February 1, 2011 Lawrence Dewey Bonbrake, Airplane Designer and Builder part 3

The Liberty Gazette

February 1, 2011

Ely Air Lines
By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Mike: Continuing last week’s story of Inland Aviation, financier Samuel Insull enjoyed financial success until President Roosevelt appointed Harold Ickes as Secretary of the Interior. Ickes was a foe of Insull’s, and when the Insull empire collapsed during the Great Depression, bringing about the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, he was indicted by the Federal Government for antitrust and fraud. They charged he had monopolies because he owned several utilities companies. When his empire went down in 1932, so did Inland Aviation. Later, Samuel Insull was found not guilty, but he had already lost everything.

Dewey Bonbrake, the Inland designer, also lost everything he’d worked so hard for after the company had produced somewhere between 35 and 90 airplanes. Lance Borden, Dewey’s grandson, has a letter from Arthur Hardgrave claiming they built 90 planes, but Lance hasn’t found documentation for that many. Although concrete evidence of an exact number has not been verified, Lance thinks the number is 46. Seven are registered with the FAA, one of them is owned by Lance and is under restoration in a hangar at Ellington Field.

Following the collapse of the Inland Aviation Company Dewey came to Houston to work as a security guard for Shell on the Ship Channel. Sometime in the 1930’s a kid whose father was a service manager at Bland Cadillac in Houston bought an Inland Sportster from a couple of Houston cops for $200. He learned to fly it and made money to pay them back teaching other kids to fly. Long after the demise of Inland Aviation that kid happened to fly over Dewey Bonbrake’s house one day. When Dewey saw the Inland he followed it and met the kid, Charles Walling, who grew up to be a WWII pilot, P-51 racer, and corporate pilot in Houston.

Linda: So where are the few surviving Inlands now? Besides Lance’s in Houston, two are in Kansas, owned by Chuck Hall, retired Kansas State architect professor. He has an Inland Sport and a Sportster–the only Sport that still exists and maybe the only Sportster. Harry Stenger in Florida has two Super Sports. There are two in Delaware with two different owners, one of which may be the one that broke all those speed and altitude records.

Lance tells us that during the Depression his grandfather was still designing airplanes. One he called the Osage, but it was probably never built. He went to Los Angeles to work for Lockheed and Consolidated, where he did design work on the Connie, then worked briefly for the University of Southern California in 1944. USC sent him to Los Alamos as the Chief Engineer on the Atomic Bomb on the “Manhattan Project,” where he designed the trigger mechanism for the Atomic bomb. Lance has drawings of projectiles for the gun bomb. Dewey was radiated on his belly and got skin cancer, but he left Los Alamos after seven months because of the dry air that caused bad nose bleeds, and went to work for Vultee, Consolidated, Lockheed, and then Fairchild. He was one of the designers on the B36, and then the Electra P3, Pogo, and C130, followed by the Fairchild F27 and C119s.

Mike: Lance learned a lot from his grandfather, which will result in a bucket of stories in the coming weeks. Til then, blue skies.

www.ElyAirLines.blogspot.com

January 25, 2011 Lawrence Dewey Bonbrake, Airplane Designer and Builder part 2

The Liberty Gazette
January 25, 2011

Ely Air Lines
By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Mike: Last week we started our story on Dewey Bonbrake, airplane builder. If you haven’t read part one yet, don’t miss the adventure; grab a copy of last week’s paper.

By the time Dewey built the prototype for his new airplane design, one that improved upon the Bahl Lark, he was married and had a daughter. Using the 40-horsepower French Anzani engine off the Lark, Dewey began looking for financiers to put his Bonbrake Parasol into production. Utilities mogul, Samuel Insull, invested in Dewey’s dream, and the airplane became known as an Inland. Insull, an English immigrant, resided mostly in Chicago, but his holding company had interests in many states. He was one of the most powerful merchants in U.S. history, a tycoon who once served as the personal secretary to Thomas Edison and founded Edison General Electric. Insull had interests in other electric, coal and gas companies, railroads, Chicago radio, and was instrumental in building the Chicago Civic Opera House. Many of his businesses were named Inland.

Dewey’s friend, Tom “Gene” Gabbert, an engineer and test pilot for Unit Motors & Airplane Co. of Kansas City, Missouri, took the prototype to Los Angeles for the 1928 National Air Races, and brought Arthur Hardgrave along.

