Makani Kai and Hawaii Five-0

The original version was hailed as one of the best and longest-running police dramas on television.  After a thirty year absence, Hawaii Five-O is back in prime time with its memorable theme song, exotic locales and colorful local characters.  Only now it’s a modern high-def show with more scenery, more volume and great action sequences. And McGarrett flies a helicopter.  Not just any helicopter, mind you, but Makani Kai’s Eurocopter, the same aircraft we use on our daily tours of the island.

In episode four, which aired on October 11, 2010, the aircraft is hijacked from our helipad with tourists in the back. The gunman demands at that the pilot fly to Molokai, but the aircraft does not have enough fuel to make the trip and crash lands when the fuel is exhausted.  In a later scene, Steve McGarrett and Chin Ho Kelly take off in hot pursuit in the same aircraft, now painted for the fictitious “Kekipi Island Tours”.  They find the downed bird, track and arrest the bad guy, and Hawaii is safe once more.  At least for another week.

Look for future episodes featuring our helicopter, the only one in Hawaii that provides superb aerial tours and fights crime.