Motorgliding and Gliding in Hawaii

[involatus]

Hello,

I live in Switzerland and currently I fly Gliders and Motorgliders such as HK36 TTC and SF25.

I'll probably go to Hawaii between August and December for a language stay. I would really love to fly Gliders or Motorgliders in Hawaii. Are there any Gliding club which rents their gliders and motorgliders? How popular is gliding in Hawaii? Is there any particular season where it's possible to fly gliders or is it possible all the year round?

Has anyone experience to convert an EASA SPL Licence in a Hawaii compatible license?

Best regards
involatus

[BL]

The scenery is gorgeous.

I flew around Dillingham ( HDH ), last December 2015, on Oahu, Hawaii.  I am a low time glider pilot.  The crosswind is significant, all the way down to the hard surface runway.

My plan is to return this Dec. to fly some more, and receive a winch launch endorsement.

I have had one glider ride from "Mr. Bill's" operation (on the airfield), in a Schweitzer 2-32.  My pilot (a CFI-G) "JJ" was great.

However, most of my flying has been with Hanna Hou in a Grob 103, http://higlideracademy.com/.

I counted 3 (?) Grob 109s, and one Lambada, on the field.  I understand that none of the 109s are flying, and are for sale.  I have no information on the Lambada.

Aloha!

[Lert]

Gruetzi, Inviolatus--

In addition to the operation at Dillingham, there's an operation at Hana (at the far end of the island of Maui--worth the beautiful drive; Charles Lindbergh lived there the last years of his life and is buried nearby).  It's called Skyview Soaring (http://skyviewsoaring.com) and operates a Super Dimona.  I haven't flown with them, and I don't think he rents the motorglider out, but I'm sure you could fly with him.

I live in California and have a Taifun 17E--a type I fell in love with when I flew one with my high school (Lyceum Alpinum Zuoz, 1963-66) friend Alvaro de Orleans from Germany to Nepal to do weather research flying in the Himalayas. Do you happen to know Bruno Neininger (originally at the ETH, now lives in Menzingen)? He was part of that expedition and is a good friend.

We will be in Colorado for the summer, where I may have access to a Stemme S10VT.  Contact me directly by email (peter.s.lert@gmail.com) if you happen to get to that part of the world.

Auf wiederluege,

Peter Lert

 

[jdyeomans]

Hi, Inviolatus.  I live on Oahu and keep my Phoenix in a hangar at Dillingham.  Also have an ASH-26E, soon to morph into a ASH-31mi. in a hangar at Mt. Valley glider port in Tehachapi, CA.  Grobs, ASKs and some older Schweizers are available for rent at Dillingham.  With a motor glider you can experience an incredibly beautiful flight, soaring along the Koolaus the entire length of Oahu in the trades.  I have a guest room.  Come fly.  <jdyeomans@guam.net>--Dennis

[involatus]

Hello

Wow, I'm quite impressed about the resonance.

On 19.4.2016 at 4:05 AM, BL said:

The scenery is gorgeous.

I flew around Dillingham ( HDH ), last December 2015, on Oahu, Hawaii.  I am a low time glider pilot.  The crosswind is significant, all the way down to the hard surface runway.

My plan is to return this Dec. to fly some more, and receive a winch launch endorsement.

I have had one glider ride from "Mr. Bill's" operation (on the airfield), in a Schweitzer 2-32.  My pilot (a CFI-G) "JJ" was great.

However, most of my flying has been with Hanna Hou in a Grob 103, http://higlideracademy.com/.

I counted 3 (?) Grob 109s, and one Lambada, on the field.  I understand that none of the 109s are flying, and are for sale.  I have no information on the Lambada.

Aloha!

That's sounds absolutly great. I'm looking forward to it  
Are you from europe? Do you had problems with converting your licence? What are the cost to rent a glider at Dilingham?

On 19.4.2016 at 5:23 AM, Lert said:

Gruetzi, Inviolatus--

In addition to the operation at Dillingham, there's an operation at Hana (at the far end of the island of Maui--worth the beautiful drive; Charles Lindbergh lived there the last years of his life and is buried nearby).  It's called Skyview Soaring (http://skyviewsoaring.com) and operates a Super Dimona.  I haven't flown with them, and I don't think he rents the motorglider out, but I'm sure you could fly with him.

