Renting in Kona, Hawaii

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sballmer

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Stefan
I will be in Kona, Hawaii for a week in May. Since I can't haul myself over there in a 182, I 'll have to rent...

Airnav has several rental places listed at Kona airport, but I was wondering whether anybody has suggestions or recommendations for FBOs or flight schools. I am also curious what the checkout requirements are in Hawaii.

Any advice is much appreciated.
 
Ferry tanks are your friend. :)
 
www.pilotsofamerica.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46765

Checkout requirements are a well-kept secret, because the owners want the flexibility to weed out suspects that meet the ostensible requirements. I tried to shake this info off them and they just won't tell. Eventually, Mike Lauro admitted that his rule of thumb nowadays is to even start considering solo renters with IR and 300 hours. I have a feeling that requirements keep crawling up every year. I talked to local pilots who rented in Kona just few years ago and it was not quite as onerous.
 
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Unless load/seats are a issue why bother getting checked out? Just have the CFI as "baggage" in the right seat. I've done this a few times when I knew I'd never fly there again or at least not for a time period that would require another checkout. For the most part the CFI is more then willing to go where you want as he is getting paid anyway. Yes it's a pain but you have to do what you have to do.
 
As Pete references, I was just out there. If you have any questions, you can PM me, but my experience was great. My pilot was Rhonda. She's a CPL tour pilot--not a CFI. But it was far more relaxing to fly and let her do the tour-spieling and waypoint reporting!
 
spiderweb said:
As Pete references, I was just out there. If you have any questions, you can PM me, but my experience was great. My pilot was Rhonda. She's a CPL tour pilot--not a CFI. But it was far more relaxing to fly and let her do the tour-spieling and waypoint reporting!
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That's the way I'd want to do it, as long as I could log PIC time. Did she allow you to fly the plane? We did something similar in New Zealand, and we actually got New Zealand pilot certificates and did the flying ourselves. Having someone knowledgeable about local procedures, reporting points, and even pronunciation is invaluable!
 
I've rented from Mike Lauro (TropicBird) at Kona a few times, most recently in 2007. Great guy, I'd share a cockpit with him any time. As suggested by others I'd recommend just renting dual. The CFI makes a great tour guide and can pronounce the reporting points on the radio far better than you will be able. I've also rented on Maui and Oahu with the same game and it worked well. Just be prepared for sticker shock. I don't know what their rates are now, but in 2007 I paid $200/hr dual for a C-172 with TropicBird. Cost me $500 to circumnavigate the big island. :D
 
Ghery said:
I don't know what their rates are now, but in 2007 I paid $200/hr dual for a C-172 with TropicBird. Cost me $500 to circumnavigate the big island. :D
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I paid $386 for 1.4 hr with Mike in his 182 on Christmas 2011. However, that includes some overhead and taxes. The list price in that aircraft is $175/hr. I am going to fly an Arrow tonight, it's $164/hr deep in the heart of New Mexico. I didn't have much of a sticker shock.
 
For what they're going to charge it is worth it to install ferry tanks and fly the 182.

:D
 
Thanks for the advice. I will make a few phone calls regarding the checkout riquirements.

zaitcev said:
Checkout requirements are a well-kept secret, because the owners want the flexibility to weed out suspects that meet the ostensible requirements. I tried to shake this info off them and they just won't tell.
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I previously rented in Anchorage. There the checkout included the Anchorage area VFR departure procedure, and a mountain flying checkout. Plus the weather needs to be severe VFR (10sm visibility, and the deck at at least 5000ft or something like that). Rather strict requirements, but arguably reasonable for the Alaska environment. Is Hawaii similar? And if so, what's special? ( Other than lots of water, interrupted by a few tall mountains, of course. )
 
Anthony said:
For what they're going to charge it is worth it to install ferry tanks and fly the 182.

