For Public Release:

Honolulu Hawaii 31-MAY.2019

Aloha!

In conjunction with several lucrative grants for the NSF, CIA, NSA, several helicopter and coffee companies we bring you the “Java Helo”.

This amazing hybrid is capable of delivering (4) cups of fresh Kona Coffee within a (35) NM radius. Stay onboard this thread for IPO date and fresh coffee. Note: airworthy still pending FAA approval



Mahalo. BTW South shore is 4-6’ today, so not in office, surfing Alamo...ha ha Brah!

BTW South shore is 4-6’ today, so not in office, surfing Alamo...ha ha Brah!

Ohhh Lucky Bastard 3-4 foot here in San Diego......and that aint "Hawaiian Scale"

sierrasplitter wrote:

BTW South shore is 4-6’ today, so not in office, surfing Alamo...ha ha Brah!

Ohhh Lucky Bastard 3-4 foot here in San Diego......and that aint "Hawaiian Scale"

Don’t need a wetsuit too! San Diego water is really cold from my experience! But, been in Oregon wearing a 5mm head to toe last week I actually love cold water.

I like surfing in a wetsuit too. I’m a white boy so it keeps the sun at bay and stops sand rash if you hit the bottom

sierrasplitter wrote:I like surfing in a wetsuit too. I’m a white boy so it keeps the sun at bay and stops sand rash if you hit the bottom

I live in a rash guard & booties in tropic waters. Also, I wear my BackCountryPilot.org cap:

Recurring (recurrent) training, is super important, especially for IFR, complex and helicopters. Good instructors can always see things you may not in contrast to self evaluation. The FARs are lenient, don’t allow your skills to erode with minimum standards.

My residence is close to PHNL in downtown Honolulu and we normally fly with Mauna Loa Helicopters on Lagoon Drive. Highly recommend MLH:

Please see video of typical Honolulu R44 flight video:
However, yesterday I decided to make a day trip to Kona (Big Island) and fly with Mauna Loa’s main school. Using frequent flyer miles from Southwest Airlines I flew into Kona @ 09:09 HST (30 minutes from Honolulu) then ...flew with the chief instructor (who is an excellent individual and instructor) for (2) hours and then flew home @ 14:30 HST.

Some noted differences between Kona (Class D) vs. Honolulu (Class B)

In Honolulu to get to the practice area requires a lot of work:
1) Clearance to depart Bravo
2) Generally hope that Tower can get you out in between the big iron, military and plethora of tour traffic.
3) Clear Bravo and then fly North of Pearl Harbor in a round about way avoiding the PHNL ILS into Kalaeloa (Barbers Point NAS)
4) The Kalaeloa Tower generally has a bad attitude compared to Kona International for some reason?
5) Then reverse the process back to home plate @ PHNL
It’s good practice for primary students.



In contrast, Kona the practice area is literally adjacent to the MLH helicopter pads:


Just wanted to practice autorotations, governor off, hydraulics off and run on landing on this initial trip. Very convenient practice area and less expensive than PHNL Class B for those limited maneuvers. Southwest is offering inter island for $40 one way. Which is less than half of Hawaiian Airlines. The tower at Kona is the most friendly ATC I have ever flown with. Even with mixing big iron, military and tours.

Overall, I must say, traveling across the island chain for the day and training was WELL worth it!

Tips: bring sack lunch, long sleeves & pants, hat, sunglasses, small tube of sunscreen (TSA friendly), camera, headsets, logbook. Kona is really hot and humid! And if you like, stay a few days and charter a boat for Marlin fishing. Or check out the volcano etc....

Aloha!