by Sarah Davis
Peering from a seaplane high in the sky, O’ahu appears to have been slashed with airfields like a beautiful woman caught in a knife fight. The island’s significant military contribution to the United States is clearly evident aboard a Cessna circling above.
Island Seaplane Service, a seaplane company operating in Hawaii for nearly a decade, allows passengers to take off from Keehi Lagoon for a personal tour of significant O’ahu sights such as Wheeler Army Air Field and Hickam Air Force Base.
However, the most telling evidence of this island’s military significance is at Pearl Harbor.
On ideal weather days, Island Seaplane flies a course circling the island and then taking the path Japanese bombers traveled Dec. 7, 1941. It is a somber sight as the USS Arizona Memorial comes in to view. Air space this close to the memorial only recently reopened since closing after Sept. 11, 2001.
After the flight, a visit to the Harbor is recommended, of course. A harbor tour allows guests to see the oil still seeping from the USS Arizona that is now a watery tomb for 1,127 sailors.
The seaplane also traverses over nonmilitary sights such as Chinaman’s Hat, an old sugar mill and stunning Sacred Falls.
Hidden in a rainforest valley, Sacred Falls is probably best seen by seaplane as the trail to the falls closed years ago.
Island Seaplane owners Pat and Debbie Magie offer passengers an up-close experience with the pilot in a small plane. One can sit among the gears and dials with the pilot, and all passengers can wear headphone gear to speak with each other.
While the pilot tells stories of how the landscape has changed over the years, passengers can ask questions to find out more. He can easily explain how acres and acres of sugar made way to other crops, while passengers see below just what he’s talking about. Pineapple fields below grow the Golden Pineapple, which some consider one of the best-tasting pineapples in the world.
On the island’s less populated side, the plane scoots by huge mountains holding both tropical plants and Norfolk Pine trees - planted because they were ideal material for making big masts on schooner ships.
Half-hour flights start at $109 per person; one-hour flights at $199. |
