Honolulu Soaring - Original Glider Rides

The Fleet

Schweizer SGS 2-32's. Used for 1- and 2-passenger scenic rides.
Schweizer SGS 2-33's. Used for 1-passenger scenic rides, instructional training of student pilots, and rental to qualified glider pilots.
Schleicher A-S-K-21. our two-place AEROBATIC-demonstration glider.
L-19 Bird Dog tow-planes (aka Cessna 305-A).

The Pilots

All of the HONOLULU SOARING pilots are commercially-rated FAA certified, and take pride in providing glider rides that will be an absolutely fantastic addition to any North Shore outing.

Our roster of 16 pilots include some part-timers who hold full-time jobs elsewhere. Some are airline pilots, some are retired from the work-force and finding added enjoyment in their leisure time, others are continuing to build their commercial flight-time while working towards a career in aviation; but ALL share a love of flying, and are happy to share that love with you.

Are gliders safe?
Gliders are very safe. In fact, you’re much safer in a glider than you are driving to the airfield. Gliders are so safe that the FAA permits 14-year-olds to fly solo.

How long can a glider stay in the air?
A glider can stay airborne indefinitely – as long as it flies in updrafts. Updrafts or “lift” can carry a glider higher. In a way, lift is like in-flight refueling. If the pilot wants more altitude or if he wants to fly longer, he just goes back to the lift and fuels up.

How do gliders get into the air?
We tow our gliders with airplanes. Gliders can be launched by auto tow, being towed by a vehicle, or by winch, but airplanes are much more efficient. You can’t get very high on auto tow or winch tow. But, the towplane can take the glider as high as the glider pilot likes and take the glider exactly where the pilot wants to go.

How do they fly?
It’s the air flowing over their wings that allows gliders to fly. The airflow creates low pressure on the top of the wings. And, the lowered pressure helps support the weight of the glider. It can’t support all the weight, though, so the glider gradually descends -- unless it’s flying in lift. By using updrafts or lift, the pilot stays aloft and actually climbs higher.

How does the pilot control the glider?
Gliders have exactly the same flight controls as airplanes. Flying gliders is so similar that airplane pilots can easily learn to fly gliders.

What happens if the wind stops blowing?
Nothing happens to the glider. It doesn’t need wind to fly. Gliders are not kites. All a glider needs to fly is air flowing over its wings. It’s the pull of gravity that keeps the air flowing over the wings. As a glider flies, it is gently coasting downhill. Coasting downhill, the glider feels the winds, just as a bicyclist feels the wind while coasting downhill. Of course, if the glider flies through rising air, it climbs. Fortunately, air and gravity are not in short supply.

How does the glider land?
They land in much the same way as an airplane. The pilot descends, levels off, and then allows the plane to touch the ground very gently.

Do the pilots have licenses?
Yes, glider pilots are certified through the FAA – just like airplane pilots and helicopter pilots. Pilots receive ground training and flight training on a one-on-one basis with a flight instructor. They must pass a rigorous FAA written test, accumulate solo experience, and undergo a practical test where they demonstrate their skill, knowledge, and judgment. Only then are they issued an airman certificate (pilot license). The FAA requires periodic flight reviews. A commercial rating, an advanced rating, is required to carry paying passengers.

Do glider pilots fly real planes?
Gliders are real planes. However, if you ask your glider pilot that question, she will understand that by “real planes” you mean airplanes. Some glider pilots fly airplanes, and some don’t. In fact, some glider pilots are airline pilots or military pilots who love to fly all different kinds of planes. Some pilots only fly gliders because they really love gliders and can’t imagine anything better.

Is it hard to learn to fly gliders?
On one hand, it’s not especially difficult. On the other hand, it’s not especially easy. It is easier for some than for others. There is such a thing as natural aptitude. Still, almost anyone can learn. All that’s needed for success is to really want to fly, to pay attention to your flight instructor, and to study hard.

