Maui Aviators

I visited Maui last month, taking the opportunity of my daughter’s graduation on the island. I had not flown since 25 years when I was in a flight school in Fort Worth, Texas, where I logged 130 hours. I had in mind to catch up with flying in Hawaii and contacted 2 flight schools in Maui. Both answered quickly but Maui Aviators caught my attention due to the fact that they show their flexibility and the fairness of their price. From there on, everything went smoothly. Upon my arrival in Maui, from Paris, France, where I live, I contacted Maui Aviators and a meeting was scheduled. on 28^th May, I arrived with my wife Rima who had never flown in a small airplane. No more than 10 minutes after reaching the hangar and meeting the Team we where airborne. What a show ! Handling the controls while touring 3 islands with Eric as PIC was great. He showed us high spots and making us see dolphins an even a whale footprint, which is quite uncommon end of May. During the flight Eric always mentioned any changes in the flight conditions which resulted for my wife in building confidence and confort. At the end as I had prior to the flight explained that I did not want to fly more than 1.2 /​1.3 hours, flight duration was 1.1. I definitely recommend Maui Aviators, and especially Eric who is a real gentleman with whom it was a pleasure to flight. Thanks from me and my wife. Fred and Rima

I have been a pilot for about 20 years and I had one of the greatest flights of my life with Brad Pleski at Maui Aviators. It was an Incredible scenic flight. We flew from Kahului to Molokai island, saw bursts at Nakalele Blowhole, flew along Elephant Rock, flew along the amazing Molokai sea cliffs (tallest ocean cliffs in the world), and landed at Kalaupapa airport near the Leper Colony. We took off from there with huge waves crashing along the runway, did a touch-​and-​go at Molokai airport, low flights over Little Shipwreck and Big Shipwreck, then did a touch-​and-​go at Lanai airport followed by a descent over steep cliffs along the water. We then did some low flights over beautiful Sweetheart Rock and saw whales lobtailing in the water. We flew along the Maui Coast (Kihei, Lahaina, Wailea Marriott and Four seasons), and continued a low flight along Molikini Island (crescent volcano island that sinks into the ocean). We flew over the black sand beaches and did a full stop at Hana airport (felt like Jurassic Park). We also flew over George Harrison’s house, the «Statue of Liberty» rock formation, and JAWS beach with monstrous waves. Brad is an incredible and proficient pilot. We enjoyed the sightseeing and the great narration Brad provided along the flight. He is an expert in what to see and where to go in Hawaii. I can’t wait to do it again.

My husband is a private pilot and we wanted to experience Maui from above. Rather than my husband getting checked out to fly the plane himself, Eric from Maui Aviators came along in the Cessna 172 we rented. He was great and we loved every minute of our two hour flight over Maui, Lanai, and Molaka’i. Eric was happy to let my husband fly as much or as little as he wanted and was a great tour guide. Unlike the helicopter tours, we were able to fly much lower than we otherwise would have and see much more for half the price. I would highly recommend it to anyone considering it — whether you’re a private pilot or not.

My young granddaughter is a budding pilot and went up with Eric on two separate flights around east Maui. Two family members were in the back each time. She said she liked Eric better than her instructor back home. My daughter, also a pilot, was very impressed with how well he worked with her daughter. Everyone loved the flying and fantastic view of the scenery. Now, I have to get up with Maui Aviators on my next trip to Maui.

Second time I have flown with Maui Aviators. Eric, the instructor for my BFR, was knowledgeable yet laid back. He instills confidence in you, knows his stuff, the weather, regulations and the quirks of flying in the islands. Without any hesitation I would recommend them for anyone wanting instruction, refresher flights, instrument currency, or just to fly for the sheer joy of flying! I will be flying with them again on my next visit.