Hardgrave, who was also a pilot and wealthy businessman in his own right, worked for Insull as President of City Ice, and was president of the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, and the Rancho De La Osa Guest Ranch outside of Tucson. On the way from Kansas City to Los Angeles they landed at Davis-Monthan (in Tucson), the first municipal aviation field in the U.S. Davis-Monthan’s historic register records airplanes that have landed there, their pilots and passengers, between 1925-1936. That register has the signatures of Gabbert and Hardgrave, who signed it on the morning of September 5, 1928. According to http://www.dmairfield.com/, the register records seven landings by six different Inlands. The website offers a good narrative on each of the Inlands listed. Their next stop was the Guest Ranch.

Linda: With Insull’s backing, Inland Aviation Co. began producing airplanes at Fairfax Airport in Kansas City. The Inland Sport was built in the same building as the Rearwin; American Eagle, and others were built at Fairfax as well.

Opening for business in 1928, Inland Aviation announced its first commercial airplane in September, 1929 in Aviation Magazine and other publications. In 1929 and 1930 the Inland held several altitude and speed records, one with a 110 HP engine up to 19,000 feet, breaking the 18,000’ record; and a 125+ mph closed course speed record.

Inland Aviation placed well in several air races including the 1930 National Air Races in Chicago where female pilots Mae Haizlip, Vera Dawn Walker, and Marty Bowman flew Inland Sports, and Arthur Hardgrave captured first place in the Sportsman class followed by Inlands in second and third place. These finishes gave the company a boost. By now they had three models: the Sport, a 70HP LaBlonde, a five cylinder radial which sold for $3,500, the Sportster, a 90HP five cylinder Warner Scarab Jr. offered for $3,700, and the Super Sport, a 125HP Warner Scarab, seven cylinder radial with a price tag of $4,500.

We’ll have more on the fascinating Bonbrake-Inland story next week.

Photo 1: Inland Sport Prototype, Photo 2: Lawrence Dewey Bonbrake with Inland, 1929. Photos courtesy Lance Borden, from family photo albums
www.ElyAirLines.blogspot.com

January 18, 2011 Lawrence Dewey Bonbrake, Airplane Designer and Builder

The Liberty Gazette
January 18, 2011

Ely Air Lines
By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Linda: Back in the olden days boys used to tinker, and make things. They had projects and used their minds and worked with their hands. Lawrence Dewey Bonbrake was one such boy. Born in 1899 in Woodston, Kansas, Dewey was a bright kid, always into stuff. For instance, he and a cousin built a glider and flew it off the roof of a barn when they were teenagers. Then they built a sled powered by a motorcycle engine, with a propeller. When Dewey rode it 19 miles to the next town, Stockton, someone wrote an article about him, a 15 year old kid with a powered sled.

In 1912 when an aviator flew in to town offering rides, to say Dewey, then 13, was intrigued would turn out to be an understatement. With a brilliant and inventive mind, he began studying at Valparaiso University in Indiana, and though he didn’t graduate he learned enough about engineering that by the time he was 19 he designed a single pilot air ambulance, using a Liberty engine.

Not long after, Dewey acquired a Curtiss JN4 Jenny as Army surplus, learned to fly it, and became a barnstormer, which led to, among other things, meeting his future wife. Dewey happened to walk in to an ice cream shop in Kansas City, where the lovely young Leona Allita Lamb had stopped in for a tasty treat. She was the daughter of prominent saddle maker Willie Lamb, of Arkansas. The daring, dashing young man all dressed out in his jodhpurs and helmet and goggles, swept Leona off her feet. A beautiful family and more great adventures were yet to come.

Mike: One time while flying his Curtiss Jenny across Arizona Dewey ran out of gas and landed in the desert. His hand was cut and infected by cactus, and he almost died from exposure, but he was rescued by someone passing through in a donkey cart. They helped him get gas for his airplane and he off he went, back into the sky.

Once a man convinced Dewey he was a pilot, talking him into letting him fly the Jenny. Since a Jenny is flown from the back seat, Dewey had removed the control stick from the front seat where the passenger rides so that none of his passengers would have control of the airplane. The guy must have been very convincing for Dewey to trust him that much because once he climbed in the front, he had no control. Unfortunately, the so-called pilot got the airplane into a flat spin – a very dangerous situation – and there was nothing Dewey could do to stop it. The family story goes that in preparation for a crash, Dewey took his goggles off, put them in his pocket and waited for the inevitable. He survived, but suffered several injuries, including broken facial bones. The other guy wasn’t so fortunate.

