An old Hawaiian Air Tour Service plane serves as the centerpiece of the show's beach set. To move it from the airport to the beach, the wings first had to be removed. (They were reattached at the shooting location.) Kamaka Air Inc. handled the transport.

"Just getting it here was a massive task," executive producer D.J. McHale said.

McHale said it also took a bit of effort and a lot of luck to find an enclosed compound less than 10 minutes from the set that could be used as a production base camp and living quarters for the actors.

"Getting something in the winter when the waves are still big is very difficult," he said. "But we needed to have them close to where we shoot."

The production is charging ahead on a four-day-per-episode shooting schedule. All of the shooting will be done outdoors on the 26-acre lot subleased by Dillingham Ranch.

Among the young actors in "29 Down" are local talent Tani Lynn Fujimoto, B.K. Cannon and Blade Rogers.

All three will disappear into the jungle during an expeditionary mission in the second episode, and only Fujimoto will return.

Fujimoto says her character, Abby, is a "spiritual, hippie vegan" with a knack for predicting the future.

The original plans didn't even include Fujimoto's character, but Blaise Noto, a publicist for both the show and Fujimoto's second CD, urged producers to look at an audition tape of the young singer.

"I really felt they needed to have a local actor on the show," Noto said.

The producers liked what they saw and wrote her into the script.

"I really think Tani could be the breakaway star of this show," said Rann Watumull, co-founder of Hawaii Film Partners, which is co-producing the series.

It's Fujimoto's first recurring TV role (she's also appeared on "Baywatch Hawaii" and "Hawaii"), and she's taking it very seriously.

"I want to do right by Hawai'i," she said. "I feel I owe people a lot."

The Sacred Hearts Academy student will spend these first few weeks of production dashing back and forth between the set and rehearsals for St. Louis Theatre's "Aida."

Meanwhile, Cannon, a student at Le Jardin Academy, is also steeling herself for her first big on-camera role.

But she's no acting amateur.

Cannon has performed in several Diamond Head Theatre productions and school plays, and has taken a slew of film, acting and drama classes in preparation for what she hopes will be a long and successful acting career.

Cannon was all smiles at a meet-and-greet session with local media last week.

"Just being here with all of these other actors I've seen on TV is incredible," Cannon said.

For Cannon, a "huge" Lizzy McGuire fan, nothing was as exciting as meeting Stan Rogow, the executive producer who helped to make Hillary Duff a household name.

"I would have paid to be here," Cannon said, fanning herself.

Despite his relatively small role, Rogers might be one of the best-prepared actors on the set. His father is acting and dialogue coach Scott Rogers.

"They haven't told me much about my character, so I've been sort of making it up," said Rogers.

The Waldorf School student has appeared on "North Shore" and "Baywatch Hawaii."

Pastor Dominick Kaaihue went beyond the calling when he visited the "29 Down" set for a pre-production blessing. In addition to a few heartfelt words and a stirring rendition of "He Touched Me," Kaaihue belted his way through some of his favorite TV theme songs, including "Gilligan's Island," "Movin' On Up (The Jeffersons)," and the theme from "Kikaida."

We hear he does weddings, too.