C TM C www.MokuleleAirlines.com A message from Ron Hansen, CEO of Mokulele Airlines What’s Inside? Ferry E komo mai! 6 Tales Thank you for choosing Mokulele! We’re happy to How Mokulele’s New have you onboard as you travel Cessna Grand Caravans to your destination in our beautiful islands. We invite you Get from There to Here to sit back, relax and enjoy the amazing views! We’re especially proud to share this issue of our Island Hopper magazine with you because it’s all about inspiration. We’re sure you’ll be moved by the inspiring stories of seven athletes who Holiday have overcome incredible challenges to compete in the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona. Our story 10 Haunts and about marathon swimmer Meredith Novack also serves Happenings as proof positive that dreams do come true when you have focus and determination. You’ll also discover some Fun ways to get into the fun places to celebrate the holidays on O‘ahu, and if you spirit on O‘ahu were ever a fan of the book The Little Engine That Could, we think you’ll really enjoy the story about how our new Cessna Grand Caravans make the journey from Wichita, Kansas to our headquarters here in Kailua-Kona. We have a lot of exciting things happening here at Mokulele. We’re proud to say that we now serve eight Conquering destinations on five islands. In September, we began 14 the Channel daily service from Waimea-Kohala Airport on the Big Island to Kahului Airport on Maui, with connections Marathon Swimmer available to Honolulu. And if you’re a regular passenger Meredith Novack Breaks at our commuter terminal in Kahului, you’ll be happy to know that we’ll be making a lot of big improvements this World Record winter that will make your travel experience much more convenient and comfortable. Enjoy your flight! It is our privilege to serve you and we look forward to welcoming you back again and again. Living the Sincerely, 18 Dream Ron Hansen Inspiring Stories from Ron Hansen, CEO Mokulele Airlines the IRONMAN World Championship TM CORPORATE President/CEO Mokulele Airlines RON HANSEN Publisher/ VP of Sales and Marketing DAVE BERRY Creative Director TOBY THOMPSON Editor-in-Chief KAREN BROST Editorial Director THOmas GAUL AccoUNT MANAGERS Corporate Account Manager GAIL GLUSHENKO Maui JEROMY HANSEN Kona CERISE “Peaches” HuIHUI Oahu JOCELYN PALAFOX TECHNOLOGY Web Development COREY KISTLER Editorial Inquiries: [email protected] Advertising Inquiries: [email protected] Island Hopper Magazine Corporate Office 8241 E. Evans, Ste. 102 . Scottsdale, Arizona 85260 Toll Free: 800-439-6955 . 480-393-3013 . Fax: 480-393-3017 Office: Mokulele Airlines Continues to Expand! As of September 21, 2013, Mokulele Airlines has opened its arms to the northern region of the Big Island with our newest destination, Waimea-Kohala! Residents and visitors alike have already taken advantage of this great opportunity for fast and efficient transportation without the delays of going through TSA screenings. Now, island hopping with Mokulele has become even more diverse with your choice of eight different locations to visit on five islands! Mokulele Airlines is also pleased to announce that renovations for the Kahului commuter terminal are being scheduled for this winter. With Kahului being one of Mokulele’s busiest destinations, we are looking forward to providing our passengers with a more pleasant experience as they travel to and from Maui. Now offering over 100 flights daily, Mokulele Airlines is continuing to expand and we’re honored to be Hawai‘i’s number one island hopper. Make your next reservation online at www.mokuleleairlines.com. We’re looking forward to having you fly with us again! 2 I MOKULELEAIRLINES.COM FERRY TALES HOW MOKulele’s New CESSNA GRAND CARAVANS GET FROM THERE TO HERE BY KAREN BROST f you’re sitting on a Mokulele flight while you’re reading this story, you might be interested to learn that the plane you’re riding in has an interesting story of its own. Mokulele recently added several new Cessna Grand Caravans to its fleet to meet the growing demand for Iour interisland flights. But here’s the challenge: The planes are manufactured in Wichita, Kansas, more than 3,200 nautical miles from Mokulele’s headquarters in Kailua-Kona. And the flight range of a fully-fueled Grand Caravan is about 800 miles. So how do they get here? That’s where Fred Sorenson, president of Flight Contract Services, Inc. (FCS), comes in. Fred, who has many years of experience as a commercial airline pilot, has also operated an aircraft ferrying service for the past 39 years. “He