We All Live in a Yellow Airplane

Little Yellow Plane owner Tessa Coulter, left, with her son Tyde Haviland, and Wailani Tanaka with her son John David, and Pomaika‘i Ah Mook Sang with daughter Rita-Makamae Ah Mook Sang. Photo by Léo Azambuja

By Léo Azambuja

In the town where you were born, visited a woman who flew the skies. And she told you of her life in the land of airplanes. So they flew on to the sun ‘til they found the sky of blue. And they lived above the clouds in their yellow airplane.

“What this event is really about is the Young Eagles program. We were hoping to get flights up today. The weather did not agree with us, but we introduced kids to flight,” Little Yellow Plane owner Tessa Coulter said of the Experimental Aircraft Association’s Molokai Fly-In 2026 at Hoʻolehua Airport March 28. 

Aside from introducing children ages 8 to 17 to flight, the EAA’s Fly-In events are opportunities for Hawaii’s small-plane pilot community to connect with each other.

“We have planes from Maui, Molokai, Oahu, Kona, all over. So, it’s just our way of getting together, supporting the community, talking story,” Coulter said, pointing to 10 parked small airplanes that had flown to Molokai for the event. 

Several kids came to Hoʻolehua eager to take part in free plane rides through the EAA’s Young Eagles program. During an EAA Fly-In in Hana, Maui last year, about 30 kids were taken in plane rides. But Coulter said the winds and the rain last Saturday were not “cooperating,” making the conditions “a little too spicy,” and she did not want to scare the kids on their first flight. 

“But we will definitely plan on doing this again. I love doing events on Molokai,” Coulter said. 

Despite watering down the plans for the keiki rides, the rain didn’t stop anyone from having a good time. Molokai residents, local and off-island pilots got together at the airport’s parking lot from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

Although there were no plane rides, Coulter took kids and their parents on a tour of her Little Yellow Plane, a 1968 Cessna 150 and one of the most recognizable and photographed small airplanes in Hawaii. 

“Everybody knows the Little Yellow Plane. I can’t hide anywhere,” she said. “I see people I don’t even know posting pictures of my plane on Instagram or Facebook. They call it Pikachu, the duck, Big Bird.”

Before the event even started, about 15 kids were already waiting to meet the iconic Little Yellow Plane. 

“There’s been well over 100 people that have come through,” Coulter said. “I’m glad that we get to give these tours and introduce kids to aviation and let them sit in the airplane.”

She said the EAA is trying hard to build their community in Hawaii and get more people into flying.

“Hawaii is very underrepresented in aviation, and we want to see these kids from Molokai flying Alaskan airlines and Mokulele and helicopter tours,” Coulter said. “We’re just trying to show these kids that aviation is for everyone.” 

A food booth sold two of the most iconic all-American foods; burgers and hot-dogs. After all, it was two American brothers who built the world’s first engine-powered, heavier-than-air craft able to successfully complete a controlled, sustained flight in 1903.

Nearly 2.5 million children nationwide have enjoyed a free introductory flight through the Young Eagles program since EAA launched it in 1992. 

Coulter lives in Upcountry Maui, but the Little Yellow Plane has deep Molokai roots. The plane was owned by a local pilot for 13 years before Coulter bought it five years ago.

“I’ve been flying it ever since,” Coulter said. “And it was already yellow.”

Aside from being active in the EAA’s Young Eagles program, the Little Yellow Plane offers flights for rescued pets and farm animals, participates in STEM events for kids throughout Hawaii, and supports communities in times of need by flying supplies and even patients for off-island medical appointments. 

Just like The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine has become a symbol of bringing communities together through joy, the Little Yellow Plane works in similar ways.

As they live a life of ease, every one of them has all they need; sky of blue and sea of green in their yellow airplane.

Visit www.eaa.org and http://littleyellowplane.com/ for more information.