April 6, 2021 If Only...

The Liberty Gazette

April 6, 2021

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Last week when we wrote about flying blind, we knew we would want to return to the British blind adventurer we mentioned, Miles Hilton-Barber. Miles lost his eyesight while in his early twenties. But he’s flown an aircraft halfway around the world from London to Australia, and that’s not all. Wait, let’s step back a bit. 

At age 18, Miles expected to follow his father, a WWII fighter pilot, into the Royal Rhodesian Air Force, but he failed the eyesight exam. Three years later, both he and his brother, Geoff, were diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a genetic disease that leads to total blindness. Game over? Yes, for Miles. He adopted an attitude of victimhood that lasted for the next 30 years. Then he helped Geoff build a boat, and Geoff went off and set a world record as the first blind person to cross an ocean solo. He sailed from Africa to Australia by himself. Afterward, he told Miles to stop focusing on his blindness, and start focusing on his dreams.

That was the kick in the pants Miles needed. Here he’d been waiting all those years for a miraculous healing. If only he could see again, then he could… but there was Geoff. He wasn’t waiting. He was living, while Miles had been telling himself, “you’re not meant to do that.”

He realized that we cannot always control things that happen to us, but we can control how we respond. He didn’t know how it would happen, but he would pursue his lifelong dream to be a pilot. It took years of perseverance, but he never gave up, and one day he took off from London and touched down in Sydney after 55 days and 13,000 miles in a microlight aircraft. Speech output technology and a co-pilot helped him do it, and most important to Miles, he raised money to eradicate preventable blindness in developing countries. 

Miles has set other world records and taken part in extreme events across all seven continents in mountaineering, desert and polar ultra-marathons, power-boat racing, scuba-diving, motor-racing, aerobatic and supersonic flying. He completed the Marathon Des Sables, 151 miles across the Saharan desert in the “toughest footrace on Earth.” He’s climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and holds the world record as the first blind person to man-haul a sled nearly 250 miles across Antarctica. 

But here’s the thing: If you’re Miles Hilton-Barber, you believe that God can use you to help others; that it’s not about you, it’s about relationships. He and his wife of several decades have children and grandchildren who are the light of their lives. 

He also says don’t let your achievements make you arrogant and proud. Rather, know that by God’s grace, if you can do these things, it must mean that other people can. “It’s like walking through deep snow,” he says, “you need a strong person up front, breaking through and making a path for others to follow.” That’s what his flight to Sydney did for preventable blindness.

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com

March 30, 2021 Flying Blind

The Liberty Gazette

March 30, 2021

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

The phrase, “flying blind” may make you think of the titles of various forms of entertainment — a couple of novels, at least two films, a short-lived 90s sitcom, and an album by Irish vocalist Niamh Kavanagh. None, however come close to the reason the phrase exists, which is to describe flying in conditions so visually obscured that one must rely on the aircraft’s instruments in the panel to know where to go and how to handle the airplane. This begs the question, could a blind person fly an airplane? 

Blindness in one eye does not necessarily prevent the acquisition of a pilot certificate. There are airline pilots who have been able to demonstrate to the FAA that they can fly with the visual input from one eye. However, there really are fully blind pilots. While they cannot be given a pilot certificate to fly on their own, they can and do show the world how to overcome barriers. 

For example, British blind adventurer Miles Hilton-Barber flew a microlite aircraft halfway around the world from London to Australia using audio computer software.

A group of air cadets, the Flying Aces, led by the Air Training Corps of Scotland, are encouraged to consider that if they can fly an airplane, they can do anything. These teens with various disabilities are given a boost of confidence which leads them to think more broadly about their future. 

For those who prefer the experience on the ground, Canadian company Pacific Feelings Media created “It’s Your Plane,” which was light years beyond Microsoft Flight Simulator. In Blind Pilot Mode, this virtual co-pilot took voiced instructions and applied them to simulator flying, from pre-flight to shut down. 

And then there’s Jim Platzer, former president of a Fortune 500 company, forced into early retirement due to retinitis pigmentosa. Jim was a pilot before he went blind. His ambition to get back in the left seat (with dual controls and a flight instructor next to him) inspired Jason DeCamillis to take to the skies. Jason wanted to learn to fly a plane ever since he was a child, but he too has retinitis pigmentosa. As a special education teacher and advocate for students with disabilities, when he heard about Jim flying around, he quickly realized how many more people he could encourage in a new way. 

