World Famous Makapuu

Click image for more photos!Lee and Natalie fly high, while Hans and PMac kite low

The Hawaii PG Tour doesn't begin until this Friday, but a few pilots have started trickling in early. A nice, post-frontal weather system with light north winds presented itself over the Koolau Range and some of the locals got off earlier (one of them, "Mad Dog", eventually landed downrange at Kualoa Park!).

Our crew showed up at the Makapuu LZ after lunch where PMac and Hans got a feel for the wind with a kiting session. Natalie, Lee, and I headed to Manics launch where Lee got airborne, cranking in some turns before gaining enough altitude to transition over to the main cliff face above Sealife Park.

Natalie and I then hiked a bit higher up to Cactus Launch with little Nika in front. Once we got to the top, Lee decided to try for his first toplanding, and, after working to lose height out front, he set up well and put his new Cobra in just behind launch.

President of the Hawaiian PG Association and long time flying friend, Alex Colby, came in for a quick launch buzz to say "hello!" before scooting off to pick up his kids from school.

The wind remained good and Natalie launched into the solid lift band, turning and gaining with ease. I followed with Nika and we tried to climb up to her level.

Unfortunately, Nika wasn't as comfortable as she'd have liked so I had to cut our flight short, staring longingly up at Natalie who was the highest on the ridge.

After I landed, Lee and Natalie flew together for another 10-15mins before they put down in the LZ as well.

The local pilots described today's flying conditions as quite rare as typically, the trade winds blow strong and the cloud base is lower, which was a welcome introduction for our Canadian Crew.

Here is a post I did on the local Hawaiian WINDLINES site yesterday: Doggie-style