I live in California and have a Taifun 17E--a type I fell in love with when I flew one with my high school (Lyceum Alpinum Zuoz, 1963-66) friend Alvaro de Orleans from Germany to Nepal to do weather research flying in the Himalayas. Do you happen to know Bruno Neininger (originally at the ETH, now lives in Menzingen)? He was part of that expedition and is a good friend.

We will be in Colorado for the summer, where I may have access to a Stemme S10VT.  Contact me directly by email (peter.s.lert@gmail.com) if you happen to get to that part of the world.

Auf wiederluege,

Peter Lert

 

Hi Peter,

Your flight must have been an extraordinary experience. I don't know Bruno personally. But I'm a member in the same Gliding Glub called AFG (Akademische Fluggruppe Zürich) as him. Thanks for that website link.

Sadly I don't think I'll get near Colorado. But a Stemme is definitely on my Bucketlist!

Grüsse
Pascal

1 hour ago, jdyeomans said:

Hi, Inviolatus.  I live on Oahu and keep my Phoenix in a hangar at Dillingham.  Also have an ASH-26E, soon to morph into a ASH-31mi. in a hangar at Mt. Valley glider port in Tehachapi, CA.  Grobs, ASKs and some older Schweizers are available for rent at Dillingham.  With a motor glider you can experience an incredibly beautiful flight, soaring along the Koolaus the entire length of Oahu in the trades.  I have a guest room.  Come fly.  <jdyeomans@guam.net>--Dennis

Hi Dennis,

Thanks a lot for the offer. Maybe I'll get back to you.

Sounds like Hawaii is a great place for soaring. I have no idea about that right now. What distances do you fly in good conditions? I think outlanding in Hawaii is more like a nightmare. What is your top season during the year? Can I expect some good thermals from August till December?

Do you think it's realistic to fly motorgliders or gliders by myself after a checkride? I'm not sure if the airspace is as complex as in switzerland. But I'm sure there are a lot different things to lookout for and so an experienced Instructor or Co-Pilot would be best on all flights for sure.

First I have to get rid of the administrativ things like the license before even thinking about flying in this gorgeous landscape. Could be really hard to accomplish.

Thanks for your informations and im looking forward to it

Best regards
Pascal

[BL]

I am an American, and I cannot comment about the portability of your Swiss pilot's license.  I am sorry.  Email the people at http://higlideracademy.com/, and they will advise you.  I believe the majority of their students are from Japan.

You should ensure that you have glider hull and liability insurance that is applicable to your planned flying activities in the USA.  I buy my renter's insurance through Costello Insurance Associates, but there are other insurance brokers.

One thing to know: President Obama generally vacations on Oahu Hawaii in December, and there have been Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) that stop general aviation flight operations on Dillingham some of the days Obama is on the North Shore of Oahu, visiting friends.  I have been unable to fly one full day, perhaps more, due to TFRs.

I have not soloed on Hawaii, as I have had difficulty maintaining a well aligned side slip all the way down to landing on Dillingham.  One CFIG I flew with has flown wave to 14000 feet on Oahu, but that is a rare occurrence.  I believe he said he can see all the way around the island when in wave.

Much of the ridge near Dillingham is near, or in, restricted airspace (especially the leeward side), but that airspace is usually open.  Local pilots above can speak to that better than me.

Most of my flying has been in Florida.

Aloha!

[BL]

I would like advice on flying in the Alps, and especially places to ride with an instructor.  Thank you.

[involatus]

Thanks for your informations about gliding around Dilligham. As I've seen on onlinecontest.org there is not much xc gliding in hawaii. Probably the landscape and airspace is not that easy. Maybe a Motorglider would be better to experience the beauty of hawaii. But this could be a more tremendous fight to validate a foreign motorglider license.  

On 26.4.2016 at 3:58 AM, BL said:

I would like advice on flying in the Alps, and especially places to ride with an instructor.  Thank you.

Do I understand you correct? You would like to go gliding in the swiss or french alps? Then I could help you with some contacts and links.

