Spirit of Aloha | Message of Aloha | November/December 2002

Message of Aloha

High Flier

In teaching kids to build and fly kites, Aloha terminal agent Malcolm Moore shares his love of the wind and the sky

In the airline business, the sky is home. It's the great frontier that suspends time and forms a bridge between what is behind and what lies ahead. When the aircraft lifts off and makes the sky its home, the buoyancy of flight brings joy and anticipation as our thoughts turn to the new and unknown.

There are many who appreciate, first hand, the miracle of flight, among them pilots, voyagers, windsurfers, sailors, birdwatchers and kite-flyers. These are people who respect the wind and know its power and playfulness. In this issue, we honor a man who shares his love of the wind and sky in an activity as simple as kite-flying.

"If I had as many hours flying a plane as I do flying these kites, I'd probably be flying for Aloha Airlines," jokes Aloha Airlines terminal agent Malcolm Moore, who works at the Kahului, Maui, airport. It's true, because since he made his first kite in the fifth grade, out of newspaper and an old sheet, this kite enthusiast has given thousands of hours to his hobby and has taught hundreds of children how to make and fly their own kites.

An Aloha employee for 15 years, Malcolm is a passionate windsurfer, free diver, fisherman and kite flyer. He flew kites competitively for five years and imparts his speed, grace and love of the sport in the demonstrations and workshops he so generously gives throughout the Islands.

At Aloha Airlines, his work day ends before 2 p.m., giving him time to hit the water with his sailboard or fishing rod. For the past 13 years, he has also given, as a volunteer, six to eight kite workshops a year for Maui schoolchildren. He appears in the classroom with materials he's prepared out of plastic bags cut into templates, wooden ribs from a matchstick blind, masking tape and marking pens.

"I spend the first 10 minutes talking about kite safety, then we build their kites together," he explains. The kids make their own drawings on the plastic templates and watch their creations lift off into the sky from the schoolyard, their designs backlit by the sun. "My goal is to have the kids take their kites home," he continues. "I also ask for volunteers and they get to fly these single-line kites. Then I do a demonstration with my stunt kites. The whole thing takes an hour and we really have fun."

His first workshop was on Moloka'i 13 years ago. While at the airport waiting to fly back to Maui, he recalls, he began flying his sled kite when a truck full of kids drove by. They watched with enthusiasm, and Malcolm gave them a kite. One of the observers that day turned out to be a teacher, who arranged Malcolm's first kite workshop.

"Lo and behold, my first workshop was with autistic kids," he recalls. "You should have seen them putting their kites together and going out to the field to fly them. They just dug it, and right there I was hooked.

"But I also have 13 nieces and nephews right here on Maui, and I proceeded to teach them. Other classes would come out, and many teachers were asking me, and I found that I was doing 15 to 20 workshops a year. Now I do six to eight a year, for the classes of the children of the people I work with."

Besides Maui and Moloka'i, he also has taught children on O'ahu and Majuro. On one trip to Majuro, he took 50 kites and offered a clinic for two large classes of schoolkids. Soon he will be flying on Aloha's flight to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, and you can bet there will be pre-cut kite materials in his baggage.

"I strongly believe that everyone has a talent," he says. "If you can share your talent, it's a win-win situation. Every workshop is special. I watch the kids pay close attention to detail as they build their kites and I see the sheer joy on their faces when we go to the field and fly them. The kids have learned to build a kite, have flown it, and perhaps I made a difference in their lives, if only for an hour."

Glenn R. Zander
President and Chief Executive Officer, Aloha Airlines

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