N879MA

A former Mokulele Airlines C208B Grand Caravan EX, N879MA "City of Kapolei" (msn 208B5019), was used in the filming of Hulu's "Vacation Friend's 2". The aircraft was originally written off following an accident at JHM, where it overran the departure end of Rwy 2 while landing. According to a very reliable source, the the airframe was flown to HNL, and stored at the Makani Kai Helicopters (now Magnum Helicopters) ramp, next to the former Kamaka Air Super DC-3 fuselage.

For this movie, the stripped fuselage was used for cabin interiors. The exterior of the airframe, probably CGI, was shot with a Caravan using the N879MA registration (which was cancelled by the FAA in April 2021), but painted in a livery similar to Kamaka Air (without titles) and seen taking off from a beach in Hale‘iwa.

"Vacation Friends 2", starring Lil Rey Howery, Yvonne Orji, John Cena and Meredith Hagner, premieres tomorrow, 25 August, on Hulu. It was filmed here on O‘ahu. A Hawaiian Airlines 717-200 was used to film the cabin interior for a scene. The Hawai‘i Convention Center's ground floor area was transformed as an airport terminal. The Turtle Bay Hotel and Resort was used as the Mexican resort.

N351AC's Cameo In Magnum P.I.

N351AC (msn 31-051), a Learjet 31A owned by Air Rodriguez LLC, and operated by Mid-Pacific Jets [FGR], is made an appearance in tonight's episode of NBC's "Magnum P.I.", titled "Number One with a Bullet".

N907WS's NCIS: Hawai‘i Cameo

HNL's resident Global Express, N907WS (msn 9176), owned by N907WS Aviation LLC, made a cameo appearance in tonight's episode of NCIS Hawai‘i, "Curtain Call". The scene was filmed at JRF, which was supposed to be somewhere in México.

N907WS was also used in a past episode of "Magnum, P.I."  that was also filmed at JRF.

Luna Jet's N750FR Makes Cameo in NCIS Hawai‘i

Luna Jet's Falcon 50, N750FR (msn 098), made an appearance in tonight's episode of the CBS TV serial, "NCIS Hawai‘i". The black Falcon 50, operated by Mid-Pacific Jets, was used as a transport for a federal fugitive escaping to Hawai‘i. The scene in "Prisoner's Dilemma", was filmed at the Kalaeloa Airport this past June. The episode, "NCIS Hawai‘i" second season premier, was part two of the crossover episode with "NCIS" season premier episode "A Family Matter".

Азросибиръ N25299

N25299 (msn 108M01), a Mil Mi-17 helicopter, has arrived at JRF to be part of the motion picture "Triple Frontier", being filmed on O‘ahu. The Soviet-era built helicopter (1984) with "Аэросибиръ" titles will be based at JRF, throughout its stay here. This Mi-17 has "Ми-8МТЬ-1" on both sides of the nose section, as the Mi-17 is an advanced version of the Mi-8. This helicopter is owned by Vertol Systems Co, Inc (Hillsboro, OR).

N109JL In "Hawaiʻi Five-0" Episode

N109JL (msn 3109), a Linthicum Glassair III, owned by Benjamin Fouts of Kailua-Kona, HI, made an appearance in last night's episode of "Hawaiʻi Five-0". The episode had to do with an air racing pilot who crashed and the Five-0 team was asked to investigate the crash. N109JL was the aircraft flown by Commander Steve McGarrett in the episode. The "86", "Shadow Baron", and "Hammerade" markings were added for the episode. The above photo was taken while N109JL taxied on Taxiway C, while being filmed from the air by a Makani Kai helicopter with a ShotOver System camera mounted on the nose [top photo].

The new Makani Kai Air hangar was also used in the episode. Island Air's parked ATR72s could be seen in the background, along with a FedEx Feeder C208BF Grand Cargomaster.

