As a relatively small Part 135 air carrier, it’s pretty unusual that Mokulele Airlines has a department dedicated to flight training. Its training center is located in Kahului on the island of Maui. Upon arrival in Maui, our training breakdown followed this path:

  • 1 Week of Ground School
  • 3 Days of Simulator Training
  • 3 to 4 Days of Flight Training
  • Part 135 Checkride

While beachside accommodations are covered by Mokulele, training pay and travel cost is not included, so you have to budget yourself before choosing to invest in the move to Hawaii. This is what our ground school experience was like:

Last year, Mokulele purchased a full-motion Redbird C208B Caravan simulator. It’s a great resource for training emergencies and operating procedures, although it flies very differently than the actual airplane. There’s also a 3-panel G1000 simulator for those who are new to the avionics.

As I moved into flight training, I was expected to have all of the procedures and emergency checklists 100% ready to go. Because training time is limited due to cost (around $500 per hour in the airplane burning Jet-A!), they try to keep flying as compressed as possible. During training, we focused on stalls, steep turns, emergency procedures, landings, and instrument procedures. I was ready for my checkride after about three flights. Flight training in Hawaii couldn’t have been cooler…

In about a week and a half I went from starting ground school to passing my Part 135 Checkride. I’m officially an airline pilot! Stay tuned for more on what it’s like to fly the line as I go island hopping.

-Swayne

About The Author

Swayne Martin
Founder

If you want to become a pilot, I want to make your journey just a little easier. I'm a First Officer for Envoy Air, one of the largest regional airlines in the world, and have partnered with industry leaders like the U.S. Air Force to teach about various aviation careers. For a full bio, click the "About" tab above. Use the "Contact" tab to shoot me a message.

8 Responses

  1. Steve Packard

    Congrats! Awesome videos! which drone do you use? Thanks!

    Reply
  2. Bob Shaw

    Congratulations Swayne ,
    Proud of you. Will you be flying in Hawaii just for the summer then back to the main land to finish up your college studies? I’m proud of you. Enjoy your time flying the Hawaiian Islands.

    Reply
  3. Erica

    Aloha Swayne very good! …happily awareness:
    (humility x training)! Prepare you dear pilot for, mid-ocean basalt –
    mountains & the micro concentrations of complex possibility …
    conditions & winds!

    Reply
  5. Randy Cabrera

    Congratulations Swayne,
    I’m very inspired and happy to see this happeing in your life. I will be the doing the instrument flight training for the summer and hopefully continue with passion and hard work till I get to my dream job just like you did buddy.

    Randy

    Reply
  6. Pilot Mark

    Awesome! Have you done the drive around Maui yet on the road that loops the island? Go rent a convertible jeep, it’s so much fun!!

    Reply
  8. Dilshan

    Hi, when you were doing 135 sic checkride did you do with fsdo?. Does Mokulele has different than others like Air Choice One & boutique ?
    Thank swayne

    Reply

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