An AH-64 Apache attack helicopter pilot etched a message of good-time island vibes in a recent flight path over Hawaii. Captured by the Flightradar24 tacking site, and later shared by U.S. Army W.T.F! Moments, an Apache flying as Chaos 65 took off from Kahului Airport on the afternoon of Oct. 21 and drew a hand sign in the air before landing again, a little over an hour after takeoff.
The hand gesture is known as the Shaka, Hawaii’s official state hand gesture, and roughly symbolizes an easy-living, good-natured greeting or goodbye, like “hang loose.”
We salute that pilot — likely of the 25th Infantry Division — for their attention to detail in creating the Shaka hand gesture used for over a century in Hawai’i to convey a positive, uplifting spirit. We also salute the pilot for not drawing some shape that would get everybody in trouble for weeks.
Ian Petchenik, the director of communications for Flightradar24 confirmed the flight to Task & Purpose, noting that the popularity of track services like his has led to many ‘drawings’ in the sky.
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“We’ve seen everything from airplanes drawing, I guess, portraits, of that particular aircraft, or, messages,” Petchenik said. “Like, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, somebody spelled out something like ‘make beer, not war,’ and other things like that.”
Though the occasional R-rated route finds its way across the sky, Petchenik said those are exceptions. “Less crude messaging is generally what we see more often than not.”
The Shaka hand gesture spirit
After decades as a well-known pop culture touchstone, the Shaka hand gesture — a thumb and pinky extended with the three other fingers down — was named the state’s official hand sign in May by Hawaii lawmakers. has been synonymous with a friendly, positive point of view of life in Hawai’i. It’s sometimes said to convey a ‘hang loose’ or ‘Aloha spirit.’
According to the Polynesian Cultural Center in Hawaii, the gesture dates to a local man named Hamana Kalili, who was well known for reenacting the role of Kamehameha I in annual celebrations. Kalili, the legend goes, lost three middle fingers in a job accident at a sugar mill. Later, he was assigned to check train traffic around the mill for local children climbing aboard. When a train was clear, he’d give his distinctive wave to conductors.
Local children spread the sign as their own, after adopting it as they avoided Kalili’s patrols. They learned to flash the Shaka to indicate Kalili was not nearby, and the trains were safe to ride.
And so we say, hang loose, Apache pilot. Well done.
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