What makes updrafts?
Here at Dillingham Airfield, the tradewinds blow against the mountain and are pushed up, creating updrafts all along the side of the mountain. Another kind of updraft or lift, we often get, is thermals. Thermals are columns of warm air rising off the ground. If you have ever seen hawks or even buzzards circling without flapping their wings, they are thermalling. They are hitching a free ride by circling in a thermal and letting it carry them upward. And there are two other kinds of lift. Convergence lift is like a mini-front. Two airmasses meet, and the colder and denser air pushes the warmer and lighter air up. Mountain wave forms when air blows over a mountain range, setting up a series of stationary waves that extend away from the mountain. It’s similar to water flowing over a log in a stream. A series of waves form downstream from the log. The waves stay in the same place behind the log while the water flows through them.

Will the pilot let me fly?
You can fly, but not on a two-passenger ride. For you to fly, it has to be just you and the pilot. There is an additional charge, because you will be getting a mini-lesson. Don’t worry about taking off or landing. Your pilot will do that. Once you’re off tow, your pilot will show you how the flight controls work one at a time. Then he or she will show you how to use the flight controls together and let you fly.

Will the pilot do a loop?
Not on a scenic ride. Aerobatics have to be in a special aerobatic glider and both the pilot and passenger must wear parachutes – it’s required by the FAA. Aerobatic rides are available in our Aloha Spirit, an ASK 21. The Aloha Spirit is a sleek and beautiful fiberglass glider rated to 6.5 positive G’s, making it slightly stronger than the fighter planes of World War II.

Do gliders fly in rain?
Gliders don’t fly in heavy rain or other bad weather. Fortunately, the weather in Hawaii is so good that there are only a few days out of an entire year when the gliders have to stay on the ground.

What will I see?
You will have an incredible view of Oahu’s North Shore. The Waianae Mountains. The Pacific Ocean. coral reefs. breaking waves. During the winter, you might see humpback whales at play. And, you will have the experience of soaring. Flying a glider is as close as you can get to flying like a bird. Your pilot can point out landmarks, if you like. Feel free to ask questions, our pilots enjoying sharing the beauty of Hawaii and the beauty of soaring.

Can I take pictures?
It’s one Kodak moment after another, so take along extra film. Most people run out of film before the ride is over. You can also take your video camera along, or we can video your flight for you, leaving you free to look around and enjoy your flight. The video is a lot of fun. Our video system has two cameras and a microphone mounted inside the glider. One camera takes the forward panorama, the other camera is trained on the faces of the back-seat passengers, and is displayed as an inset picture-in-a-picture. The microphone captures the comments. And it all gets put on a VHS cassette, and you take it home .

Directions from Waikiki / Downtown Honolulu to Dillingham Airfield
**Approximate drive-time = 55 minutes** (40 miles)

