BARKING SANDS – They came to witness history. Man, were they disappointed. A collective groan rose from a crowd of about 450 people when a NASA official grabbed the megaphone and announced, exactly 43 minutes after the scheduled flight time
BARKING SANDS – They came to witness history. Man, were they disappointed.
A collective groan rose from a crowd of about 450 people when a NASA official grabbed the megaphone and announced, exactly 43 minutes after the scheduled flight time yesterday, that the first functional check flight of the Helios Prototype was “scrubbed” due to computer problems.
Many spectators were making their way to their vehicles as soon as the word “scrubbed” was said. Honolulu television news crews hung their heads and cameras.
It wasn’t immediately known if the craft would attempt its first liftoff today, or at some later date, from the Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility here.
A flight scheduled for Friday morning also was canceled. High, upper-atmosphere wind was the reason.
John Hicks, project manager for the NASA ERAST (Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology) project that handles the solar-powered Helios, said a computer was having trouble staying online. Rather than risk the same thing happening while the aircraft is in the air, the difficult decision was made to try again another day, he said.
That may be difficult next week, though, as military exercises are planned that could keep the Helios from flying even after the computer problems are worked out.
Before the cancellation announcement, the hot, dry Barking Sands morning was electric with anticipation Saturday morning.
Even Hicks, the voice of the Helios through the recorded information hotline (335-4027), which many of the faithful gathered yesterday have memorized while calling frequently for project updates, was upbeat in his first recorded announcement that the test flight was “a go.”
People lined the PMRF taxiway that is eventually to be the Helios launching pad, armed with their portable chairs, umbrellas, coolers, beach blankets, bottled water, binoculars and cameras, ready to be a part of the historic first flight.
Three generations of the Armstrong family gathered: Helen Armstrong, visiting from California; daughter Kris Armstrong-Shiira of Kapa’a; and grandchildren Kaylyn Armstrong-Shiira, 7, and Carson Armstrong-Shiira, 12.
“It’s a first,” said Helen Armstrong.
“History in the making,” said Kris Armstrong-Shiira, who added the Navy and NASA made it inviting for her family to be on hand.
So did her children’s science teacher, John Cox, who had addressed his students about the Helios, getting the children excited about being at the base as witnesses.
Visitors from Japan and the mainland also got caught up in the excitement, anticipating the first Kaua’i and first solar-powered flight of the Helios, a 247-foot-wide aircraft topped with solar panels and powered by 13 motors and propellors along the length of the aircraft.
“Well, this is a historic event, actually, and the fact that Kaua’i was chosen for the first flight really puts Kaua’i on the map,” said Catherine Lo of Po’ipu. “And we had to get up early to come here.”
Her husband Karl Lo remembered hearing about Kauaians paying 25 cents to see the first airplane flight on Kaua’i, around 1913, when Tom Gunn went airborne at a site near Koloa School and the Pa’anau housing complex.
“To see history, to see a wing fly,” said another spectator, asked why he came to the base. “Amazing. Solar-operated.”
Dennis Lo of Kalaheo was another of those gathered to watch the flight that this day wasn’t to be.
“Yeah, it’s a real sacrifice to give up my garage sales,” he laughed.
Others in the crowd also liked the way NASA and the Navy have accommodated spectators.
“It’s a big opportunity to see this thing,” said Owen Moe of Kekaha.
Albert Fernandez of Kalaheo was there with his sons, including Travis, who has been following news of the Helios and prodded his family to go with him.
“It’s something new, good for the environment,” Travis said. “One of my friends is working on this thing. I think they took him from KCC (Kaua’i Community College).”
Ann Wright arrived from Honolulu last Thursday just to see the flight. She was disappointed it was canceled but understood the need to make sure everything is perfect before flying the multi-million-dollar craft.
“And I’ll be here (Sunday) morning, just in case,” she said.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
