With the aviation industry finally climbing out from the worst crisis it has ever faced, the trade press is also taking note and articles of doom are increasingly being replaced by cautious good news from all corners of the world. But there were people who, even in the middle of the darkest days, tolled to help make aviation education better and more accessible in their community.
Wings Over Hawaii is a non-profit organization set up by husband and wife John and Marissa Colclasure in 2008 in Honolulu, Hawaii. I think this in itself says a lot about their love for the business of flying as well as their vision of the future. In 2008 most of us were worrying about our jobs and future while the Colclasures set out to remedy a shortcoming they noticed in the educational programming available in the Hawaiian communities.
What they had discovered was that programs promoting flying were not only hard to find but those available were not much fun and were often outright boring. Aviation is always fun and it is never boring. There is excitement and adventure in it and the opportunity for going beyond one’s imagination… This was the kind of program John and Marissa was missing and which they decided to realize in the framework of Wings Over Hawaii.
At first they were thinking about a fixed location for an air museum. However, upon seeing the cutbacks in the education system they realized that starting the outreach programs right away would generate the most benefits.
The Board of the organization consists of very experienced professionals with strong teaching backgrounds as well as expertise in meteorology and other aviation fields. They all share this special passion for flight and the history of flight.
Although in existence since 2008, the programs of Wings Over Hawaii are taking off in a big way only about now with even more students being reached in the 2011-12 school year. I particularly liked the Flying Circus Outreach Program which is exactly what its name suggests: with all its interactive exhibits and simulators being portable, they will come to wherever there is a need for spreading the passion for and the joy of flight. Hawaii is composed of several islands, so portable has to have a very specific meaning there. Shipping stuff often means just that… you haul your equipment on a boat!
The State of Hawaii celebrates 100 years of powered flight in the islands on December 31, 2010. It was exactly 100 years ago that day that J.C. “Bud” Mars took to the skis over Kapiolani Park. What could be more fitting than having Wings Over Hawaii launch some of their best outreach programs on the anniversary!
I think this initiative is truly remarkable and worthy of support.
You can check out their website here. If you wish to support Wings Over Hawaii, you can send a donation by clicking here or through the DONATE button on the contact page of their website.