About Us
Climb aboard our new Australian-made G8 AirVan for your personalized Grand Deluxe Tour of the most beautiful landscape in the world! Soar through the Waimea Canyon, then catch your breath as the majestic cathedral spires of the Na Pali are suddenly beneath you. Fly alongside the ridgeline behind the lovely Hanalei Bay, and travel south to see the numerous waterfalls of Hanalei Valley as well as the crater below Kauai’s Mt. Wai`ale`ale (weather permitting). During the winter, whale watching may be feasible.
Our experienced pilots share with you the rich history and mythical lore of Kauai; you can ask all your questions using our two-way intercom system and enjoy the feeling of good old fashioned hospitality. Only Wings Over Kauai features an expert agricultural narrative (created by our owner and chief operating pilot, research scientist Dr. Bruce Coulombe). At approximately 60 – 65 minutes long, this safe and thrilling experience is the ultimate air tour of the Garden Island.
Meet the Crew
Wings Over Kauai opened its doors in May 2004. The Coulombe family, Bruce, Ellen, Carter, and Mary, came to Kauai in 1994 under a contract with Novartis Corporation. Bruce had a private pilot’s license and was passionate about flying, and he requested the corporation send his plane over instead of his car. That turned out to be a very smart move.
For the next ten years, Bruce spent his days off touring the island with friends and family, who were all equally overwhelmed by Kauai’s stunning scenery, and then in 2004, his corporate commitments suddenly ended and faced with leaving the island. He and his wife Ellen decided to try their hand at business and opened the doors to Wings Over Kauai.
Wings started as a small desk in the commuter terminal, with a sign reading “flights available on request,” and for the first year Bruce flew about four flights per week. But then something happened; they call it critical mass. Somehow Wings reached a point where so many friends were telling so many other friends, and there were so many positive comments on internet sites and in traveler’s forums, that the business grew every year throughout the recession, and each year was at least 50% bigger than the year before. They acquired a six-passenger plane in 2010 and now average four flights a day.
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Co-Owner and Pilot
Bruce Coulombe will be your captain on the scenic flights around the Garden Island. Bruce is an FAA Certified Flight Instructor and instrument-rated commercial pilot with twenty-six years of piloting experience and has logged over 7,000 hours. He has flown the route circumnavigating Kauai over a couple thousand times with a perfect safety record. Captain Bruce also holds a Ph.D. in Agronomy, so he will be able to answer any of your crops & soils questions as well.
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Pilot
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Pilot
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Co-Owner and Reservationist
Ellen grew up in Reston, Virginia, and graduated from Va Tech in 1986 with a MS in Crops, Soils, and Environmental Sciences and spent the better part of the next fifteen years raising the kids. After moving around the mainland with Bruce and kids in tow, the family finally settled on Kauai in 1994. Fascinated by the ecology of this remote Pacific Island Ellen was fortunate to work with Dr. Charles Blay, a resident geologist, sampling sand and mapping offshore reefs, as he developed his Kauai program. She then spent five years with the Kokee Resource Conservation Program, a dynamic non-profit dedicated to the preservation of Kauai’s rare and endangered forest lands. Afterwards she spent two years as the Administrative Assistant to Dr. David Burney, Director of the Conservation Department at the National Tropical Botanical Garden.
She now works exclusively for Wings, and volunteers with the Kauai Native Plant Society, Dr. Burney’s Makawao Cave Reserve, and the Monk Seal hui. She also recently published a book, Nakoa, The Mystery Island; Mutator Unleashed. For more information see Ellen’s Page.
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Pilot, CFI
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Customer Service and Video Production
Mary is a senior at Northern Arizona University studying Environmental Studies with a minor in Japanese language.