Oahu’s Vintage Aviation Adventure

It’s part thrill-ride, part time machine -- a vintage aviation adventure that soars on the wings of a WWII era Stearman biplane trainer and takes passengers to the edge of history on a flight that retraces the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Since 1992, thousands of history buffs and would-be barnstormers have achieved the same lofty goal thanks to Bruce Clements and his Oahu-based company Stearman Bi-Plane Rides, LLC.

Clements learned to fly in San Diego almost 40 years ago. He recalls, “I started the company based on a dream I had after flying a Stearman in 1970 when I realized this was ‘pure flying,’ as it was meant to be.” After spending time as a flight instructor and bush pilot in Alaska, Clements came to Hawaii to fly for Mid Pacific Airlines in 1983.  Two years later he joined Hawaiian Airlines as a pilot and still captains B-767s for them today – when he’s not looping the loop in one of his two bright yellow biplanes.

Clements flies and maintains his biplanes out of Dillingham Airfield, a U.S. military strip nestled between the sea and the Wai`anae Mountains in Mokuleia along Oahu’s northwest coast. It’s a quiet and unassuming launchpad for such an ambitious enterprise, but a good match for the Stearman’s no-frills design. It also suits Clement’s low-key style as he shares some history on the craft and takes passengers through preflight briefings and preparations.

The Stearman Company became a subsidiary of Boeing in 1934 but the name stuck with the iconic biplane trainer that enjoyed its maiden flight two years later. Just over 8,500 aircraft were built in the U.S. during the 1930s and 1940s where they served as primary trainers for the U.S. Air Force and Navy (even George H. W. Bush trained on one before his WWII combat missions). After the war, thousands of surplus Stearmans  were sold on the civil market and the craft became popular as cropdusters, sport planes and even tourist-laden barnstormers.

Standing at just over nine feet high, with a wingspan of 32 feet and a length of 24 feet, the 2,000 lb. Stearman biplane is a pretty nimble flying machine. Its open cockpit provides excellent visibility and the flexibility of controls in both front and back seats made the Stearman an invaluable aviation-training tool. These design features also make the plane terrific fun to fly.

On my flight, the fun starts with hopping into the forward cockpit and donning a classic leather flying helmet, modernized with a two-way headset. Clements jumps in the pilot’s aft cockpit and throttles the 220 hp Continental R-670-5 engine. In seconds we’re jostling along the ground toward Dillingham’s two-mile long runway. He reminds me not to touch the rudder pedals and joystick, which are moving around in front of me.

Once in position, Clements radios for clearance, then unleashes the engine and the craft roars down the runway. The raw power of the engine is translated by the pull of the propeller, mere inches away, while wind whips past and the tarmac speeds to a blur. Seconds later the craft leaps from the ground and races to the sky.

Clements completes a radio check with the air traffic controller then switches gears to prepare me for the sights to come. Our plan is to shadow the path that Japanese pilots flew on their way to attack Pearl Harbor 67 years ago. It’s an eerie goal that stirs a mix of adrenaline and somber wonder for an event that changed the world. It’s a humbling feeling to be flying in the air trails of former enemies.

En route to our destination, we spot several key sights along the way and we have plenty of time for a history lesson. There’s the Opana mobile radar site, where two Army radar operators detected the Japanese invaders early on the morning of December 7, 1941. Tragically, the report was ignored by a junior officer who believed the craft to be a returning squadron of American B-17 Flying Fortress bombers.

We’re cruising at about 90 miles per hour, but the wind makes it seem much faster.  At top speed, the engine will only do about 125 mph. Our conversation is assisted by a front-mounted side-view mirror, angled so we can see each other’s leather-framed faces. Clements points out a break in the mountains to the right. He says it’s the Kole Kole pass, where enemy aircraft streamed on their way to their targets. Then Clements rolls the plane slightly to give me a better view of Wheeler Field, the first American military base to feel Japanese fire. It was left completely unusable after the attack.

As I look ahead, Pearl Harbor emerges with warships clearly visible. Then it hits me -- the feeling of being thrown back in time to what President Franklin Roosevelt unforgettably called “a date that will live in infamy.” Only now I see the sights those Japanese pilots must have seen on that morning of December 7, 1941. It’s a thrilling but unsettling thought. On that day, just before 8:00 AM, the first Japanese assault wave pounced, with 51 Val dive bombers, 40 Kate torpedo bombers, 50 high-level bombers, and 43 Zero fighters unleashing their attack on airfields and battleships.

One hour later, the second wave arrived to target other ships and military facilities. By 9:45 AM the attack was over, leaving the U.S. Pacific Fleet virtually crippled. Five battleships were sunk and another three badly damaged. Other losses included three light cruisers, three destroyers and three smaller vessels along with 188 aircraft. Killed that day were 2,335 US servicemen and 68 civilians. Another 1,178 were wounded. The Japanese lost only 27 planes and five midget submarines, sent to penetrate the inner harbor.

As I contemplate this tragic history, we fly to within one mile of the battleships Utah, Missouri and Arizona -- the white of the Arizona’s floating memorial platform clearly visible. Then we veer to the left and head north. Glancing behind I can see Honolulu, Waikiki, and Diamond Head fade in the distance.

We fly over fields of pineapple, tarot, and other crops framed by country roads. Then we’re back over the Northern shore where Clements points out one more historic site, camouflaged with age. It’s the Haleiwa Airfield, where the only two U.S. fighters took off to confront the Japanese that Sunday morning. Now it serves as a base camp for ABC’s hit TV series “Lost.”

We skirt the seashore and line up for landing at Dillingham, then gently touch down to end our 40-minute journey through time and space. It’s been an uncanny combination of exhilaration and education. Clements speaks with the understatement typical of most pilots when he talks about the emotion generated by flying in an open cockpit -- taking in “the smell of the air and the sound of the engine.” He sums up all that excitement in a single, powerful word: “Freedom.”

In addition to the Pearl Harbor flights, Clements offers scenic tours of Oahu’s North Shore with serene views of surf and sand peppered with picnickers, sunbathers, swimmers, and surfers. For the more adventurous he offers aerobatic flights featuring loops, Cuban 8's and snap rolls packed into a 15-minute flight.

In the future, he says, “I plan to build a hangar at Dillingham Airfield and add a Waco-type airplane that will hold two passengers.” It’s a move that will double the thrill, allowing passengers to share this uplifting historical experience in real time.