Brief Honolulu Soaring Visit

Hi all,

As part of my University job, I provide technical support to three
academic conferences a year. Our summer one this year was in
Honolulu, Hawaii and I just got back. (Jet lag is killing me. It’s
11 pm in Houston and I am not the least bit tired and work calls at 8
am tomorrow!)

My travel plans didn’t allow for much sight-seeing, but I was able to
stop by Honolulu Soaring’s operation along the North Shore area and
check them out. I wish I had the time to do a lesson with them. I am
learning to fly (3 hours total so far) gliders near Houston, which is
quite flat. Experiencing a flight along some of the ridges on Oahu
would have been wonderful. One of my conferences is coming back in
October of 2011, so I hope to schedule some time with an instructor
then.

In any case, in the half-hour I was able to spend with them I had a
great time talking gliders with the crew. As a beginning student
pilot, I’m used to my club operating on a grass runway. This, by
contrast, was a commercial operation on a paved runway. The runway, a
former Air Force installation, is leased by the State back to the
commercial providers, if I remember correctly. It is two miles in
length! It is shared by a skydiving operating at the eastern end, the
gliderport and an aerobatic glider operation at the western end.
For those with Google Earth, the gliderport and the runway are easily
visible at 21°34'41.00"N, 158°12'13.26"W.

As a beginning student just getting into aviation, the gliderport
operations were a joy to watch. I have never seen a runway shared by
so many gliders and powered aircraft. The words “choreographed dance”
describe accurately what I saw.

I also enjoyed seeing an SGS 2-32, which carries three people. That
was new to me. When I asked about its performance in the air, the
crew described it as “a brick.”

While I was there a pilot was taking several successive pattern tows.
I learned from the crew that he was a power pilot from Japan seeking
his glider rating. I learned something very interesting. Apparently,
flying in Japan is much more expensive than flying in the United
States, even for gliders. So this pilot booked a ten-day hotel stay
on Oahu and spent the trip getting ready for his checkride out at
Honolulu Soaring.

All in all, I enjoyed the brief visit I had at Honolulu Soaring. The
crew was warm and friendly and I wish I had had the time to schedule
some instruction with them. Maybe next time.

Here is a link to four photos I took with my Blackberry:
http://www.coe.uh.edu/michael/honolulu.html

--Michael in Houston