Kamaka Air's N231H

Our April edition of "HNLRareBirds Classic" goes back to November 2005, where Kamaka Air's Beech 18, N231H was temporarily painted in the above livery for its appearance in the ABC Television series "Lost". Using Tempra paint and floor wax, this livery was applied over a few days for in-flight scenes of a similar crashed Beech18. After the scenes were filmed, the livery was removed, and N231H was put back into service.

Hawai‘i Five-0 Cameos

In tonight's episode, "Ho‘i Hou",  a US Air Force C-17A, 09-9207 (c/n 50231 [F-230/P-207]) from the 436th AW and TransAir's N306AL (above) made cameo appearances after the first commercial break.   Only the interior of N306AL was used, to simulate the interior of the C-17A. H50 fan blogs noted that film crews were working around the 737-2T4C, parked on the South Ramp.

The "Kamekona Air Tours" AS350, from Makani Kai Helicopters, also appeared in the episode.

"Loha Ke Kahi I Ke Kahi"

In tonight's season four premier episode of Hawaii Five-0, "Loha Ke Kahi I Ke Kahi", Makani Kai Helicopters' N6077H makes an appearance as a TV news helicopter for the fictional TV station KHMJ. N6077H is seen above on the 50-yard line of Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium, where a part of the episode was filmed. The production company spent the entire day filming a few scenes inside the stadium, and out in the Hālawa parking lots.

Also making an appearance in the episode, is Kalitta Air's 747-221F, N748CK (c/n 21744, l/n 392), that scene was filmed on HNL's South Ramp.

Kamekona's N6077H

Makani Kai Helicopters' AS-350BA, N6077H (msn 2693), has been transformed into another helicopter charter company for the CBS TV series "Hawai‘i Five-0". This time, the fictitious charter company is based on the recurring character, Kamekona (played by actor Taylor Wily), and another new business venture for his enterprising character.

N6077H was photographed late last month, but we were asked not to run this photo until last night's episode aired. In the meantime, this AS350BA still has the decals affixed.

Hawaiian's N583HA Makes Cameo In Samsung Spot

Hawaiian Airlines' 767-33AER, N583HA "‘A" (c/n 25531, l/n 423), makes a cameo appearance in a TV commercial for the Samsung Galaxy S III mobile phone. The spot has been running for the past two weeks, during episodes of "The Voice", and features country singer (and Voice coach) Blake Shelton in the beginning.

Mahalo to team member Aeros, for finding this article, that contains the Samsung spot. The spot can also be seen in this link from NBC. N583HA appears at the :15 mark, and looks like it was filmed at LAX, as Terminal 3 can be seen behind the tail of the 767.

Resort Transportation's N227LA

N227LA (cn 193), Resort Transportation GS LLC's Gulfstream II-SP, makes an appearance in tonight's third season premiere of the CBS hit crime drama "Hawai‘i Five-0". The episode, titled "Lā o nā Mākuahine (Motherʻs Day)", has the bizjet in two scenes with series star Alex O'Laughlin (Cmdr. Steve McGarrett) and guest star Christine Lahti (playing Steve's mother Doris) filmed at Bradley Pacific Aviation.

As seen above, the production crew is seen behind the G-IISP preparing for the late afternoon shoot, as this photo was taken in the morning of the shoot.

Hawai‘i ANG's 05-5152 Makes Five-0 Cameo

05-5152 "The Spirit of 'Go For Broke'" (c/n P-152), of the Hawai‘i Air National Guard's 204th Airlift Squadron / 154th Wing, made an appearance on tonight's episode of "Hawai‘i Five-0". The scene was shot on HIK's VIP ramp.

The show's producers use the 204th's Globemaster IIIs whenever they are in need of military transport shots. Other C-17s, 05-5149 and 05-5153, have made previous appearances dating back to the series premiere episode. The landing shots were filmed at NGF, and ground shots were done at HIK.