is a legend in aviation,” says Ron Hansen, Mokulele’s CEO. Before a plane can be ferried to a destination beyond its normal flight range, the aircraft has to be equipped with extra fuel capacity. In the case of a Grand Caravan, that means increasing its normal 330-gallon fuel capacity by an additional 500 gallons. First, the new plane is flown to the FCS facility in Las Vegas. Then, after FCS obtains FAA approval to add an additional fuel system and operate the plane at a heavier weight, the real work begins. “We pack up all the seats and put them in the back or in the belly and then we put in flooring and mount and secure a special 500-gallon rubber aircraft ferry fuel tank in the cabin,” Fred explains. “Then we have to put in a pumping system which pumps 6 I MOKULELEAIRLINES.COM Issue 6 I 7 the fuel from the tank so it’s constantly refueling the wings.” They also have to install a high-frequency (HF) radio so the pilots can communicate with air traffic control from a longer range. Next, the ferry pilot and co-pilot fly the newly equipped plane to California where it is fully fueled with 830 gallons (think about that the next time you fill your car) and then the pilots take off on the last leg of their journey. It will take them 13-and-a-half hours to cross the Pacific. “It sounds really boring, but you’re really kind of busy keeping track of the fuel and the weather and the winds,” Fred says. “There’s a lot of recordkeeping. After a while, when the bladder gets a little bit smaller, there’s kind of a half-way point where you can take turns getting some rest. You go back and throw a sleeping bag on top of the bladder and you’ve got a waterbed that sloshes around back there,” he laughs. According to Fred, the California to Hawai‘i route is the longest stretch in the world where there is no place to stop midway. On his first ferrying flight for Mokulele, he encountered strong headwinds right in the middle of the flight and came very close to having to turn back. If he had, he would have flown for 13 hours, only to be right back where he started! Fortunately, he made it to Hawai‘i on the first try. As you might imagine, ferrying planes isn’t for everyone. Fred says that some pilots try it once, and then say “Never again,” while others get bitten by the ferrying bug and all they want to do is ferry planes all over the world. So, once Mokulele’s newest plane is safely delivered to Kona, what happens to that 500-gallon tank? “Once it’s all cleaned, it actually packs into a fairly large roll-along suitcase,” Fred says. And then it travels back to FCS to await its next ferrying adventure. HAUNTED PLANTATION Haunted houses are scary enough as it is, but when the attraction itself is really haunted, that takes the fear factor to a whole new level. Now in its eighth year, Haunted Plantation promises “ten nights of horror” at the Hawaii Plantation Village in Waipahu where many encounters with ghosts have been reported. By day, the plantation is an outdoor museum that tells the story of life on Hawai‘i’s historic sugar plantations. But on ten nights each October, more than 60 actors in professional makeup are waiting to scare the bejesus out of anyone who dares to enter. According to organizer Noa Laporga, “it’s the scariest and best haunted event in Hawai‘i,” and the reviews bear that out. NOW THAT THE HOLIDAYS ARE UPON US, HERE ARE SOME FUN WAYS TO GET INTO THE SPIRIT ON O‘AHU: BY KAREN BROST Each year, the Haunted Plantation features a theme based on a true story from the plantation. This year, “Chapter 8: Bloodline,” tells the story of a Portuguese plantation worker who killed his disfigured daughter. Some modern-day visitors even say they’ve seen her in the windows of the house or roaming around, then vanishing. The Haunted Plantation runs every Friday and Saturday in October beginning October 11, and it sells out every year. A word of warning: it’s not recommended for kids under 13 (or for the faint of heart). www.hawaiihauntedplantation.com GUNSTOCK ZOMBIE HAYRIDE New this year, this attraction will take thrill-seekers on a 25-minute hayride through a forest and open fields infested with zombies. It will be offered on October 18, 19, 25, 26 and 28 at Gunstock Ranch in Laie. Chicken skin (goosebumps) included at no extra charge. www.gunstockzombiehayride.com. HALLOWBALOO MUSIC + ARTS FESTIVAL Now in its sixth year, the Hallowbaloo Music + Arts Festival attracts more than 15,000 zombies, cave men, aliens, menehune and other “costumed crazies” to the Honolulu Arts District for three days of food, music and fun.