In the clouds

Last Thursday afternoon my phone rang...

Gail: Where are you at?
Me: Waimea Bay.  What's up?
Gail: Dave says he'll take you flying.
Me: What?!  No way!
Gail: Yes!  Meet him at Dillingham Airfield in 25 minutes.
Me: OK, I'm on my way.  Thanks!!!

Dave is a skydiving and glider pilot here on the North Shore.  We met him when we first arrived through Melissa and Scott, and since then we have bumped into him on occasion and he always offers to take us flying.  Well, on Thursday he was at the ice cream parlor that Gail works at (Scoop of Paradise), he said it was going to be a great sunset and he would take me up.  Needless to say, I was stoked!

As I drove up to the hangers he was standing by his plane, ready to go.  Now, Dave is young - some might say maybe a bit too young - but he takes flying very seriously and he is an extremely aware pilot.  Having said that, he does retain a healthy dose of youthful exuberance, which became evident in choosing to fly with no door...and barefoot.  Come to think of it, maybe his youthful slant didn't play as much of a part in these seemingly dicey choices of operation as one would think, but rather, perhaps it was just a perfectly normal matter of flying Hawaiian style...

Dave's pride and joy is his 1947 Aeronca Champ.  The Champ is remarkably light as the fuselage and wings are made with wood spars and formers, covered in fabric.  The plane is more than adequately nibble, and is also very quick to become airborne (much to my surprise!).  Once we were in the air it was squirrely, not in a bad way mind you, but in a 'I am letting go of the safety bar and throwing my hands in the air' roller coaster kind of way.  I mean after all, there was the vintage 1947-esque single-strap seat belt (cinched ever so tight) to help quell any anxious moments that may have crept up while doing insanely steep bank turns a mere 800 feet above the crashing surf below.

A friend of Dave's, who was piloting a 1938 Piper Cub, was already in the air so we joined him and began flying in formation.  We did flybys of the airfield, took turns leading and trading places, and we even did a touch and go (or 'bump' as Dave more accurately called it).

The flight was epic and filled with elements that make for a grand adventure: magnificent beauty, feats of daring, lapses of uncertainty, and the most anticipated of all, the perfect three-point landing.

Despite sporadic bouts of silent profanity-laced exclamations and repeated vows to reform, the flight was very freeing and serene.  And to be honest, after all was said and done, I have to say that more than a small part of me wanted to go right back up and do it again.

Take care and enjoy, 
- Mahalo