Sun Country's N801SY

The producers of "Hawai‘i Five-0" chartered a Sun Country Airlines 737-800 for use tonight's episode "Ki‘ilua". N801SY (c/n 30332, l/n 777), a 737-8Q8, was flown in on October 20th as SCX8603 from EFP (via SFO). Filming took place over the next two days, then N801SY flew out to PGD (Punta Gorda, FL), via SFO and ELP in the wee hours of the 23rd.

The two photos show the production crew scouting out the location and 737. Production trucks lined Kapalulu Street, but the cast trailers were in another location.

Also, in tonight's episode was N6131P (c/n 66-16093), a UH-1H Huey owned by Pacific Helicopter Tours of Kahului, Maui.

N900SA

This Cessna C208B Caravan, N900SA (c/n 208B0816), made an appearance on last night's episode of Hawai‘i Five-0, "Kame‘e". It's owned by Avtran LLC (Clayton, MO), and is seen above taxiing out of the Anderson Aviation ramp for departure. 

Kekipi Island Tours' N6077H

Kekipi Island Tours is the fictional helicopter company in the CBS-TV series"Hawai‘i Five-0". N6077H (msn 2693) is actually one of the two Eurocopter AS-350BA Ecureuils in the Makani Kai Helicopters fleet. The AS-350BA had the Kekipi decals applied to both sides of the fuselage, as the hit TV series began filming episodes for its second season this week. The Kekipi N6077H made a few appearance last season. The yellow and black rails on the skids are for camera mounts.

Mahalo to the folks at Makani Kai Helicopters for allowing me to photograph N6077H.

KKMM's N96757

A few weeks ago, in Episode #20 ("Ma Ke Kahakai") of Hawai‘i Five-0, this Gulfstream G-III made an appearance. N96757 (msn 379), owned by KKMM LLC (Houston, TX), was featured along with the Bradley Pacific Aviation facilities. The N-Number, however, was whited out. It's seen above being re-positioned on the South Ramp.

This G-III has been a frequent visitor to HNL, I first saw it when I was photographing Fly Guam's N238AG.

Koloa Aviation's N820MS

In this past Monday's episode of Hawai‘i Five-0, "Ho‘apono", Koloa Aviation's Gulfstream G-IV, N820MS (msn 1147), made an appearance as a getaway jet, and filmed at HNL.

The above photo, taken in 2005, shows N820MS taxiing out from the current Castle & Cooke Aviation ramp (formerly the Circle Rainbow Air ramp), where the G-IV is based.

Link to watch the Hawai‘i Five-0 CBS episode "Ho‘apono".

HAL8981/8982

On Wednesday, February 2nd, Hawaiian Airlines had a flight to JRF (John Rodgers Field, Kalaeloa, HI) as HAL8981 using one of their 767-300s. The aircraft returned to HNL from JRF as HAL8982 this morning.

My guess is that the aircraft may have been used for filming purposes.

"Forgetting Sarah Marshall" Features A Hawaiian Air 767

The production company of the upcoming feature film "Forgetting Sarah Marshall", leased a Hawaiian Air 767-300ER for the day while they were filming a scene at the Circle Rainbow Air Building. HA ground crews were moving around the 763 as if they were servicing the aircraft including moving the aircraft forward and back. The inside of the building was made to look like an airport terminal, and Hawaiian Air ticket counter. HA supplied N586HA "‘Ou", a 767-3G5ER (c/n 24259) for what is supposed to appear in the background of this airport scene. Here's the KGMB 9 article link. The producers must have paid a pretty penny to use a 767, and its support crew for this scene.

The flims stars Jason Segel ("How I Met Your Mother") and Kristen Bell ("Veronica Mars"). HA employees also filled in as extras as ... HA employees. The feature film is scheduled for a 2008 release.

According to HNL insiders, it was a task to move the 763 to that location, as the alleyway leading to Circle Rainbow was not designed for a large airliner to be moved to, or parked in that area. In the 90s, some airlines would park their delivery flights in this area, or fronting the Circle Rainbow hangar. Hainan Airlines and Japan TransOcean Airlines 737-400s were seen and photographed there.