01About

The front door to North Shore aviation.

Fly North Shore exists to document and celebrate the aviation culture of Oʻahu's North Shore, from gliders and gyroplanes to biplanes, skydiving, pilots, instructors, mechanics, and the views above the Seven Mile Miracle.

The North Shore coastline and aviation life seen from above Kawaihāpai.

We’re building a home for aviation stories, apparel drops, local flight experiences, and collaborations with the operators who make this place special.

Based: Kawaihāpai · Oʻahu
Focus: Media · Lifestyle · Flight
Operators: Featured, not flown by us
Compass: Runway & Reef

02The Place

Hawaiʻi's home for soaring.

Kawaihāpai, the strip the maps still call Dillingham, is the only gliderport on Oʻahu and the heart of soaring in the islands.

A sailplane riding the ridge lift above Mokulēʻia on Oʻahu's North Shore.

The ridge lift that pours off the Waiʻanae range, paired with the steady trades, makes Mokulēʻia one of the finest places anywhere to fly without an engine. In 2024 the field was returned to its Hawaiian name, Kawaihāpai, under a new fifty-year lease. Its single 9,007-foot strip still launches gliders, gyroplanes, and skydivers over the Seven Mile Miracle every day.

Gliderport: Oʻahu's only
Lift: Waiʻanae ridge
Strip: 9,007 ft
Field: Mokulēʻia

Getting there

Kawaihāpai (Dillingham) Airfield sits at the western end of Farrington Highway in Mokulēʻia, about an hour from Honolulu out past Haleʻiwa.

Get directions

03What We Do

A front door, in three parts.

Fly North Shore is media, lifestyle, and flight discovery for Oʻahu's North Shore, built to send people toward the people who already do it well.

01 Media: Stories, film, and photography from the North Shore aviation scene, the pilots, mechanics, and aircraft that make Kawaihāpai what it is.
02 Apparel: Runway & Reef drops, designed where the airstrip meets the water and worn by people who actually fly it.
Shop the drop
03 Experiences: The independent local operators we feature, soaring gliders and open-air gyroplanes. We curate and connect, we don't operate the aircraft.
Explore flights

04Who's Behind This

A pilot who codes.

Fly North Shore is independent and founder-run. One person flying the place, telling its stories, and building the site you're reading.

CFISoftware EngineerDigital MarketingNorth Shore

I’m Nathan Van Kempen, a certified flight instructor, a software engineer, and a digital marketer. Through my studio, Discovery Flight Media, I build the websites, Google Ads, and lead-generation that send students to flight schools across the country. I started Fly North Shore because the aviation culture out at Kawaihāpai deserves that same front door, somewhere the gliders, gyroplanes, biplanes, and the people who keep them flying get the attention they’ve earned.

I shoot the stories, build the site, run the marketing, and choose the operators we feature myself. We don’t fly you, the independent locals do that better than anyone. My job is to get them found, point you to them, and put a little of this place on your back while we’re at it.

05Fly

Get airborne over the North Shore.

Silent soaring gliders and open-air gyroplanes, flown by independent local operators out of Kawaihāpai. We curate and connect, we don't operate the aircraft.

On the radarParadise Air · Hawaii Biplane Adventures

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06Collaborate

Have something that belongs in the air?

Pilots, operators, creators, and tourism partners, if you have an aircraft, story, brand, or experience that belongs in the air, let's collaborate.

Featured operator pages, co-produced content, apparel collabs, and media flights, tell us what you fly and what you’re building.

Start a Collaboration

Join the list · Runway & Reef

Be first on the runway.

Join the list and get 10% off your first order over $50, plus new flights, apparel drops, and stories from the North Shore. No spam, just air culture.