Dewey and his friend Blaine Tuxhorn bought a Bahl Lark monoplane made in Nebraska. It was a single seat parasol where the fuselage hangs below a single wing, attached by struts and flying wires, powered by a three cylinder engine. A terrible flying airplane, Dewey and Blaine re-designed it, naming it the Bonbrake Parasol. From this Dewey developed the idea for the airplane that would later be known as the Inland, which is where all this history is headed. See you next week with more on the Inland’s fascinating story. Til then, blue skies.

Photo 1, Left: Lawrence Dewey Bonbrake with Curtiss JN-4 Jenny, 1920

Photo 2, Right: Leona Lamb Bonbrake with Dewey's Curtis JN-4 Jenny, 1921

Photo 3, Lower Right: Lawrence Dewey Bonbrake, circa 1925

Photos courtesty Lance Borden, from family photo ablums.

http://www.elyairlines.blogspot.com/

January 11, 2011 Honor Flight Network part 2

The Liberty Gazette
January 11, 2011

Ely Air Lines
By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Mike: Last week we wrote about Bill Ford, one of the veterans our friend Vickie Croston accompanied as guardian on a recent Honor Flight Network trip to Washington, D.C. This week we introduce you to her second charge, Gerald Roop.

From Oklahoma City, Gerald Roop (OU ’42), was drafted in December 1942, serving in Europe for four years and an additional two years during the war in Korea. After basic and officer training at Fort Sill he was commissioned a second lieutenant in September 1943. Sound and flag observation school at Camp Gordon, Georgia made him a sound platoon officer. Gerald’s platoon of 30 men, part of the 291st Observation Battalion, used microphones and observer posts to listen for shells as they flew overhead. By timing them they figured out the shells’ point of origin and directed return artillery fire accordingly.

During the winter of 1944/45, the coldest winter in Europe in 45 years, Gerald’s platoon located 65 enemy gun positions during the Battle of the Bulge. Wounded by shrapnel during his tour in Europe, Gerald witnessed the aftermath of the Malmedy Massacre where more than 100 U.S. POW soldiers were machine-gunned down by their German captors. The German officers were later tried for war crimes and executed.

Gerald told us a story about collecting souvenirs in Europe. “We got moved to 40 miles west of Berlin to wait for the Germans to surrender. The Russians were shooting at them and they were surrendering in droves. I told Sergeant Dusty Rhodes ‘let’s go to get some pistols on the other side of the river.’ We saw a bunch of Germans wanting to surrender (they had just been shot at by Russians and were scared). We stepped out to stop them, said, ‘give us your pistols and belts,’ and they did. We went back across the river and seeing another German and I walked up and asked for binoculars and his Lugar, ‘please.’ He gave them to me.” Gerald Scotch-taped his parents’ name and address on a German helmet and still laughs that “it actually got to them in the U.S. by mail.”

After the war in Europe ended he was supposed to go to Japan, but his unit was disbanded. The Navy was looking for liaison pilots so he applied and was accepted. However, while he was still in France the first atomic bomb was dropped, ending the war in the Pacific, so he didn’t go to flight training. Later, while commanding a gun battalion in 1st Cavalry Division in Korea his position was overrun by North Koreans and he was wounded again – shot in the hip. For the remainder of his time in service, Gerald returned to Fort Sill, using his combat experience as a gun instructor.

Linda: Gerald still wanted to fly, so after the service he received some training. He logged 60 hours, but a new civilian life – work and family – came first. His trip to Washington, D.C., provided free through the Honor Flight Network, gave him an opportunity to visit the memorials there, to reflect, and be honored and thanked.

