Sunday, September 10, 2006

Kealakekua LZ Options

Neil from the Big Island club called me the other day, to let me know there's a huge new coffee farm being cleared just adjacent to the new LZ over there. It's manicured, flat and rolled, and offers a nice large temporary alternative to the actual landing area for visiting pilots who need a bit more room. I think the dry winter season should be kicking in soon now, so the timing seems especially good to me.

For those who aren't already familiar with it, the Kealakekua site boasts a grassy alpine-style launch and some of the easiest fattest thermals in the state. Many Oahu pilots have made the pilgrimage over there for a friendly introduction to thermal flying, and on the best days the local guys have done some incredible XC flights. The official LZ has always been a bit challenging for newer pilots though, so that's why this adjacent field is such good news, for as long as it's available. For more information, please contact Neil or anyone on the contacts page of the Big Island club website.

3 comments:

Onomea Eric said...

Hearing of the bigger LZ, two of us Hilo guys, drove the 2 1/2 hours over to Kealakekua this past Saturday. Arriving at about 9:30, checked out the small carpeted LZ, staged the cars, and drove up with Niel to launch mauka of the highway. The clouds were already abundant, and the ceiling was not too far above launch. Although not ideal for extended flights, we set up, waited for a cycle, and launched for a 12 minute semi-sledder. The huge bulldozed area (new subdivision) was visable from launch is adjacent to their existing LZ. Good fun, easy landing and we repeated once more before making the long drive home.

Onomea Eric

Brazilian Ray said...

Great idea! I'm in!

Alex said...

The Bed and Breakfast place at the Kealakekua LZ is called Ah Paradise and you can find out more about it at www.ahparadise.com.