Jason’s flight instructor, Dr. Alex Arts, teaches people to fly when he’s not performing ear surgery. Ironically, Alex was rejected by the Navy for a pilot position because he did not have 20/20 uncorrected vision. Years later, he was helping Jason learn to fly an airplane. 

He says, “I can see people asking, why would you spend all this money when the endpoint is limited? But the endpoint is limited no matter what you do. So, we’ve gone from flying airplanes to the most fundamental part of being a human being.”

Jason agrees. “It’s not about overcoming disability; it’s about living my life. I want to share what is possible when we work together across ability.”

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com

March 23, 2021 Here's Learing at You

The Liberty Gazette

March 23, 2021

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Mike: Last month, Bombardier, the builder of the Learjet, announced that it would cease production of that iconic aircraft. Though Lears will fly for many years to come, it is difficult to accept the end is on the horizon. The Learjet 35A is the model I have the most experience in. Since 1991, I have logged nearly 7,500 hours in Lears. There are 8,760 hours in a year, meaning about ten and a half months of my life were spent strapped to a hotrod. 

Learjet at La Carlota

The Learjet was the vision of Bill Lear, the inventor of the eight-track tape player. He was probably a genius, but he was also eccentric. I once landed in Salt Lake City unable to operate my landing lights. 

The mechanic found some funny looking crumbling electrical wiring that did not look like any of the electrical schematics. Yet, it looked like an original installation, so he contacted the factory folks. The engineers in Wichita didn’t know anything about what they assumed was a modification. 

They went looking for people who worked on the production line when our plane was built and found a guy who had been retired for more than ten years who remembered what happened. He told how Bill Lear came out to the production line one day and wanted to try out something new. I was told this was a common occurrence, Bill making ad-hoc modifications during production, which is what led to the affectionate saying, “the Learjet is the world’s most expensive homebuilt airplane.”

Learjet at General Fransico Miranda AB
Caracus Venezuela SVFM

 The first Learjet, model 23, took flight in 1963. Then came the 24, 25, 28 and 29 models, all of which comprised the “20-series”, followed by the “30-series” and the “50-series”. A pilot needed one type rating, LR-JET, on their certificate to be captain on any airplane in these series. Then, the Learjet 60 and later the 40-series were introduced, each requiring their own type rating. The Learjet 45 looks like its predecessors, but the first time I flew one, it flew more like a truck than a Ferrari, like the previous models. However, it is very efficient, and the pilots who fly it regularly, love it. 

I hold two of the three Learjet type ratings, the LR-JET and LR-60. I’ve flown the Lear at over 500 mph, topped 49,000 feet on a test flight, and across the Atlantic. 

Mike Ely, Captain, Learjet.
Winter 1994, Denver Stapleton

I once flew a Lear non-stop coast to coast in three and a half hours. Before take-off, the other pilot and I waited for an hour as technicians in San Diego carefully loaded a rocket guidance system on our Lear. 

They hooked up sensors to detect any possible damage caused by turbulence. A brisk tailwind kicked us all the way to Titusville, Florida where another group was waiting to offload our precious passenger. We were surprised because, unlike the careful loading, it took them just five minutes to rip it out.

The Learjet holds a special place in my logbooks, just like other pilots who’ve been fortunate to fly them.

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com

March 16, 2021 Tails of Irony

The Liberty Gazette

March 16, 2021

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Mike: I have plenty more snow-blown tales to tell, but they can wait until next year. Our two weeks of winter seems to be over. Meanwhile, as we hope for a return to normal in airline travel, let’s discuss some do’s and don’ts. In short, do consider whether all your carry-ons are necessary and appropriate, and don’t abuse privileges or take advantage of animals. I’ll explain.

When Mikhail Galin bought a ticket for a flight on Russian airliner Aeroflot, he assumed his cat, Viktor, could ride along on his lap. The pair had a layover in Moscow on their way from Latvia to far eastern Vladivostok where the airline denied cabin seating to Viktor because the cat was too fat. He weighed 22 pounds, and the limit is 17 pounds. But Mikhail was determined to find a way, and with some quick thinking, he concocted a plan. He found a “double,” but one that had been eating fewer snacks than Viktor had. Her name was Phoebe, and she weighed only 15 pounds. Her owners brought her to the airport and loaned her to Mikhail to take to the counter and claim she was Viktor. Once they completed check-in, Phoebe and her people left, and Mikhail and Viktor boarded the plane. Too late to get in trouble, he thought.

