James’ World

I spent a 5-day Thanksgiving weekend in Honolulu flying and enjoying Hawaiian Regional Cuisine (HRC).

Hawaiian Airlines arrived at Honolulu Airport at noon Thursday, so I headed straight to the GA area on Lagoon Drive, ate a Hawaiian-style plate lunch at Hawaiian BBQ, and got a practice flight in right away at George’s Aviation.

Note: theBus’ Lagoon Drive route was cancelled 2 months ago, so you’ll need a rental car or catch a cab on the east side of Lagoon Dr. just south of Nimitz.

I initially flew a 5 year-old Cessna 172SP. This was not a great choice for me to practise for a flight review as the panel instruments (HSI, GPS, etc.) and handling were quite different than my usual 172N choice.

The 172 SP has a fuel-injected 0360 engine with a lot more power, and the airframe is a lot cleaner than a 30-year old N model, so handling in the landing flare is different. (Apparently George bought if from a Fedex captain who kept it as a toy.)

Then I went to my “discount-rate hotel” – the 4-star Waikiki Resort Hotel at Koa and Kauilani Streets – for $89/nite. That’s about half price, so occupancy rates must be really low. (When I was paying for my flight online, a partner popup promoted this deal. I guess I was targeted very effectively.)

After another practise flight the next day, I started my FAA Flight Review.

Every 24 months, a flight review by a CFI is required. It used to be called a Biennial Flight Review (BFR), but I understand it may become an annual requirement, hence the recent renaming to just “Flight Review.”

CFI Bob gave me a 1 hour flight review oral quiz. Mostly it involved demonstrating detailed knowledge of airspace on a sectional chart, and explaining the various FARs about pilot and aircraft currency.

After that we did a one-hour flight out of Honolulu Class B airspace to the Wheeler south practise area for private pilot maneuvers, followed by some landings at Kaleiloa Class D airport, and return for landing at HNL.

It was a challenging flight. The winds changed from quite calm for Hawaii using Tradewind procedures to Kona wind procedures mid-flight, resulting in runway changes at both airports. Also, Honolulu Approach frequency was busy for almost 5 minutes, so I had to circle outside the Class B before landing.

It appears the standard North Arrival at 1500′ has been changed to the North2 Arrival at 2000′, effective in the new Airport and Facility Guide (AFD).

I ate the buffet at Sheraton Princess Kaiulani one nite, and another nite had the Pear salad and Linguini Seafood at Sergio’s Italian (yelp reviews) in the location formerly occupied by Sam Choy’s near the Honolulu Zoo.

The city block-sized Compusa near downtown was closed due to bankruptcy, and most of the retail stores on the first level of Ala Moana were new to me since the last trip.

The hotel TV had some interesting items. The Subway $5 ad had one hilarious version with 3 hula dancers doing a hula to the ad song. There was a well-researched hour-long documentary on the history of the UFC, including interviews with the original creators and current owners and president. Plus lots of local news coverage of the Hawaiian airline industry court battles over the bankrupt Aloha airlines trademark.

The shuttle bus back to the airport was only $9, and left plenty of time to eat at the Lahaina Chicken location. The roast chicken and beef combo platter was really good.

Next time I’ll take the free airport wiki shuttle out to the mainland gate. It’s too humid to run around outside with luggage. (Any gate higher than 26 is a long walk with luggage.)

Hawaiian Airlines has the most primitive in-flight entertainment systems, but it’s only a 4.5 hour flight, so I didn’t bother to rent a headset for $5 or a digimedia player for $15. Instead I watched my seatmate cheat on beginner’s crossword puzzles, which was quite amusing.

You Know You’re From Hawaii If…