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Hawaii's Aviation History

An archive of historic photos and information about aircraft, pilots and airports in the Hawaiian islands.

Welcome aboard!

As the Crossroads of the Pacific, Hawaii played a vital role in the development of both commercial and military air travel. The first flight in Hawaii occurred on December 31, 1910. It captured the imagination and hearts of residents who dreamed of traveling by air between islands and the Mainland, Asia and Australia.

On this site you'll find the incredible story of the first trans-Pacific flight by Navy Commander John Rodgers in 1925. Inter-Island Airways made its first commercial interisland flight in 1929, and Pan American Airways entered the trans-Pacific market in 1935. You'll find numerous historical documents, and the complete book Above the Pacific written by the late William J. Horvat and originally published in 1966.

This website features more than 4,000 photos from the collections of the Hawaii Department of Transportation, Hawaii State Archives, Hickam Air Force Base, the U.S. Army Museum of Hawaii, the U. S. Naval History Center, Marine Corp Base Hawaii and private collections. We welcome additions to our collection.

Aviation History Highlights

March 21, 1927--The first Territory of Hawaii airport was dedicated in Honolulu by the Governor, Chamber of Commerce and military officials.  It was named John Rodgers Airport in memory of the pioneer Navy aviator who made the first attempted flight from the Mainland to Hawaii in 1925.  After World War II, the airport was renamed Honolulu Airport, and it is now known as Honolulu International Airport (HNL).  The airport marks its 81st year of serving the traveling public in 2008.

News
It's Official, We're Live --

For the past two years, the DOTA have been busy putting together this website to preserve, share and showcase "the illustrious history of aviation in Hawaii and the impact that Hawaii aviation had in stimulating the growth of air travel in the United States."

The DOTA is proud to announce that the site is out of beta and is now officially open to the public.

If you've visited our site before please ensure that you update your bookmarks as our web address has changed to www.hawaii.gov/hawaiiaviation.

If you have any comments, stories to share or corrections to errors that we've missed, feel free to contact us.

 

Hawaii Aviation is brought to you courtesy of the State of Hawaii Department of Transportation, Airports Division.