They would have pulled it off had Mikhail not bragged on social media. Now Aeroflot was also determined to find a way. The punishment was revocation of Mikhail’s 400,000 air miles. That makes it one expensive seat for the cat. That’s about $4,500 worth of miles, or 333,330.75 Russian rubles. A cat sitter would have been cheaper.

Linda: But when it’s the pet that’s supposed to babysit the owner, an abuse of the privilege can also be costly. 

Without arguing the legitimacy of emotional support animals, many which are lifesavers for people suffering disorders such as combat-induced PTSD, there are times when our fellow two-leggers fail us, and them. A flight from London to Austin was one such time. A planeload of people aboard a Norwegian Airlines airplane were delayed from departing for an hour and a half thanks to a couple of passengers with their “emotional support” French Bulldogs dressed in pink tutus. Ironically, as the dogs boarded, they became distressed. It was clear to the captain, who has the final say on the flight, that this was going to be a problem, so the tutus trotted right back off the plane, their humans with them, under captain’s orders. 

A line has to be drawn somewhere. After all, do you want to share a few intimate hours with a horse or a peacock, trapped together in a shiny metal tube rocketing through the atmosphere? 

On the other hand, Bob Jamison once made an effort to give emotional support to a nine-foot python, at the emotional expense of pilot David Rogers, to return it to its home in Belize, conveniently when Bob and friends planned a fishing trip down there. 

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com 

March 9, 2021 More Snow-Blown Tales

The Liberty Gazette

March 9, 2021

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Mike: Early flying experiences can leave lasting impressions. Many years ago, I was preparing to fly home after spending a week visiting friends in Boise, Idaho. During preflight, I noted that the temperature was about five degrees and it was snowing lightly. The snow was very dry and not sticking due to how cold it was. The yellow ball of the sun was veiled but visible through low clouds, and a halo surrounded it. Two star-like bright spots (sun dogs) appeared on each side of the ring. Their presence told me there was a high layer of ice crystals, far above where I would be flying. The top of the cloud layer I was going to climb through was reported to be about eight thousand feet. The climb wouldn’t be difficult in the Cessna Turbo Skylane RG.

On my first attempt to taxi to the runway, the ground controller directed me down a taxiway that had not been cleared of snow, thinking it wasn’t very deep, which was a mistake. Turns out, the snow depth was about 18 inches, and once I got into it, I couldn’t turn around or go forward. I shut down the engine and stood in the snow as the ground crew dug me out. Embarrassed, I tossed $20 into their line service coffee fund, hopped in and fired up, determined never make that mistake again. 

This time, the controller directed me down a taxiway that was clear of snow. But a sheet of ice covered it, and with a stiff wind at my side, I had to taxi cockeyed to keep the airplane from sliding into the snow drifts on either side. By the time I reached the runway, I had learned how to sail and ice skate in an airplane. Fortunately, the takeoff was straight into the wind and uneventful.

As expected, I broke out above the clouds and into bright sunshine shortly after leaving the ground. I was flying on an instrument flight plan but wanted to remain clear of the clouds as much as possible on my way to Reno, Nevada, my refueling stop. The desert landscape, white and frozen, lay below multiple cloud layers between me and the ground. I would change altitudes to remain in the clear until shortly before my destination because clouds are wet, and cold clouds have ice.

As I began my approach into Reno at 12,000 feet, I flew into a thick layer of cloud and was immediately pelted by freezing rain. Without hesitation, I advised the controller that I needed to climb to clear and colder air. He cleared me to 16,000 feet. At 15,000’, I came out of the clouds with the airplane wrapped in ice.

We estimated that I landed with over 300 pounds of ice, collected in less than a couple minutes. I broke off the icicle that pointed straight out from the prop spinner. It resembled a 12-inch-long funnel and weighed several pounds. Lessons from that flight have stayed with me ever since.