We’re saying good-bye to over one thousand World War II veterans every day. Time to express our thanks is of the essence. This series on Honor Flight Network shows just one of many important ways aviation is part of good things bigger than itself. Visit www.HonorFlight.org.

www.ElyAirLines.blogspot.com

January 4, 2011 Honor Flight Network part 1

The Liberty Gazette

January 4, 2011

Ely Air Lines
By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Linda: En route to the Grace Flight Air Race in Sherman, we stopped for lunch at Southern Flyer Diner at the Brenham airport. Vickie Croston had two special people for us to meet: Bill Ford and Gerald Roop, two friends she met through her involvement in Honor Flight Network, a non-profit organization that honors America's veterans for their sacrifices. Honor Flight Network, transports our heroes to Washington, D.C. to visit and reflect at the memorials, free of charge. When Montgomery Jr. High School history teacher Brenda Beaven began organizing Honor Flights in Houston she got the attention of her principal, Duane McFadden, who was compelled to get involved. Together they’ve coordinated five flights to Washington-Dulles aboard chartered 757s and 737s.

We’re saying good-bye to over one thousand World War II veterans every day. Time to express our thanks is of the essence. As trips are scheduled, senior-most veterans along with those who are terminally ill receive top priority. Volunteers accompany the heroes as guardians; Vickie was Gerald and Bill’s.

Mike: Upon landing at Brenham, as we approached the on-field diner, Vickie and her two charges were resting comfortably in the shade of the large covered porch. Joining us on the restaurant’s deck that faces the runway, they shared their stories.

Bill Ford was born in New Orleans where his dad worked for the railroad, but a farming life was calling so the family moved to Navasota. Three months before World War II ended Bill entered the Navy. As a Quartermaster Signalman he was trained in the use of navigation and communication radios and visual communication using flags and lights. Bill still remembers Morse Code and wowed us with a perfect demonstration of the Semaphore flag signaling alphabet.

His first ship was a 160-foot long wooden minesweeper that went ahead of the forces into bays around the Marshall Islands dragging a “pig” behind it to cut the cables used to hold mines submerged below the water’s surface. The mines were magnetic and the wooden hull of the minesweeper didn’t attract them. Once the mines floated free they shot them.

For most of his time in the Navy Bill was assigned to the LSD-22 USS Fort Marion, a Landing Ship Dock transporting Marine troops during the Korean conflict. The Fort Marion was eventually bought by Taiwan, used in their navy, decommissioned, then sunk and used as a diving reef. But no matter where it is, that ship is part of very important memories for Bill Ford, and reasons for gratitude for us.

Linda: 130 veterans from Bryan/College Station and Conroe were on Gerald and Bill’s trip, welcomed at both the departure and destination airports with a salute ceremony. Water cannons formed arches over their taxiing aircraft on departure and again on arrival. Buses, escorted by sheriff and city police motorcycle guards took the veterans to the WWII Memorial, followed by the Korean Memorial, the Vietnam Wall, the Changing of the Guard and the posting of colors at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, then to the Iwo Jima Memorial and finally the Lincoln Memorial. Breakfast and dinner were served on fine china on the plane and a boxed lunch provided on the bus. The trip, thanks to donations and volunteers, serves as a “Thank You” to our brethren who have given so much.

Come back next week to read about Mr. Roop, another hero who took an Honor Flight.

www.ElyAirLines.blogspot.com

December 28, 2010 NASA Altitude Chamber

The Liberty Gazette
December 28, 2010

Ely Air Lines
By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Mike: Humans are made to live in the physiological efficient zone – from sea level up to 10,000 feet. Flying high in an airliner, you’re sitting in cabin pressure of about 8,000 feet altitude. Without pressurization, at high altitudes hypoxia, decompression sickness, and trapped gases could occur, so a pilot needs to understand physiological hazards associated with that environment, how to mitigate those hazards and deal with them if they happen.

To be pilot-in-command of an aircraft capable of operating above 25,000 feet the pilot must receive and log additional high altitude training, both in classroom and flight (either simulator or aircraft). The ground portion of training covers high altitude aerodynamics, meteorology, the symptoms and effects high altitude sickness, duration of consciousness without oxygen, effects of prolonged use of supplemental oxygen, and other physiological aspects of high altitude flight. Additionally, most pilots also receive training in an altitude chamber, a sealed vessel capable of simulating altitudes much higher than 25,000 feet.

Experience is the best teacher and NASA’s altitude chamber exercise gives the pilot a thorough understanding of the effects of altitude on the body, and to be able to recognize one’s own reaction and symptoms of hypoxia by experiencing hypoxia in a controlled environment.

Linda: My chamber partners were two U.S. Customs and Border Protection pilots/officers. Two NASA trainers joined us inside the chamber. A doctor and three more NASA operatives were outside the chamber along with two observers from the FAA.

