A soaring passion for one Ozarks man wasn't realized until he became a nonagenarian. At 90 years old, Elmer Lewis bought a World War Two bombardier -- his first plane.
Now, the relic has become the love of his life.
"This is when I was 13 years old," says Lewis, pointing out pictures on his wall.
In the 1920's, long before Lewis met his wife, he had already fallen in love.
...with flying.
"It's just something grabs you, and you can't turn it loose," says Lewis.
Despite a short time in the air force, it's a love that was never realized, until now.
Her name is Arctic Annie. Lewis bought the plane in 2007. In just three years, he's taken a life-time of photos.
"You've got to do a lot of work on these old planes," says Lewis, thumbing through one of his many photo albums.
This summer, Lewis kept his pride and joy in the hangar, but he still visits once a month.
Annie is a Twin Beech 18. It was built as a training plane for the Royal Canadian Air Force. After the war, it ended up in Mena, Ark.
"She sat up there for 20-something years, and no one ever flew her," says Lewis.
A member of the Commemorative Air Force, a group of plane enthusiasts, found the plane and restored it.
"They had to go through the engines. They had to take them apart, and go through them, to see it wasn't rusted or anything," says Lewis.
The group sold the plane to a collector in Branson, Mo. He sold it to Lewis.
"I'm just so proud of her," says Lewis.
Even when Annie's grounded, you can't keep Lewis away, even to work. He schedules monthly visits so he can turn the propellers, and do other maintenance.
He may be 94, but the light in his eyes doesn't show a hint of age.
"Look at the beauty of her. When she's out in the sun, she's polished aluminum, and she's just gorgeous," says Lewis.