Great, friendly, low-​key but professional operation that instantly made my girlfriend (non-​pilot) and I feel at home. I’m a CFI/​CFII and wanted to explore Maui and surrounding islands while on vacation. Eric, one of their instructors, gave me a thorough local area ground briefing and then offered to come along on the flight to point out features, handle radios etc. This turned out to be a great decision — Eric was friendly, fun to talk to, and a wonderful local area expert who helped me get way more out of the flight than if I’d have gone alone.
We flew from Maui (PHOG) to Molokai (the tallest sea cliffs in the world), then Lanai for some low-​level shipwreck viewing, over Molokini and back to PHOG via a counterclockwise tour of the entire south and east coastline in 1.9h Hobbs in a C172SP. The scenery was stunning, airplane in decent shape and the overall experience unforgettable. Highly recommended!

Great time and great people. Rented two aircraft, I flew one and my friends took the other. The aircraft were in good shape. Eric and Katie were great tour guides. We flew where we wanted and saw the most beautiful sights.
I recommend to all.

Had probably the most amazing flight of my life here.
Low hour private pilot on HI for vacation. Went up on familiarization flight in their 172SP with Eric in the right seat. 1.6 hours on the Hobbs to go from PHOG (Maui) over 18HI (Molokai) to East side of Lanai, to West side of Maui, over Molokini, around South coast of Maui, PHHN and back to PHOG. Totally worth it. If you’re a private pilot or student pilot coming to Maui, this is an experience not to be missed.
The experience was also very educational, as we discussed radio procedures on the ITAF (island version of CTAF), strong crosswinds prevalent at PHOG (great practice for wind correction angles), maintenance issues for planes dealing with Hawaii weather, and overall status of general aviation on the islands.
Flying VFR around Maui, you almost don’t need a sectional. Every cliff and waterfall is unique and visible from a far distance. We must have had 100SM+ visibility the day I went up. The views are amazing, but don’t let that distract you – there’s a lot of helicopter traffic on sightseeing tours at low altitudes!
Definitely bring a high res camera and/​or GoPro.
Everything on Hawaii is pricey, and this won’t be an exception… but the Maui Aviators experience is well worth it for pilots/​student pilots and was, hands-​down, the highlight of my trip here.

Perfect for beginners
Perfect for experienced
Came here ¾/​14 and flew with Eric, hell of a nice guy, great tour guide, and made my girlfriend and I feel very comfortable.
I hadn’t flown in 7 years, came here, Eric took care of all the radio comm, I don’t remember it all, I don’t know the areas/​rules, so this allowed me to just focus on flying and site seeing.
If you’ve never flown before, this is a great opportunity in a beautiful place, and they’ll have you up in the air in no time flying a plane!
If you’re experienced, come here, let Eric handle the radio so you can enjoy yourself and just enjoy the basics!
You can take your friends along for the ride too!
I flew with Maui Aviators in 2006 and had a great instructor, who’s not there anymore. I’m sure all their instructors are good people, but I would definitely ask for Eric!

First, flying at Maui Aviators isn’t just for established pilots. If you have ever wanted to fly, you can go with an instructor to have both a fantastic sightseeing experience and an introduction to flying a plane. You know you want to!!!
I’ve flown for years and my daughter just got her certificate. She was incredibly excited about the idea of flying while visiting Maui. We decided to fly with an instructor to make use of local knowledge and free us from navigating issues so we could focus on sightseeing. This was a great choice.
We flew with Eric, who is a spectacular copilot/​navigator/​tour guide. He has learned a huge amount about the islands and makes the flight fascinating. He handled the radios checking in and out of various airspaces and gave directions and altitudes. This worked incredibly well, making for a spectacular flight. He knows local conditions well, so he was able to highlight areas that might be a little trickier for flying before we got into them.
We flew around the west side of Maui, along the sea cliffs of Molokai, over to Lanai then Lahaina, Molokini, Makena, Hana and finally back to Kahului.
This is one of the best tour experiences I have done. And, while my daughter is a pilot, as I mentioned you don’t need any experience flying to enjoy this. And if you are a pilot, Eric is a great right-​seater, freeing you to fly and gawk. This was a blast, and I’ll plan on doing it again.

Best way possible to view the islands. Fly along the sea wall, Hana without the traffic. We flew with Eric who worked the radios, navigated and narrated. My wife’s favorite flight ever.