The “climb” to Fight Level 250 (25,000 feet) took about 30 minutes. Then the plan was for the Customs guys and me to remove our oxygen masks for a maximum of five minutes. We were to solve math problems and answer other questions during the time our masks were off. I answered the math questions okay in the first minute, signed my name in the three blanks and listed the last five U.S. presidents. During specific time intervals I wrote down my hypoxia symptoms: "Slightly dizzy" began pretty much right away. I wrote "dizzy" after about a minute and a half or so, "dizzier" around two to two-and-a-half minutes, and "rapid heart rate" at about the three minute mark. Before re-donning the mask one of the FAA observers said my fingernails were so blue it looked like I had on nail polish. I hadn’t even noticed.

The mask caused some claustrophobia issues for one chamber mate but he completed the exercise anyway, putting the mask back on after about three minutes. The other made it the full five minutes. Many variables affect a person’s stamina for reduced altitude pressure at any given time. Rest, nutrition, fitness, smoking and alcohol, and overall general health are contributing factors.

My ears didn’t handle the 5,000-foot-per-minute decent well. The valsalva maneuver – pinching my nose and blowing out while swallowing – was unsuccessful for me. I was unable to equalize my ears, so we descended at a slower rate. My Eustachian tubes may be small or scarred from many childhood ear infections. The NASA doctor checked my ears afterward reporting no blood or fluids, but my right ear didn’t equalize for about a week. As uncomfortable as early signs of hypoxia are, I’m glad I experienced NASA’s altitude chamber. Its an extremely valuable tool for learning signs of hypoxia and the importance of avoiding it.

www.ElyAirLines.blogspot.com

December 21, 2010 EAA Sheet Metal Workshop

The Liberty Gazette

December 21, 2010

Ely Air Lines
By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Linda: The Experimental Aircraft Association hosts full weekend workshops around the country, offering courses relative to building an airplane, such as gas welding, sheet metal, fabric covering, composites and electrical/avionics. These workshops teach the skills necessary for constructing various types of amateur built aircraft, either from kits or plans, providing a place to learn and develop skills before starting a project and making some expensive blunders.

We hadn’t taken any of their courses so when the EAA scheduled one in Houston earlier this month we signed up. With all the great choices offered it was hard to choose just one; we chose sheet metal basics.

Mike: I had been scheduled to work that weekend and didn’t know if I could get the time off for the course which, coincidentally, was being taught at the Aviation Institute of Maintenance next to door to where I work. After a bit of schedule juggling it all worked out. The timing was good for me, as I was in the midst of acquiring yet another type rating, this time the Challenger 601. The Challenger’s systems are completely different from the Hawker aircraft I’ve been teaching in lately and my brain was crammed full of newly acquired knowledge of the electrical systems, hydraulics, flight control systems and all the things that make up that particular complex jet aircraft. On top of that I was still teaching in the Hawker 800XP so switching my brain between the two aircraft with very different systems was wearing me out mentally and physically. My check ride in the Challenger took place the day before the start of the sheet metal workshop, so with that behind me the workshop was a great way to do a mental dump and spool down while learning a new skill.

We learned how to form wing ribs, how to do press rivets, pop rivets, back riveting, and dimpling while constructing a small wing section with a trim tab on it. The inspection hole on the bottom of the wing we backed with a doubler, with nut plates to hold the cover.

We showed off our wing project at our EAA Chapter 12 meeting the next Tuesday night. When you have a close-knit group of folks doing something like this the atmosphere is jovial as fellow members describe their learning experience, compare rivets, and pass around the projects for examination.

EAA workshops will be offered in Houston once a year, and anyone can take the courses; you don’t have to be a pilot or airplane builder.

