Gerry starting flying hang gliders in 1978. A year later he began teaching hang gliding on Oahu’s north shore. Winning the Hawaii state hang gliding championship brought corporate sponsorship and Gerry went on to compete on the national and international hang gliding circuit.
Gerry founded Birds in Paradise on Kauai in 1990 offering tandem hang gliding. In 1993, Birds in Paradise began offering powered hang gliding and, since that time, Gerry has logged more than 17,000 hours operating ultralight trikes and sharing the experience with more than 20,000 Birds in Paradise clients.
Gerry began using wing-mounted cameras on his glider to shoot the stunning visuals in the 1980s. He is one of the most published sport-aviation photographers in the world with more than 60 magazine cover shots. In 1997, he was named photojournalist of the year by the U.S. Ultralight Association. Combining his passion for trike flying with his passion for still and video photography, Gerry also produces films that capture the breathtaking scenery and marine life on Kauai. Extreme Kauai, his most recent DVD, can be found in most stores on Kauai. He is currently in post-production for his new film, Kauai Unveiled, featuring more awesome underwater and aerial footage of the Garden Island..
Birds in Paradise has been featured on HDNet’s extreme travel show "Get Out!" as well as on the Discovery Channel, the Travel Channel and TV Land's High School Reunion show.
Ronavin “Ron” Johnston is Birds in Paradise’s Director of Maintenance. Along with being an FAA-Certificated Flight Instructor, he is also an A & P technician and a certified Rotax aircraft engine factory-trained technician.
Since he was five years old, Ron has been enjoying the “light sport” and ultra light aviation experience, initially, flying with his father and later, at the age of 16, becoming a pilot through the U.S. Ultralight Association. At age 18, Ron was certified as a Basic Flight Instructor under the FAA and was one of the first Certified Flight Instructors inducted in the light sport industry. He has a true love of aviation and his former students can attest to the high level of security and confidence they shared with him during their training.
Along with his thousands of flight hours, Ron also devotes time to aviation maintenance. On the mainland, he was a technician with an FAA-certified repair station servicing commercial aircraft engines. Ron is trained to service engines ranging from BIP's 80 hp Rotax engines up to Boeing 767 Pratt and Whitney engines that produce more than 50,000 pounds of thrust. He recently completed his biennial Rotax retraining. Birds in Paradise is designated as Hawaii's only Rotax service station due to Ron's skills and training.
Ron is also a certified firefighter and EMT first responder trained in aircraft safety and rescue training.
Gene Monnier has worked in the aviation industry for nearly 20 years. His father was a U.S. Air Force flight engineer who gave him his first flight lesson on his 14th birthday. Hooked on the sport, Gene earned his private pilot license at age 19 and went on to secure his commercial multi-engine and instrument license by the age of 21.
Gene’s work experience includes flying corporate aircraft, aviation sales and distribution, aircraft delivery, and being an instructor pilot and test pilot for a prominent aircraft manufacturer. Gene also worked as a yacht broker and delivery captain in northern Florida for more than nine years.
With his years of knowledge and experience with three-axis aircraft, Gene will expand the Birds in Paradise flight instruction to include three-axis light sport aviation, a first on the island of Kauai. “I look forward to educating the next generation of future aviators here on the garden island of Kauai."
Matthew Robinson has been flying powered hang gliders since 1995 and has more than 2000 hours flying throughout the continental United States, Alaska, Africa, Russia and Central America. His love affair with powered hang gliders started at 15 when he began paying for lessons by sweeping hangar floors at a local ultralight flight school. Matt soloed at the age of 16 and has since received ratings in gliders, airplanes, multi-engine aircraft, and is also a commercial pilot. While attending in college in Alaska, he worked as a powered hang glider instructor to help pay for school expenses and would volunteer himself and his powered hang glider to assist the local Civil Air Patrol in search and rescue missions.
From 1999-2002, he volunteered as a pilot for an elephant project in Africa for USAID, UC Davis, and Save the Elephants. Flying a trike throughout the Sahel to locate elusive elephants, he assisted in darting elephants with a powerful sedative and installing a radio collar to track the herd and gather information about the elephants’ travel patterns and eating habits to be used for conservation efforts in that region. The project was featured in the Animal Planet documentary "The Lost Elephants of Timbuktu," Discover Magazine, Aramco Magazine, GeoTracker and Ultralight Flying.
Matthew looks forward to the opportunity to utilize his vast pool of experience, knowledge and tireless enthusiasm for aviation to provide flight students an enjoyable, safe and exhilarating experience on their intro lessons with Birds in Paradise.
Tracy Tomlinson is an FAA-Certified flight instructor as well as a Advanced Rated Hang Glider pilot with the United States Hang Gliding Association. From Colorado Springs, Colorado, Tracy has valuable high altitude and mountain flying experience.
Tracy started hang gliding in 1995. Some of the mountains he has flown include Pikes Peak in Colorado with a 14,110' cliff launch, Aspen Mountain, Jackson Hole in Wyoming as well as the summit of Haleakala in Maui.
As a Certified Flight Instructor, Tracy has trained pilots in Weight Shift Controlled Aircraft from beginning to completion in obtaining their Sport Pilot rating. Tracy has also trained and endorsed numerous private pilots in profiency testing adding Weight Shift Control to their existing pilot rating.
With his passion for flying, Tracy looks forward to sharing his talents and philosophies through introductory flight lessons working with Birds in Paradise on Kauai.