Get on the H-1 Freeway WEST-bound. Continue on H-1 West - past Pearl Harbor, past Aloha Stadium, past Pearl City. Two exits past Pearl City is the H-2 Freeway NORTH-bound.
Take the H-2 North until it ends about 8 miles later.
At ‘END OF FREEWAY’, the H-2 freeway BECOMES the City Street, Hwy 99; and you will continue thru 5 traffic signals (about 3 miles).
Just before Traffic Signal #5, there is a FORK in the road, and there are 3 or 4 ROAD-SIGNS giving the choices:
Hwy 99, North Shore, Haleiwa, Dillingham Airfield .
If you continue THRU Traffic Light #5, you are on the road to Dillingham Airfield .
If you were looking at a map, the next 6 miles after Traffic Light #5 is designated as Hwy 803;
(but there are NO ‘803’ signs posted); [ don’t worry ] …
Hwy 803 is a 6-mile stretch of road; 3 miles of straight; 3 miles of “windy” down-the-hill.
At the beginning of the windy-road, you are at 500-ft elevation
and at the base of the hill, you are at 20-foot elevation.
As you decend the hill, you will be able to see the North Shore coast-line,
and off to your LEFT will be the Waianae Mountain Range.
Unless visibility is limited by cloud-cover or haze, you will be able to see where the mountain tapers-off.
That is about the location of Dillingham Airfield , on the way to the northwestern tip of the island, Kaena Point.
AT THE BASE OF THE HILL is an INTERSECTION blinker-light; …‘YELLOW’ for you.
This is the intersection of Hwy 803 and Hwy 930. GO STRAIGHT THRU the intersection.
You are now on Hwy 930. Just for your information, Hwy 930 starts at the TRAFFIC-CIRCLE at Haleiwa (about 1 mile away),
and makes a 90-degree turn at the blinker-light INTERSECTION, and continues out towards Dillingham Airfield and Kaena Point.
FROM THE BLINKER-LIGHT INTERSECTION continue ahead for about 1 mile. Look for a ROAD-SIGN for MOKULEIA, and next to it, a small GRAPHIC-SIGN with an airplane.
These signs point towards the underpass of a bridge; go under the bridge. A half-block beyond the bridge, and on your left, is Waialua Intermediate & High School .
Continue about another 5 miles to the airfield.
Dillingham Airfield is a 2-mile-long airstrip, parallel to the highway, with a green chain-link perimeter fence-line.
There are 3 entrances to the Airfield. Entrance #1 is for the SKYDIVE activities (and the interior service-road for the
airfield). Entrance #2 is 1.5 miles further, and THAT is the Glider-port entrance.
As you enter the GLIDER-PORT parking lot, there is an OPEN-SIDED SHELTER-BUILDING
straight-ahead. This is the RECEPTION area. Ask for The Original Glider Rides/ Honolulu Soaring, and check in with “Mr. Bill”.

Directions from Turtle Bay Resort – North Shore to Dillingham Airfield
**Approximate drive-time = 45 minutes**

Get on Kamehameha Hwy (Hwy 83) going South and West.
Continue past Sunset Beach, past Pupukea (TRAFFIC SIGNAL), past Waimea Bay.
About 3 miles past Waimea Bay is the next TRAFFIC SIGNAL.
Go straight thru that 1st Haleiwa traffic signal, you will come upon ANOTHER traffic-light in about 1.5 miles;
and you will get into the RIGHT-HAND TURN LANE which will bring you to a TRAFFIC-CIRCLE (counter-clock-wise traffic) AT THE OTHER END OF HALEIWA.
HUG THE CIRCLE.
One of the exits out of the traffic-circle indicates destination MOKULEIA / Hwy 930 That’s the direction you want. You are now on the start of Hwy 930.
ABOUT 1 MILE BEYOND THE TRAFFIC CIRCLE is an INTERSECTION blinker-light; …‘RED’ for you . This is the intersection of Hwy 803 and Hwy 930.
TURN RIGHT after stopping at that intersection.You are now continuing on Hwy 930.
FROM THE BLINKER-LIGHT INTERSECTION, AFTER MAKING THE RIGHT-HAND TURN, continue ahead for about 1 mile.
Look for a ROAD-SIGN for MOKULEIA, and next to it, a small GRAPHIC-SIGN with an airplane.
These signs point towards the underpass of a bridge; go under the bridge.
A half-block beyond the bridge, and on your left, is Waialua Intermediate & High School.
Continue about another 5 miles.
Dillingham Airfield is a 2-mile-long airstrip, parallel to the highway, with a green chain-link perimeter fence-line.
There are 3 entrances to the Airfield. Entrance #1 is for the SKYDIVE activities (and the interior service-road for the
airfield). Entrance #2 is 1.5 miles further, and THAT is the Glider-port entrance.
As you enter the GLIDER-PORT parking lot, there is an OPEN-SIDED SHELTER-BUILDING straight-ahead.
This is the RECEPTION area. Ask for The Original Glider Rides / Honolulu Soaring, and check in with “Mr. Bill”.