Meeting & Party in Waimanalo on November 10

Update: Clubhouse will be available for hanging out and partying from NOON onwards. Meeting and dinner will commence at 6 pm. We'll post updates as we see how the flying weather turns out. Please don't forget your $20 dues. I think I have a volleyball but if anyone else has one please bring it just in case. See you all there!

Once again, we are grateful to Rich for securing us a venue at the clubhouse of the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club in Waimanalo. This time we will have the posh party pad to ourselves for the entire day! If the weather cooperates, we can fly at Makapuu and land near the clubhouse at the beach. We'll call the meeting to order at 6 pm, to make quick work of our agenda, and then we can relax for the rest of the evening.

This is our last meeting of the year, so we will be signing up members for next year, and also electing our board of directors. Please bring $20 for dues and a bit extra to contribute to the BBQ fund for the day. As usual, we will impose on Peter to provide meat for us to grill, and we encourage everyone else to bring pupus, side dishes and beverages to share.

Please check back here for updates regarding the timing and the agenda. The clubhouse is located at 41-023 Puuone Street. Please mark your calendars and join us for a fun day of flying and partying!

Busy Weekend at Makapuu

What a busy weekend. On Saturday, we spent the morning installing Johan's plaque, and then we retreated to the LZ to install the new wind sock, courtesy of Dale and the hang gliding club. I got to help Dale and Mike launch (my first time as a wire man!) and then loads of pilots flew Makapuu in the late afternoon. And Bob took Logan on a tandem flight! On Sunday, we unveiled the plaque and gathered for a brief ceremony at Cactus, and later in the afternoon the Makapuu regulars took to the air once the sea breeze had filled in.

Thanks to everyone who worked hard to make everything happen this weekend: to Phil for casting the plaque, to Pete for the raw materials, to Bob for his installation work, to Rich for scoring us a hammer drill, and to Don for finding the spot. Thanks to Dale and the HHA for the new wind sock, to Bob for fixing the internal cage and installing the sock, and to Pete for greasing the pole. And thanks to everyone else for all the stuff you did too -- especially for showing up, which is all I managed to do. It was great to see everyone out there. If anyone else has pictures to share from this weekend, let us know, or send me a link and I'll include them here.

Remembering Johan

Latest Update: Install crew will meet at Cactus at 9:30 am SATURDAY morning (any helpers are welcome), and we'll bolt it into the rock up there for dedication ceremony on SUNDAY to take place at 10 am.

Almost a year has passed since the accident that claimed the life of our friend and fellow pilot, Johan Håkansson. We have asked Phil to make a bronze plaque in time for the anniversary of that day. Let's get together on Sunday, October 21, to dedicate the plaque at Makapuu, and celebrate Johan's memory.

We will probably be installing the plaque on Saturday in order to have it in place for our dedication on Sunday. If anyone will be available to help out with that on Saturday, please let me know. After re-reading the comments on our memorial page, I have borrowed from a couple of them to come up with this short and simple inscription for the plaque:

IN MEMORY OF JOHAN HÅKANSSON
WE CELEBRATE HIS PASSION FOR FLIGHT
AND THE GIFT OF HIS FRIENDSHIP

OCTOBER 21, 2007

If you have strong feelings about the wording, please let me know. We are currently deliberating between installing the plaque at Cactus or Manics launch, in a location where only pilots would be likely to notice it.