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com

March 2, 2021 Snow-blown tales

The Liberty Gazette

March 2, 2021

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Mike: The recent ice storm was not entirely a surprise to me. Since moving here, I’ve noticed that whenever a hurricane hits nearby, the following winter we get at least a little snow.

The fun part was watching neighborhood kids trying to have snowball fights and skidding along the ice-covered streets, possibly for the first time. It brought back memories of some icy flights I’ve made.  

Once, while on approach to an airport in Pasco, Washington, the air traffic controller gave us a clearance to land while advising, “Only half of the runway is plowed.” The captain and I each raised an eyebrow. Which half of the runway was still covered in snow? The first half? The last? I radioed, “Okay, do you want to inform us as to which half is plowed?” 

With a chuckle, the controller replied, “Oh yeah, I guess that’d be important. The southeast side, the left half.” Meaning we had the full seven-thousand-foot of length to land on, but instead of a 150-foot-wide swath of asphalt, it was now only about 75 feet, with snow piled along both sides. The Learjet’s wingspan was forty feet.

Closer in on the approach, we were able to see the difference in the hue of gray defining the cleared side. After the captain plopped down hard on the crusty-icy surface, he slowed the airplane down well before the end of the runway, which was the only opening in the berm of snow. At five degrees and still snowing heavily, the powdery stuff covered the taxiway. We had to use the taxiway lights sticking up out of it as a guide to stay on the pavement while we taxied to parking. The nose bounced up and down and snow puffs “splashed” off to the side as we crashed through drifts. It felt more like a power boat than a jet.

Years later, I flew a charter out of south Florida after a major blizzard hit the northeast. Our passenger needed to get to a cancer treatment center in Baltimore for surgery, but all the airports around Washington were closed under a heavy blanket of snow. We watched the weather for a window that would allow us to get into an airport in the area. Anticipating one such opportunity, we departed from Fort Lauderdale for Washington Dulles International while arrangements for special ground transport were being made to get our passenger to Baltimore.

The airport opened, but with only one runway cleared. We came out of the clouds a couple miles from the airport in near whiteout conditions. A bright orange Southwest airliner that stood out from the white and gray environment was the only way we could identify it as an airport. We couldn’t even make out the runway, still covered in ice and patchy snow, until we were a half mile from it. The passenger made it to the hospital, and from what I learned later, the operation was a success. 

See you next week with a few more snow-blown tales.  

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com

February 23, 2021 Space Haggis

The Liberty Gazette

February 23, 2021

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Linda: Last year, in honor of my Scottish ancestry, we flew to Chicago for one of the biggest Burns Suppers in the U.S. This is an annual event that celebrates the birthdate of Scottish poet Robert Burns. It’s the same every January 25, everywhere around the world. This year, however, health fears prevented the gathering, so instead, I and millions of others around the globe celebrated online. 

There were some fantastic presentations, including special productions from Edinburgh and Ayr in Scotland. All, of course, included haggis. Haggis is a traditional Scottish dish, and at every Burns Supper, a haggis is paraded into the dining hall with great bagpipe fanfare and presented to the crowd, while someone recites Burns’ poem “Address to a Haggis.” Haggis is sheep’s or calf’s offal mixed with suet, oatmeal, and seasoning and boiled in a bag, traditionally one made from the animal’s stomach. However, one can find vegetarian haggis in a can at Spec’s in downtown Houston, in the “finer foods” section. 

This year, there was something special about one celebration that was not just out of the box, but out of the atmosphere. Starting early, on Friday, January 22, “the Scottish Butcher,” Simon Howie, launched the first ever haggis into space. Mr. Howie’s plan to promote his prepared product, which Scots can buy at any grocery store, was out-of-this-world-fun. His packaged haggis soared over 20 miles (107,293 feet) above the earth. That beats the world’s highest Burns Supper he hosted on the top of Kilimanjaro in 2010. It’s four times the height of Mt. Everest and 2.5 times higher than most jets fly. It’s the edge of space. 

