He promises remarkable open-air views of Makua Valley and the Leeward coast, Waimea Bay, and Ka’ena Point. Nakamoto offers flights seven days a week, all in the morning, weather permitting. As for qualifications, Nakamoto says he has a perfect safety record and describes himself as “the highest rated FAA-certified instructor in Hawaii,” with additional credentials for ground instruction and light sport aircraft repair and maintenance. His aircraft is a new Evolution Revo, a Florida-made ultralight trike that he says can cruise at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour.
“The aircraft is also equipped with a rocket-propelled parachute that allows the entire aircraft to safely reach the ground at a slow descent rate while deployed.” “Powered hang gliders are considered to be one of the safest forms of flight - if the engine quits, it can glide down safely because it doesn’t need a motor to land,” he writes. As passionate as he was about the flight experience, Nakamoto was just as prepared for questions about safety. I confessed, however, that no matter how thrilling it might be, I’d be too scared to go hang gliding.
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Nakamoto is eager to tell his story, even offering a free flight for some good word of mouth.
“The emotion they have after each flight is my motivation to fly… it’s what I was destined to do.” “Now it’s time for me to share this awesome experience with as much people as I can,” he said. Nakamoto offers half-hour, 45-minute and hour-long flights in an open-cockpit ultralight powered hang-glider (described as a “flying motorcycle”), as well as photos, videos, and souvenirs for passengers. “We shall pay our respects to this sacred land that we are all privileged fly over.” “It’s been a dream come true to finally fly out of Dillingham Airfield… the mana is strong at Kaena Point and Makua Valley,” he wrote on Tuesday. On Sunday, Nakamoto will host a native Hawaiian blessing for his new business, Hang Gliding Hawaii. With hundreds of flight hours under his belt and a brand new aircraft to his name, he finally returned to Hawaii late last year. Nakamoto went on to complete a 2,500-mile cross-country flight from Florida to Wisconsin for Trike Fest and the Oshkosh AirVenture, flew into more than 40 different airports, and learned to navigate every class of airspace and in every kind of weather.
“I literally locked myself in a trailer, studied, and flew. “I finally settled in Florida and spent time living in a trailer and flying,” he says.
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“I basically moved to the West Coast years ago with two large suitcases, an old Toyota Camry, and a pocket full of change, and slept in hangars.” “I had to seek training on the mainland because almost everyone currently flying trikes (powered hang gliders)Â here in Hawaii tried to prevent and discourage me from pursuing this,” he tells me. Eric Nakamoto has spent five years chasing the poetic but precarious dream of flying for a living, giving up a stable teaching job, selling his Aiea condo, and taking off for the mainland on a wing and a prayer.