
To celebrate the ratification of the new IAM contract with Boeing, here's a special rarebird that spent quite a bit of time at HNL. This Grumman SA-16A Albatross arrived in HNL in the middle of December 2005 to start a promotional surf tour sponsored by Billabong and Hawaiian Airlines. This aircraft kept in the maintenance hangar for about a week. It then was moved over to Elliott on Christmas Eve, where I took a special ride out to get this shot.
Billabong got this aircraft to do a special 2 year tour to find the best surf spots around the world. It actually spent a lot of time in HNL before leaving the state. I remember the aircraft still being at HNL, parked by the HCC aviation school on the South Ramp when I went on my trip in May 2006.