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Early Aviation in Honolulu
An introduction to the aviation history of Honolulu and
other parts of the island of Oahu in Hawaii.
Although the Hawaiian Islands may be located nearly 3,000 miles from the
nearest continent, Hawaii entered the age of aviation right along with its
Mainland neighbors when a daredevil named J. C. "Bud" Mars took off,
circled and landed his plane on a neighborhood polo field on New Year’s
Eve 1910. He charged on-lookers to view the flights, and left Hawaii for
Japan mad, when thousands of freeloaders watched his flights from nearby
hilltops without paying.
Interest in aviation in Hawaii boomed from that moment on with a number
of adventurous souls making flights on Oahu and the Neighbor Islands.
The first flight between islands was made on March 15, 1918 when Army
officer Maj. Harold M. Clark Jr. flew to Molokai and back.
In 1919, the military were the first to establish a landing strip in Honolulu,
but it wasn’t until 1925 that a joint fund raising effort by the Chamber
of Commerce and the Territorial Legislature made Hawaii’s first airport
a reality. The landing along Keehi Lagoon was acquired for a sum of $27,410.
The airport was dedicated on March 21, 1927. The field was named in honor of
the late Commander John Rodgers, a naval aviator, who piloted the first
aircraft to reach Hawaii after an adventurous flight that ended with the
plane landing in the ocean and being sailed to the island of Kauai with
fabric torn from the wings.
The 1927 Territorial Legislature also appropriated funds for further development
of John Rodgers Airport. As a result, aviation enterprises boomed in Hawaii.
Inter-Islands Airways (now known as Hawaiian Airlines) was organized in 1929
and inaugurated service to the Neighbor Islands on November 11 of that year
with three eight-passenger amphibians, thus beginning the first dependable air
transportation service in Hawaii.
The first commercial airline flight from the mainland to Hawaii was on April
16, 1935 by a Pan American Airways Sikorsky S-42 seaplane. The trip from San
Francisco to Pearl Harbor took 17 hours and 14 minutes.
The military took over all airport operations during World War II, grounding
all civilian aircraft. The airport was returned to the Territory of Hawaii on
October 1, 1946 and renamed Honolulu Airport.
The following year, the Territorial Legislature formed the Hawaii Aeronautics
Commission to operate all airports in the Territory. Following Statehood in
1959, the Hawaii Aeronautics Commission was abolished and its duties were taken
over by the state Department of Transportation on July 1, 1961.
With the introduction of jet service to Hawaii in 1959, the old terminal began
bursting at the seams. Construction of a new jet-age terminal began in February,
1959. The new John Rodgers Terminal became operational on October 15, 1962. It
is continually being upgraded to accommodate modern jet aircraft and an
increasing number of passengers.
As Hawaii’s tourism industry grew, so has the airport’s need for new gates and
passenger facilities. In 1993 a new Interisland Terminal was opened west of the
Overseas Terminal for Interisland flights. A new Commuter Terminal opened in 1991.
Honolulu International Airport is adjacent to Hickam Air Force base and though
joint-use agreements, the state and military share the runways.
After searching for several decades for a location for a new general aviation
facility to relieve crowded conditions at HNL, the state received 757 acres of
surplus land at Barbers Point Naval Air Station on July 1, 1999 to be used as a
GA facility. The new airport, named Kalaeloa Airport, is being used by general
aviation aircraft to practice pilot training, formerly done at Ford Island and HNL.
See also:
Aviation History of Oahu
Aviation History of Hawaii
Airports on Oahu
Air Travel in Hawaii
Article Courtesy of the Hawaii Department of Transportation
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Related Links
Transportation in Hawaii - Main Menu
The Islands of Hawaii
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