and connected with old ones while munching on burgers at picnic tables under a shady pavilion at the end of the runway.

I had a great conversation with a young man who had brought his two-seat fixer-upper. A new private pilot, he bought the low-priced airplane to use for building flight hours. We talked about his maintenance, his hopes for the future, and his awe of the new-to-him world aloft. The discussion took me back 50 years when I saw the world of aviation through inexperienced eyes. 

Another gentleman, an older fellow, had a similar flying background as mine. Both of us spent much of our early flying years in Southern California. This man gave flight instruction at Torrance airport, a neighbor to the airport at Long Beach, where I taught people to fly. He flew charter flights out of Van Nuys Airport, while I flew canceled checks and cargo out of Burbank only six miles east. We exchanged tales about aviation legends we had met, challenging island, mountain, and desert destinations, the weather, and some airports that no longer exist.  

This Grumman Gang gathering brought 17 airplanes and 45 people from all generations to enjoy seeing the world again through memories and the hopes and dreams of those who are to follow. Now that’s our type of club. 

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