[BL]

4 hours ago, involatus said:

Thanks for your informations about gliding around Dilligham. As I've seen on onlinecontest.org there is not much xc gliding in hawaii. Probably the landscape and airspace is not that easy. Maybe a Motorglider would be better to experience the beauty of hawaii. But this could be a more tremendous fight to validate a foreign motorglider license.  

Do I understand you correct? You would like to go gliding in the swiss or french alps? Then I could help you with some contacts and links.

Yes, XC would be a challenge on Oahu, and landing out may be too thrilling.  Hawaii is beautiful; especially during the wet season (Winter) because the foliage is green.

I would like to fly in the Alps in 12-16 months from now, possibly later.  Any general advice would be appreciated, for instance, recommended locations in France, Switzerland, or Italy.

[involatus]

On 29.4.2016 at 2:26 AM, BL said:

Yes, XC would be a challenge on Oahu, and landing out may be too thrilling.  Hawaii is beautiful; especially during the wet season (Winter) because the foliage is green.

I would like to fly in the Alps in 12-16 months from now, possibly later.  Any general advice would be appreciated, for instance, recommended locations in France, Switzerland, or Italy.

I can really recommend gliding in the alps. It's beautiful and an extraordinary experience.

In Switzerland I can recommend you Schänis or Samaden. Schänis is right next to the alps and a perfect enter for that. They have good instructors and a lot of gliders for renting. Even an Arcus M 
Samaden is located in the famous Engadin and very close to 4000m peaks like Piz Bernina and the beautiful Biancograt. Here a clip about our gliding in Samaden last year (https://youtu.be/CDeuVM3Figo?t=5m37s). It's a paradise for gliding. Maybe Samaden is a bit more expensive than Schänis. But both are great and on good days you can easily fly to each region thermally and with slope wind.

In France I was only twice in St. Crépin right next to the Ecrins massif with lot of peaks about 4000 meters. I can really recommend gliding there. If you get to St. Crépin le Moulin Papillon is your stay (http://www.moulin-papillon.com/). Enjoy some special french food with good wine. Perfect after a wonderful day of gliding. They have some vintage ASK13 which are quiet fun to glide in the alps. But there are also some Pegase and a Janus for renting. They are all very supportive and your very welcome. Aspres or Puimoisson are located in the lower terrain but it's not very uncommon that all gliders startet in Aspres and Puimoissons end up in the Ecrins massiv and passing overhead St. Crépin. Check out the flights on onlinecontest.org and you will get quiet a good picture about whats possible in that region. Klaus Ohlmann flies often from Serres la batie. I've heard it's very good too.

Give it a try. You wont regret this experience.

 

[DucFanDan]

On April 20, 2016 at 1:13 AM, jdyeomans said:

Hi, Inviolatus.  I live on Oahu and keep my Phoenix in a hangar at Dillingham.  Also have an ASH-26E, soon to morph into a ASH-31mi. in a hangar at Mt. Valley glider port in Tehachapi, CA.  Grobs, ASKs and some older Schweizers are available for rent at Dillingham.  With a motor glider you can experience an incredibly beautiful flight, soaring along the Koolaus the entire length of Oahu in the trades.  I have a guest room.  Come fly.  <jdyeomans@guam.net>--Dennis

Bringing this thread back... I will be on Oahu in the near future. Would love to try gliding there, and particularly to try on any available motorgliders for size. At 6'4" ad new to this realm, I'm finding it somewhat difficult to get good info on fitment for taller pilots. Can you direct me who to talk to at Dillingham about the Grobs and ASKs based there?

[Dave McConeghey]

We are going to the Big Island of Hawaii this Friday Nov. 30th, 2018 and will be there for a week.  Any Motorglider/Glider contacts there? Will be based at Kona.

[Larry Severson]

On 4/17/2016 at 11:40 PM, involatus said:

 

 

gliders and motorgliders? How popular is gliding in Hawaii? Is there any particular season where it's possible to fly gliders or is it possible all the year roun

 

[Larry Severson]

Getting more popular.  Year around.

[Larry Severson]

yes

[Larry Severson]

hope so.

[Larry Severson]

Can fly on all islands.

[Larry Severson]

year around

[Larry Severson]

anytime

[Larry Severson]

now