Linda: A couple of days after our workshop I spent an entire day at NASA for high altitude training. This training is part of what is required of a pilot in command of an aircraft capable of operating above Flight Level 250 (25,000 feet). The purpose is to give the pilot a thorough understanding of the physiological effects of altitude on the body, and to be able to recognize one’s own bodily reaction and symptoms of hypoxia. Experience is the best teacher and experiencing hypoxia in NASA’s altitude chamber offers a safe learning environment. I’ll share my hypoxic experience next week. Till then, blue skies.

www.ElyAirLines.blogspot.com

December 14, 2010 Punkin Chunkin in Alabama

The Liberty Gazette

December 14, 2010

Ely Air Lines
By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Linda: “How low do you want to go,” asked the young pilot as I climbed in the Cessna 150 at sunset, basketball-sized pumpkin in hand, preparing to take the final shot in the Tennessee Valley Punkin’ Chunkin’ contest. My goal: to be the one to hit the target, a port-a-potty set way out on the grass between two runways. We were far enough from persons and property to not be a hazard, so I replied, “as low as you want.” Holding the brakes, the pilot pushed the throttle full forward. Reaching the engine’s highest RPMs, he released the brakes for a short-field take-off. We lifted quickly, but stayed just barely above the ground. Veering slightly left to line up for the shot, we were nearly mowing the grass. Would I win the contest? I’d have the best shot, no doubt. Everyone else chunked from a few hundred feet up. Then again, I didn’t have a fancy pumpkin-launching contraption like Tom Martin did. The Canadian farmer and EVO F1 Rocket racer had plenty of time in the seat of a tractor to contemplate inventions.

Tom Martin: When I heard there would be a pumpkin-dropping contest this year I wanted to participate. The way it was set up you could go for a ride in a Cessna 150 and launch the orange fruit out the passenger window. This would be fun but I really wanted to do it from my own aircraft, an F1 Rocket. The problem is that the canopy cannot be opened in flight. I thought about this problem for many hours while harvesting this year’s crop of soybeans and corn and came up with an idea for a wing-mounted pumpkin launcher. The EVO wing on this aircraft has a flat metal wing tip–a perfect place to mount my pumpkin spear. I fabricated an 18” spear with a pivot point at the wing tip. The spear was large enough to accommodate a pumpkin about the size of a volleyball. Aft of the pivot point I used an electric solenoid for the release mechanism. The solenoid had started its work life as the release mechanism for the rear hatchback on a ‘90s era Jeep. It was with some trepidation that I took off with a pumpkin sticking out from the far leading edge of my left wing tip.

Limiting my speed to 120 knots I could feel no associated drag. This surprised me; perhaps it acts like that large bump that you see on the forward edge of the hull of ocean tankers. I think all the other racers in my class should install pumpkins on their leading edges. I made two drops; the first one was an abysmal failure. I let the missile go way too early and observers wondered if it even hit the airport. Armed with the shame of my premature pumpqulation I managed a much better drop the next time, salvaging my dignity. I look forward to next year’s competition.

Linda: Tom still didn’t hit the can, giving me a chance to win. The pilot got me so close that had my arms been long enough I could have pushed that port-a-potty over. Through the open window I hurled the big orange bomb–Whoosh!

Mike: Having had the best shot possible, she couldn’t believe she missed. Maybe over the winter Linda and Tom should both practice.
www.ElyAirLines.blogspot.com

December 7, 2010 Robert McCorvey

The Liberty Gazette

December 7, 2010

Ely Air Lines
By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Mike: The photo of a man hangs on the wall of a small office in a small building at Ellington Field. The first thing you notice is the broad smile. It dominates the picture of the man and the Cessna 150 he towers over. Long, dark locks, common in the 1970s, date the picture, but it’s the smile that radiates.

Linda: Robert and Helene McCorvey have owned and operated Flying Tigers Flight School for about five years. Purchasing Fletcher Aviation at Hobby they continued operating out of that airport for more than three years before damage from Hurricane Ike caused them to relocate. About that time Cliff Hyde was ready to retire and sell his second-generation Cliff Hyde Flying Service at Ellington. The time was right for Cliff, and for Robert and Helene, combining the two legacy flight schools (and over 100 years of service) in the greater Houston area under the leadership of a very enthusiastic entrepreneur.

Business has grown, adding training under contract for aviation programs at Lee College and Sterling High School, a Houston magnet school. Robert joined the Houston Aviation Alliance and was elected president in 2008. And whenever we have seen him he has always had that smile, and the willingness to drop what he’s doing to help someone else.

