FLY IN A GLIDER OVER A HAWAIIAN VOLCANO

by YouShouldGoHere
March 4, 2016
in Do This, Go Here
1

[HANA, MAUI] — I was scoping out a project in Hawaii and stayed at Travaasa, a new experiential hotel brand with an amazing location in Austin and a second here, in Hana. I’m not a big fan of all the high-rise hotels in the crowded parts of Maui, but this place is much, much different.

Travaasa is an “experiential resort” so they do cool stuff beyond having the best spa in Hawaii. Besides free yoga and a killer workout space overlooking the sea, there are lessons on Hawaiian throw net fishing, outrigger canoeing, culinary classes, horseback riding and a dozen other cool experiences.

In addition to geeking out over pools and nice hotels, I’m completely OBSESSED with flying, so what got me was the glider experience, long on my list of experiencing every method of flying. When I heard they had a glider, I knew I had to go. Right. Now.

I’ve jumped out of planes (ummmmm, stopped after the third jump and a too-long chute tangle), paraglided over Rio, choppered over the Utah desert, but THIS is what I’ve longed to do — flying with just the wind (well, other factors are involved, too, including gravity). You fly in this cool and lithe motorized glider, which means they don’t have to tow it from another plane. You climb to 11,000ft and then you shut off the engine. Yes, shut off the engine. And then just go.

While that may sound crazy to some, it makes a ton of sense, especially since without an engine, Hans is the only pilot allowed to fly, silently, over the Haleakala National Park and its volcano crater. No other plane, no other helicopter is allowed. Only Hans and Skyview Soaring. As you flout on the winds above the volcano, you can look straight down its many throats. And then just soooaarrrr.

Travaasa did a great a recap on their website here. Here’s a good article in the NYTimes about getting away from the crowds in Maui, including the drive to Hana. And another from the New York Times about when to go see the volcano.

: Travaasa is an “experiential resort” so they do cool stuff beyond having the best spa in Hawaii. Besides free yoga and a killer workout space overlooking the sea, there are lessons on Hawaiian throw net fishing, outrigger canoeing, culinary classes, horseback riding and a dozen other cool experiences.

: Okay, now where’s the pilot gonna sit?

: All knees. I laughed when the pilot said “don’t put your feet on the pedals.” There may or may not have have been a point where my knee shut off our comms mid-flight….

: When you’re gliding way up here (actually, we were just climbing with the motor on here) you can really see what a cool resort Travaasa is. What an amazing location, overlooking the crashing surf. That’s my bungalow right down there, right on the water. You can also see what makes Hana so cool. That’s Hana. It’s cool. No hi-rises, no stoplights, just nice people.

: Getting high over Hana. #mauiwow!

: Getting high over Hana. #mauiwow!

: It was crying waterfalls that day.

: You see things differently when you’re in a glider.

: This looks like my bank account.

: Oh Hey down there, clouds… and whomp-whomp-whomper. You can’t hear us because we’re up here soaring, in a glider. No engine, no big deal. We’ve got the sun and wind. And one big volcano.

: Quiet. Because he flies a glider, Hans is the only pilot certified to fly directly over the Haleakala national park and the volcano’s enormous crater. So here we were, doing loops between the clouds, nothing but the sound of the wind…. and me giggling. You can peer right down its many raspy throats — it used to be a smoker — and not bother anybody. I find it ironic that Hans grew up in Holland, where the tallest “mountain” is a scosh over 1,000 feet (333m) and now he flies over 11,000ft volcanoes and finds great joy when he actually cuts the engine. But he’s been flying gliders since he was 14 so I was in good hands — you can always trust the Dutch for a great time, a solid beer and a great laugh. I was in heaven. Literally and figuratively.

: Haleakala national park telecope. So cool to be flying along parallel to it

: Quiet. Because he flies a glider, Hans is the only pilot certified to fly directly over the Haleakala national park and the volcano’s enormous crater. So here we were, doing loops between the clouds, nothing but the sound of the wind…. and me giggling. You can peer right down its many raspy throats — it used to be a smoker — and not bother anybody. I find it ironic that Hans grew up in Holland, where the tallest “mountain” is a scosh over 1,000 feet (333m) and now he flies over 11,000ft volcanoes and finds great joy when he actually cuts the engine. But he’s been flying gliders since he was 14 so I was in good hands — you can always trust the Dutch for a great time, a solid beer and a great laugh. I was in heaven. Literally and figuratively.

: I touched a cloud. I’ve never touched a cloud before. Here we were, soaring amidst the clouds… with no engine. In a glider. Banking left, banking right. Gently dodging these giant puffy things like they were grocery carts in Aisle 9, Condiments. But this was different. So quiet. Listen…….. ☁️☁ ️☁️ ☁ ☁ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️. I thought it’d be a lot more chaotic, gliding with no engine. But it was peaceful. Like a dream. Just floating along in silence. I mumbled through the headset “I’ve always wanted to put a sunroof in a cockpit. Be able to open it and reach up and touch the clouds when flying under a thick bank.” Hans chuckled. “Want to touch a cloud? Put your hand out.” And with that, he banked hard right, straight into a big marshmallow (Aisle 6, Baking). I reached my hand out through the window. Didn’t feel much, barely anything but cold. But I could see it. I pulled it back in. It was all misty, like putting it over a vaporizer. I held a cloud in my hand.

: This is why I’m not a pilot. My friends say “You love planes so much, why don’t you get your pilot’s license?” But then I look down on a teeny runaway like this — any runway, actually — and my brain. does. not. compute. “How in the hell are we going to make it down there… from here?” All the geometry I cheated on in school will not help me out of this situation. Not to mention, that with my attention span, every time landing I’d be like “Oh shit, the wheels! The wheels!!!” I prefer to take pictures and drink martinis.