AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2023 - 60

D
iscovered first by wayfinding
Polynesians, the Hawaiian Islands
are rich in history both ancient and
modern, home to some of the greatest
natural beauty on Earth, and, like many places, even
more stunning from the air, as we'll soon discover with
Oahu's Pacific Flight Academy.
Pilots Bobby Nikkhoo and Morgen Jackson
co-founded Pacific Flight Academy at Honolulu's
Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) about
two and a half years ago. " We actually started as a
flying club [with] one light sport aircraft here...and the
demand was overwhelming, " says Jackson. " We've just
been trying to grow ever since. "
Starting a business in a pandemic isn't for
everyone, but surprisingly, general aviation boomed
during lockdown. " We were lucky that there was an
irresistible demand for flight training, so the fleet
kind of naturally grew as the phone kept ringing,
and it was strange because everything around us
seemed to be shutting down, " says Nikkhoo. " I think
we added one plane a month for the first 10 months
of our existence. "
Pacific Flight Academy is a flight school like
most others, but the reality of flying in Hawaii is
anything but average. " We're in the middle of the
Pacific Ocean, 2,000 miles away from anything
resembling mainland. So, with that there's tropical
considerations, wind, weather. We have mountainous
terrain, which varies [and] microclimates all
throughout the islands....It can be completely stormy
and rainy on one side of the island and you know,
desert on the other side, just complete bone dry...
[and] overwater flying, which most people are scared
[to do], here we do it- "
" All day, every day, " adds Jackson.
" -for breakfast, " Nikkhoo says.
" And we are located in the heart of the Class
Bravo, " says Nikkhoo. " So, with that comes all sort of
procedures and regulations, communications, radio
work. " Contending with all these factors, Jackson and
Nikkhoo agree, prepares their students for a future
in any realm of aviation they may choose to pursue.
In addition to the GA traffic typical of any airport
on the mainland, the whine of jet engines from cargo
Boeing 747s and air carrier 737 Max 8s mixes with the
constant whop-whop-whop of MD 500 and Robinson
R44 helicopter tour traffic, occasionally accompanied
by the whistle of fighter jets flying in from nearby
Hickam Air Force Base.
Bobby Nikkhoo (left) and Morgen Jackson in front of one
of their Vashon Rangers. The caldera of Diamond Head,
the iconic landmark of Waikiki Beach. Mist covers the
peak in Jurassic Valley; these mountains are actually
the edge of a shield volcano. Rounding the corner of
Ka'ena Point in a Ranger. A rainbow greets us just after
departure from Honolulu International over downtown
Honolulu. The microclimates around the island make
flying here a diverse and fun challenge.
Now with a fleet of four Cessna 172s, two Vashon
Rangers, and two Van's RV-12s, Pacific Flight Academy
is busier than ever. " We have over 100 students, about
20 instructors and we're expanding our fleet pretty
rapidly, " says Nikkhoo. Jackson adds that it isn't
unusual for each airplane to fly eight to 10 hours a day.
In the air
Chris Rose, AOPA director of photography, and I are
getting ready to fly an island tour with Nikkhoo in one
of the Cessna 172s. Nikkhoo calls up clearance, then
ground, and we're cleared to taxi and hold short of 4R.
After waiting at the hold short for a minute or so, I ask
if we should call the tower.
" Oh, no, " he says with a wry smile. " They'll call
us. " About five minutes later tower clears us across
4R and to line up and wait on 4L before clearing our
VFR departure.
Right after takeoff, a rainbow materializes off the
nose and follows along the wing toward downtown
Honolulu and Waikiki Beach. Even about a mile from
the shore we can see all the way to the bottom of the
sea, ink blots of coral the only break in the blue. We see
the sunken caldera of Diamond Head, now lush and
host to a visitor center and hiking trails.
We turn the corner and pass Koko Head, another
taller caldera, where cliffs cascade from the peak to
the sea like folds of fabric on a marble statue. This
shift from the south-facing side to the windward, east
60
AOPA PILOT / August 2023
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2023

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