Thursday, January 20, 2011

Longest Days

Longest days … has kind of a dual meaning to us pilots … it could mean the farthest or longest flight … or it could mean simply the best flight or the worst flight. We are always living and learning and hoping for the longest days. If these are the longest days; then man, have I scored or what? I just had my best flight from Makapu'u ever!




I did some of it alone. It was a long day. It was a good day. It was a great day! I flew my first flight from Makapu'u in real XC conditions and found that I was able to make it to Hygienics. My video cut out at the H3, but it was a fun, great flight. Others made it much further than I did: Jorge made it to Pounders, Alex to Waikane, JK to Hakipuu, and Mad Dog to Kaaawa -- but I guarantee for each of them it was a longest day (in its own right).

As pilots, we actually live our lives to the fullest, while many others simply do not. So, Monkeys, here's to our longest days! Every day!

Duck

7 comments:

Thom said...

Thanks Duck,

We have a great group with awesome flights and we should take time to reflect.

We are the spoiled few. When ever I have a sled ride and I am not happy with that, Ike says "Jump in the air" then he says, "How long were you in the air?". My response always is "a second" then he says "How long did you fly today?" No matter how long or how far we fly each time we launch, we always fly longer than all the ground walkers.

We are the privileged few and only we that fly know the addiction of this grace.

So Monkeys Fly, No matter how long or how far, you have flown it is a privilege that so few have ever known. Remember those days and when you have to walk away or hike down, don't curse the wind gods for their lack of compassion but remember those days of glory that they bestowed on to you.

Its Time to Fly Get your Gear and Go!!!

Duck said...

Thanks Thom! I agree!

JK said...

Nice shots, Duck. Each scene reminded me of the technical challenges & lessons learned. I had hopes of getting my own video of the Haiku Stairs, but my GoPro case fogged up. Glad you got it. Nice flying. Great day! Eager for more....

Alex said...

What a great video! Thanks for putting that together. I could watch that over and over again.

I was overjoyed to see you finally make it out for a classic Makapuu XC day like this one. Now you know what I love most about Makapuu - getting away from there! Actually I could say that about every site we fly. But getting away from Makapuu is surely one of the most scenic flights I can think of. And you captured it very nicely!

MauiDoug said...

Awesome video Duck!! Perfect song! I was so excited to launch I forgot my video camera in the van. Thanks Duck, Alex and Mad Dog for capturing the epic day. It's so cool to experience the flight again and again :-)

Very profound words Duck, Alex and Thom! We are all truly blessed for all of these epic flights and also those epic sledders! Thanks again guys for the poetic words to remind us all how lucky we are to live Hawaii :-)

Anonymous said...

Did you use 'overjoyed' in the sentence above?

Fireman Dave

Alex said...

Yup!