Visibility on launch day was so good that in the video, at altitude, you can see at least as far as 250 miles away. Their media team reported that when the balloon burst, Simon’s haggis was safely transported back to the company’s Perthshire headquarters. Actually, it’s more like it fell to Earth at nearly 200 miles an hour before the parachute took over, surely making it as well the fastest haggis ever. They say it will be preserved for years to come, as the first haggis in space. Search “space haggis” on YouTube to find the video. Or just go to thescottishbutcher.com/spacehaggis. 

https://thescottishbutcher.com/spacehaggis/

Aside from creative marketing, Simon Howie hopes to spark intergalactic and scientific interest in young people. In partnership with Stratonauts, they will, once gathering restrictions are lifted, run workshops in local primary schools to encourage more kids into STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) related careers. Stratonauts is a private organization that works to inspire students to become pioneers of the future.

Their record-breaking haggis made the flight in 2 hours and 37 minutes. The temperature got down to -60C, and the wind got up to 150.30 mph. This was done with a weather balloon, which expands as it rises. At its highest altitude, the balloon reached 10 meters in diameter. After that, it was a quick trip down. Robbie Burns would probably amend his address if he knew about this. 

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com

February 16, 2021 Aerial Mapping

The Liberty Gazette

February 16, 2021

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Mike: Our story last week was about an archeological discovery from the Iron Age, spotted in an aerial photograph. Aerial mapping has become big business. Just a week or so ago, standing outside in the front lawn, I heard an airplane and naturally, I looked up. Overhead was a Cessna Caravan making precise circles. At first, I thought the large single-engine turboprop might be a jump plane from one of Houston’s parachute centers. Then I saw a large hole in the bottom of the plane’s body. That, I knew, was for taking pictures. The airplane was mapping Liberty. 

In 2001, Google began stitching high-definition satellite photos together to create their Google Earth software program. Other companies have followed. In 2012, Google added to their universe as they began 3-D modeling of select cities.

The way it works is, a camera mounted on the airplane takes pictures of an area from four or more sides. Tilted at a 45-degree angle, it takes a series of pictures at one altitude, then the airplane climbs to a higher altitude where more images are captured. With each increase in altitude, the airplane circles at a calculated wider path, so the camera position has the same view as at the previous altitude. The photo frames are connected using algorithms and fed into Google Earth, making a three-dimensional view available from the highest altitude the aircraft took the pictures. When the screen is zoomed out to an altitude above that, the format reverts to a 2-D satellite view.

Arial photography has been around since long before satellites. Airplanes make mountain-top views available everywhere, even where no mountains exist. With their lenses pointed straight down from the airplane’s belly, the early images produced were two-dimensional; flat. Over time, the airplanes flew higher, and the cameras got better. Hundreds of pictures were taken from high-flying military airplanes flying a grid-pattern over the countryside. 

In the 1930s through the 1950s, cartographers used these photos to create topographical maps and aeronautical charts. Curved and wavy lines on the maps illustrate elevation changes, but before mapmakers could draw those, they needed to see the relief—the steepness of the terrain. The cartographer would then view the pictures through a stereoscope device to see the land in three dimensions while drawing the maps. The elevations were verified by ground survey at specific points. 

The cameras aboard Air Force spy planes take high-resolution pictures so we can learn what adversaries may be planning. They say pictures taken from the cameras aboard the SR-71 and U-2 are so clear, that even taken from 70,000 feet, you can tell the time on someone’s watch.

Though major cities were the first to be mapped, the effort has expanded regionally over time. Eventually, the whole United States, and maybe someday the world, will be available for viewing on our computers in three dimensions.  Today, the world is shrinking as cameras are coupled with GPS and are mounted in airplanes flown by pilots who fly precise circles overhead. 

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com

February 9, 2021 Ancient Discoveries from the Air

The Liberty Gazette

February 9, 2021

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Time Team was a wildly popular series that aired for 16 seasons, beginning in 1994. Hosted by British actor Tony Robinson, a team of archeologists has three days to excavate significant historical locations with the hope of finding cool stuff and great stories. Often, aircraft are involved.

Photo: Time Team

In early 2006, a pilot doing aerial surveying flew across the north coast of Wales over the island of Anglesey. The photographer on board spotted something strange about the contours of a field and took a photo which revealed a massive earthwork about the length of two football fields. Until then, says Sir Robinson, “No one knew there was anything there except a few lumps and bumps.”

Some Time Team members thought the bumps and lumps could be from the Roman occupation of 61 AD. But the strange outline in the aerial photo looked similar to two other sites on Anglesey that were found to be earlier than the Roman period. Those were from the middle to late Iron Age (500 BC-332 BC). 

