Acroflight International is a specialty flight school and scenic flight operation based at Kawaihāpai Airfield (formerly and still commonly known as Dillingham Airfield, PHDH) on the North Shore of Oʻahu, Hawaii. Founded and operated by Steve Lowry — a veteran pilot who first soloed in 1958 at age 15 and has accumulated decades of flight experience — Acroflight is the only aerobatic and glider flight training provider operating from Oʻahu's sole gliderport, offering a combination of instruction, scenic flights, and aerobatic experiences unavailable anywhere else in the state.   Flight instruction at Acroflight focuses on glider (soaring) ratings and aerobatic training. Students pursuing the FAA Glider Pilot certificate receive ground and air instruction in the fundamentals of soaring, including thermal recognition, ridge lift exploitation, traffic pattern procedures, and emergency landing judgment. Aerobatic training covers basic through advanced upset maneuvers, spins, loops, rolls, and other acrobatic sequences. Steve Lowry is listed as an IAC (International Aerobatic Club) member school, confirming the aerobatic instruction is conducted within a formal competitive aerobatics framework. Acroflight also offers scenic glider rides over Oʻahu's North Shore and the Waimea Valley — available as individual or two-person flights in bubble-top gliders — and customizable aerobatic experience flights that can be tailored to the passenger's tolerance and interest level.   Beyond commercial flight operations, Acroflight maintains a substantive youth aviation and community mission. Steve Lowry serves as president of the Hawaiian Historical Aviation Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, and Acroflight has sponsored a Boy Scouts of America Aviation Explorer Post for over seven years, providing hundreds of hours of free flight and ground instruction to youth ages 8–18. The operation has received formal commendations from the Hawaii House of Representatives for lifetime achievement in youth aviation, as well as recognition from the military, ROTC programs, and the Aloha Council BSA.

Home Airport(s)

Kawaihāpai Airfield (Dillingham Airfield) ICAO: PHDH | IATA: HDH | FAA LID: HDH   Located approximately two nautical miles west of the central business district of Mokulēʻia, in Honolulu County on the northwestern corner of Oʻahu. The airfield sits on 134 acres of the 650-acre Dillingham Military Reservation and is operated by the Hawaii Department of Transportation under a 50-year lease from the U.S. Army (renewed July 2024). Elevation 14 ft MSL. No control tower — UNICOM; uncontrolled airfield. Closed to civil aircraft 1900–0700 (April–September) and 1800–0600 (October–March) per Army restrictions. PPR required for civil aircraft 12,500 lbs and over; PPR required no less than 72 hours for all military fixed-wing aircraft. Simultaneous glider and powered aircraft operations are standard. Ultralights are active on and near the airport. Extensive military helicopter and glider operations occur daily. An aerobatic training box is established offshore, north of the airfield, above 1,500 ft MSL, for aerobatic glider and powered aircraft maneuvers. Self-serve Jet-A and Avgas available by credit card. No commercial service; joint-use civil-military general aviation facility.   Runway 08​/​26 — 9,007 ft × 75 ft (sole runway; asphalt; unlit; oriented roughly east-west; primary surface for glider launches, skydiving operations, and all powered aircraft) Note: Several secondary sources cite the runway at approximately 5,000 feet; the official FAA and Hawaii DOT records confirm the full runway length is approximately 9,000 feet. The 5,000-foot figure represents the active​/​maintained portion frequently cited in operational contexts.   Kawaihāpai is geographically the only possible gliderport on Oʻahu — a distinction dictated by terrain, not arbitrary designation. The airfield sits between the Waiʻanae Mountains to the south and the Pacific Ocean to the north, and the trade winds forced upward over the 900-foot ridge adjacent to the western end of the runway generate reliable orographic lift throughout the summer months. A tow to just 1,000 feet AGL can release a glider into lift conditions that sustain flight for hours without engine power. In winter months, when north swells arrive and trade winds become more variable, the same geography provides striking visual conditions: north shore surf of 20 feet or more, whales breaching offshore, and views from the western tip of Oʻahu spanning both the north shore and the south shore simultaneously. The airfield originally opened in 1941 as a U.S. Army installation and has since appeared as a filming location for Lost and Hawaii Five-0 due to its remote and distinctive landscape.

Fleet and Facilities

Acroflight International operates glider aircraft in both standard and aerobatic configurations, with tow aircraft for powered launches: Glider(s) — Scenic and Training — Bubble-canopy gliders providing near-panoramic visibility for scenic flights over Waimea Valley, the North Shore coastline, and the Waiʻanae ridge. Used for Glider Pilot certificate training including standard dual-instruction glider flights. Individual and two-person seating configurations available depending on the specific aircraft. Aerobatic Glider — Aerobatic-capable sailplane used for spin and unusual attitude training, aerobatic instruction, and customizable aerobatic experience flights. The aerobatic box north of the runway (above 1,500 ft MSL) is the designated airspace for all aerobatic maneuvers. Tow aircraft for powered launches are operated in coordination with the broader PHDH operator community. Honolulu Soaring and Acroflight both operate at the field; the tow plane infrastructure is shared across glider operators at the airfield. Acroflight's hangar and operations are based at the western end of the Kawaihāpai Airfield.

Hours of Operation

Daily 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Airfield closure times per Army lease restrictions apply: no civil operations 1900–0700 (summer) or 1800–0600 (winter). Scheduling is handled directly through the office; advance booking recommended.

Additional Notes

Kawaihāpai is the only location on Oʻahu where glider training can be conducted, making Acroflight International the sole provider of glider pilot certificates and aerobatic glider instruction on the island. This is not a business positioning statement — it is a geographic fact. There is no other location on Oʻahu with the terrain clearance, airspace structure, and orographic lift conditions necessary to sustain soaring operations.   The trade-wind soaring environment at PHDH is genuinely world-class. The Waiʻanae ridge generates consistent orographic lift during Hawaii's prevailing northeast trade wind season, and the combination of ocean views, mountain terrain, and reliable lift makes it one of the most visually and technically rewarding soaring sites in the Pacific. Students earning their glider rating here develop soaring judgment in real atmospheric lift conditions — not just aerotow and land, but genuine cross-country and sustained ridge soaring — from their earliest lessons.   Steve Lowry's nonprofit work through the Hawaiian Historical Aviation Foundation and the BSA Explorer Post reflects a genuine investment in Hawaii's aviation pipeline that extends well beyond the commercial operation. The hundreds of hours of free youth instruction, the state legislative recognition, and the ROTC and military community engagement indicate a school that sees itself as a civic institution as much as a commercial flight provider — an orientation that is unusual and notable in the context of a small specialty operation at a remote North Shore airfield.