Flying Sites

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This site guide is an overview of useful information for new local pilots and for visitors: click the title of each site for more details. Please contact a local club member for a site introduction before flying any of our sites. Thanks for your understanding! Also please see our list of answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Oahu flying for visitors.

Kahana

Kahana is a State Park located near the top of the windward coast of the island. It is a remote lush valley surrounded by tall ridges and fronted by a mile-wide beach and bay. One of the ridges over the bay faces the tradewinds, and provides consistent ridge soaring over one of the most beautiful undeveloped vistas on the island. The lift is mostly ridge lift, with the possibility for some gentle thermals mixed in.

Makapuu

The Makapuu ridge is a world class ridge soaring site located on the eastern tip of the island, pioneered and made famous in the early days of hang gliding. The ridge stretches three miles down the coastline, from the lighthouse perched on steep sea cliffs that rise from the churning waves below, to the hang launch overlooking a 1200 foot sheer drop to the beach.

Lanikai

The ridge at Lanikai is a small hill overlooking an isolated and exclusive beachfront community. The site is flown in moderate tradewinds, especially when the direction is too east for Makapuu or Kahana. The flying is mostly ridge soaring with some thermals available on lighter days to get you higher. On the weekends the beach is super crowded and the landings can be challenging.

Nanakuli

On the leeward coast of the island we have our thermal-only site, located on the dry and sun-baked western slopes of the Waianae Range. On days when the tradewinds aren't blowing very hard or at all, the strong thermals on the west side can rival those in mainland desert locations. The hike is not trivial, but it's worth it for the rare opportunity to fly thermic lift like real pilots do.

Koko Crater

Just around the corner from Makapuu is a crater that offers a combination of ridge soaring and thermalling on days when the wind is anywhere south of east. This site features our largest and easiest landing site, the vast manicured green expanse of grass behind Sandy Beach Park, first pioneered by the hang gliders flying from Makapuu in the early days. Depending on the wind strength and direction this site can vary from easy ridge soaring to rock and roll thermic air.

Koko Head

Every day, joggers and dog walkers enjoy the steep paved trail that leads to the VORTAC installation atop Koko Head. These hardy hikers are rewarded by a panoramic view of Maunalua Bay. On rare winter days when the winds are blowing moderate S to SW, hardy paraglider pilots will brave the hike to soar the ridge.

Mariners Ridge

This ridge overlooking Hawaii Kai is accessed by a DLNR hiking trail, and generally supports thermic flying when the conditions are light S to SW.

Diamond Head

On the rare prefrontal winter days when we have moderate southerly Kona winds and it's not pouring rain, Diamond Head Crater can be flown from a roadside clearing on a beach cliff. The launches and landings in this clearing can be technically challenging, but the reward is a smooth ridge soaring flight and a world class view of Waikiki and Honolulu. We don't get as high as we'd like here because this site is located under class B airspace with a floor of 1000 feet.

Tantalus

Tantalus is a roadside scenic mountain overlook above downtown Honolulu, with sweeping panoramic views of the developed side of the island from Diamond Head to Pearl Harbor, enjoyed by hundreds of tourists and car thieves every day. The occasional intrepid paraglider pilot enjoys it as well, on rare days when the winds are light and southerly or southeasterly and the cloudbase is on the high side. The site is mostly thermic with occasional periods of buoyant ridge lift. This site is not recommended for any but the most experienced pilots, because the conditions are notoriously changeable and difficult to judge, and the only good landing option is back on top. Inadvertent landings in school fields and parks in town have all resulted in calls to security and police.

Sunset

On the remote North Shore of Oahu, above the famous wintertime big wave surfing beaches, is a mountaintop circuit of motocross tracks in the woods, with one track that takes you to a low cliff that faces northwest. The gate to the track is only open on the weekends, and the riders tolerate us if we keep our cars parked out of their way. This site only works on the rare wintertime postfrontal days when it's not pouring. Generally it's ridge lift but on lighter days the thermals are workable. On the best days here you can soar the entire miles-long ridge between Kahuku and Waimea.

Makua

This site is located on the remote northern tip of the west side of the island, on the low extension of a ridge that encloses a gorgeous remote valley that is used exclusively by the army for training exercises and blowing things up. The site is only soarable in the moderate westerly winds that accompany storm fronts. On the best days here you can get up high and work your way down the ridges towards Nanakuli to the south.

Kaena Point/Dillingham

The ridge at Kaena Point, at the remote NW tip of the island, is a miles-long thousand foot cliff that runs behind Dillingham airfield and gliderport. It faces north and works best in the rare light north winds we sometimes get in the wintertime. In the old days the pilots used to get day permits to enter the Air Force gate on the west side of the ridge and drive up to the launch area from the back, but then they had to make sure to top-land because driving to the bottom would require a very long drive around the whole Waianae mountain range. In recent years pilots have flown this site by hiking up from the bottom, or launching from halfway up on stronger days. There also used to be a launch site behind the airfield at the top of the Kealia Trail. Due to it's remote location and rare flyable conditions, this site is infrequently flown.