Perhaps the image from the aerial photo represented more than one period in history. If so, then one would likely be Iron Age, and the other sometime later, which would take it right through the time of the Druids, one of history’s most mysterious groups. 

The Roman army arrived on this island to destroy the stronghold British resistance, an insurgency led by the Druids. If the team found Roman relics here, then this could be of one of the bloodiest sites in Welsh history. The Romans massacred the Druids. In fact, the Romans so obliterated them that many people think the Druids were a myth. But there are living Druids in Wales now. Local historians say the Druids were peacemakers. They tend to be artists—musicians and poets. Whatever you’ve read about them, remember that the natives didn’t do the writing. It was the Romans telling the story of who the Druids were.

Photo: Time Team

For three days, the Time Team dug. They worked mainly on the hill because that would be a highly 
likely place to find artifacts. Sure enough, they found a grave from the Bronze Age, 4,000 years old, covered by a heap of stones. From other evidence discovered, the team concluded that there had also been a traditional Iron Age community of thatched roof round houses on top of the hill. These people would have left that earlier burial site alone, respecting it when they built their round houses there. In the Iron Age, this hill would have been a power base for an important chief who had it all, until the Romans arrived. 

Photo: Time Team

That aerial photo gave enough clues for archeologists to pull the curtain back just enough to see a place that tells a story. Signs of the excavation are still visible on Google Earth, at 53°24'19.7"N 4°23'42.8"W.

You never know what mystery you might discover from the air. A view from above can lead to past lives, as Robinson says, now hidden beneath gentle pastures.

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com

February 2, 2021 Airborne Canvases

The Liberty Gazette

February 2, 2021

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Linda: If the world ever opens up again and international travel resumes, be on the lookout for the coolest paint schemes on airliners. Alaska Airlines may still be sporting the characters from “Incredibles 2.” And look for the scene from “The Lord of the Rings” gracing Air New Zealand. One of WestJet’s planes carries Anna, Elsa, and Olaf from “Frozen” (out of 170 gallons of specialized aircraft paint) way up into cold altitudes. Speaking of cold, one of Iceland Air’s Boeing 757s sports a Northern Lights theme. And who could forget the beloved Shamu on Southwest Airlines? 

While we didn’t go to the expense of contracting with a major motion picture studio when we painted the Elyminator, considerable thought, design, and prep work went into our red and black-and-white checkered racing theme. 

Normally, aircraft paint shops remove old paint with chemical stripper before applying new coats. But Grummans are a bit different. Models like ours have bonded (glued) surfaces. Fewer rivet heads mean less drag and better performance. However, paint stripper could dissolve the bonding, so, we don’t use it. That means removal happens by hand sanding. It’s sanded wet, so the paint does not become dust, and that’s a lot of work. 

There’s also quite a process involved. Over the summer in 2011, we meticulously sanded the entire airplane, per our manufacturer’s maintenance manual. Wrapped in disposable paint overalls and masks, we got quite toasty during the July and August afternoons in the hangar that faced west. It took about 100 (wo)man-hours to sand it all.

Mike: Designing the paint scheme was the fun part. Linda wanted that racing look (plus the slightly sarcastic question on the belly, “Stuck In Traffic?”). I took the drawings for the airplane from the flight manual and created different designs and tried out various colors. With the final artwork in hand, we took it to a paint shop. Control surfaces (elevator, flaps) had to be removed to be painted, then balanced and reinstalled, requiring an FAA-certified airplane mechanic.

Unique paint schemes take time to create and apply, but eye-catching airplanes don’t fly different than others. Except maybe the 727 designed by Alexander Calder for Braniff for the 200th birthday of the United States of America. That airborne canvas was christened by Braniff, “Flying Colors of the United States,” but the crews who flew it called it “Sneaky Snake” because it had trim problems, which required them to hand-fly it a lot. Also, shortly before his death in 1976, artist Calder painted a little squiggly snake on an engine nacelle. 

Wet paint, of course, weighs more than dry paint. The number of layers is also a consideration for both the design and weight. The paint that goes onto our size airplane can weigh between 20 and 40 pounds. The paint that goes onto something like a Boeing 747, once it dries, would add between 500 to 550 pounds. But since that airplane weighs in at nearly a million pounds, I think it can handle it. 

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com