Mike: Often I have walked into Flying Tigers and wandered into Robert’s office just to chat, always welcomed to a comfy sofa–the same sofa upon which he sat when chatting with Maybelle Fletcher from whom he bought his first flight school. Maybelle laughs, “Robert came in one day, sat on the sofa and asked me, ‘Do you think I’m crazy for wanting to own a flight school?’” Maybelle shot back, “That’s easy! Yes!” But Robert has loved airplanes and flying as long as I have; he started flying in 1974 and never stopped. Owning a flight school was always his dream, even when he was playing in a Beatles band, even when was working in his father’s sheet metal fabrication business which he eventually bought and later sold to his brother. We spoke of many things during our chats, one was about our faith in Jesus Christ, the center of why Robert is so enthusiastic about life.

Linda: Thinking his asthma was acting up, and then suspecting pleurisy, Robert learned in September he had mesothelioma. In the remainder of his time here he ministered to those who came and sought to minister to him. The night before Thanksgiving Robert McCorvey moved to Heaven. His last audible words, “Thank you, Jesus,” remind me of the graceful surrender modeled by Pastor Jimmie Clemmons. As the huge crowd gathered to honor Robert, his three grown children stood tall in the Lord, firm in their faith, proclaiming the love of their dad, and the love of our Father. God was glorified at his memorial service, and if it’s possible, Robert’s smile is even bigger now.

Mike: At the end of the service everyone walked outside Houston’s First Baptist Church to watch the Lone Star RV squadron fly overhead in formation, three passes, with smoke on. Their final pass, the “missing man,” honored the aviator whose life has enriched many. We didn’t lose Robert, we know exactly where he is; he hasn’t “gone west,” he’s moved to Heaven where he soars. And through his family his legacy and his dream, Flying Tigers, will continue.

www.ElyAirLines.blogspot.com

November 30, 2010 TVAR III

The Liberty Gazette

November 30, 2010

Ely Air Lines
By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Linda: The Tennessee Valley Pumpkin Dash and Air Race at Courtland, Alabama coincided with our Cheetah’s annual inspection, grounding us for about a week. Since Mike was working that weekend I thought I might catch a ride with Reno Air Racer Ernie Sutter, who keeps his 300+ mph Lancair Legacy at the Conroe airport, but Ernie was leaving a few days early and had business along the way so Sport Air Racing League founder and Chairman, Mike Thompson, flew his RV-6 down from Taylor, Texas to pick me up. In return, I would handle the Internet broadcast of the race, live on Justin.tv. It would be the next best thing to racing, and on a more personal level, reminded me of my dad, who stopped racing automobiles when my mother said, “It’s either children or racing, but not both,” and opened up a public relations business, representing the United States Auto Club for many years. Several childhood summers were spent traveling from one car race to another, my daddy’s shadow. Now I would get a shot at the microphone. A day and a half notice wasn’t enough for Dad’s longtime friend, retired ESPN race broadcaster Gary Lee, to join me but it piqued his interest and I expect he’ll join us in the future.

Chief Thompson and I planned to meet at the Anahuac airport and leave at 9 a.m., but due to starter problems we didn’t leave until 5 p.m. Taxiing up to the hangar in Courtland a few hours later, tired and hungry, race host, airline pilot and sport air racer Chris Murphy was a welcome sight with plenty of eats there waiting for us.

The next day’s events began with an all-out speed dash straight down the runway. With FAA speed and altitude waivers granted retired veterinarian Tony Crawford clocked fastest time in his Questair Venture at 308.16 mph. The top eight speedsters exceeded 250 mph.

Next came the 125.2 nautical mile race with 23 airplanes entered. At the pre-race briefing racers were instructed to pause in front of the camera while I said something about them and their airplane. Chief Thompson’s idea to broadcast was a big hit with racers’ spouses, children, grandchildren and other family members and friends watching. Pre- and post-race interviews brought insight from the racer’s perspective.

The final event of the day was the “Punkin Chunkin” contest. Chris Murphy placed the target–a port-a-potty–way out in the grass between the two runways, far away from everything on the airport. Everyone grabbed pumpkins from a huge pile–one guy loaded his Navajo Chieftain with extra large pumpkins for carpet bombing–and one by one pumpkins smashed on the ground. Airline mechanic Bobby Bennett’s understanding of trajectory as an experienced skydiver gave him the closest drop but no one hit the target.

After all the participants had taken their shots I asked if I could try. Someone shoved a pumpkin in my hands and ushered me to a waiting Cessna 150, a pilot ready to take me up for the shot. That story might appear in this space next week. Till then, blue skies.

www.ElyAirLines.blogspot.com