:D
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And don't forget what they charge to ride in a cigar tube to Hawaii these days... and that's only slightly less stressful than a few thousand miles over open ocean in a single. :D
 
gprellwitz said:
That's the way I'd want to do it, as long as I could log PIC time. Did she allow you to fly the plane? We did something similar in New Zealand, and we actually got New Zealand pilot certificates and did the flying ourselves. Having someone knowledgeable about local procedures, reporting points, and even pronunciation is invaluable!
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She never touched the controls (despite the fact that she was the owner!). It was a beautiful 2008 G1000 Cessna Skyhawk in just pristine condition. I understand that it is also used in the flight school, but students there must have incredible respect for their rentals as this airplane was pristine! By the way, there is a special bonus back-story to this aircraft which, regrettably, Rhonda wanted me not to spread around. PM me if you want to know!
 
Anthony said:
For what they're going to charge it is worth it to install ferry tanks and fly the 182.

:D
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I know you're only half-kidding, but really it is only about 20 or 30% more than here in MD. And the scenery? Oh gosh, the -scenery-! :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
rottydaddy said:
And don't forget what they charge to ride in a cigar tube to Hawaii these days... and that's only slightly less stressful than a few thousand miles over open ocean in a single. :D
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120,000 miles + $20 for the two of us for this summer. :D Gotta love frequent flier miles. :D :D
 
sballmer said:
Is Hawaii similar? And if so, what's special?
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There were reasons named. Islands that big, sticking out of the flat ocean into the tradewinds, create local weather. For example, it always blows at least 20G30 at Waimea. I tried to land there and had to go around. In addition, smoke from the volcano trails along the coast towards the South Point and creates whiteout conditions when you cannot see the horizon on a bright VFR day.

However, none of this explains why floor of the requirements creeps up all the time. Are pilots getting worse? Or just more litiguous?

Personally, from what I saw, I think I could've circumnavigated the Big Island reasonably safely, by taking an airplane with endurance of at least 3 hours (or more), timing my arrival to Hilo in the morning when it stops raining, and being ready to turn back if there's a problem. Also, staying close to the water and not taking chances above 5000 ft.
 
zaitcev said:
There were reasons named. Islands that big, sticking out of the flat ocean into the tradewinds, create local weather. For example, it always blows at least 20G30 at Waimea. I tried to land there and had to go around. In addition, smoke from the volcano trails along the coast towards the South Point and creates whiteout conditions when you cannot see the horizon on a bright VFR day.

However, none of this explains why floor of the requirements creeps up all the time. Are pilots getting worse? Or just more litiguous?

Personally, from what I saw, I think I could've circumnavigated the Big Island reasonably safely, by taking an airplane with endurance of at least 3 hours (or more), timing my arrival to Hilo in the morning when it stops raining, and being ready to turn back if there's a problem. Also, staying close to the water and not taking chances above 5000 ft.
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Also, the weather is local--not very often do they get actual weather -systems-. What that means is you can very easily and safely do VFR on top.
 
spiderweb said:
I know you're only half-kidding, but really it is only about 20 or 30% more than here in MD. And the scenery? Oh gosh, the -scenery-! :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
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Its been about 13 years since I rented a plane, so I get sticker shock when I see rental rates anywhere. Go for it Ben, and enjoy the scenery!
 
Anthony said:
Its been about 13 years since I rented a plane, so I get sticker shock when I see rental rates anywhere. Go for it Ben, and enjoy the scenery!
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Thanks! It is actually Stefan who is going, though. (I was just there.) :)
 
I did it. Rented form Tropic Bird at Kona airport, and flew ~2.8h all around the Big Island. Mike from Tropic Bird came along - great guy. We hit a beautiful day.
 
sballmer said:
I did it. Rented form Tropic Bird at Kona airport, and flew ~2.8h all around the Big Island. Mike from Tropic Bird came along - great guy. We hit a beautiful day.
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Fantastic. He is great to fly with. Glad you had a good time.
 
I flew around the island in a 182 from tropicbird in the summer of 2009. I was happy to have the CFI with me. He was able to give local knowledge that was really interesting. The Big Island is really amazing. Very diverse with regard to mountain terrain, dry side, wet side, etc. Aloha!
 
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