Market Day….

Morning of April 8th, I picked up Milyn at Subic. She wanted to see Baguio during Easter. I arrived 30 minutes late, we were supposed to fly RP-C8832 but unfortunately the airspeed indicator went kaput. I had to switch to another aircraft and topped the tanks. Morning haze was at its worst, visibility was poor.


Subic Airport....; View of Grande Island during Final Approach to Subic

We departed from runway 07 and headed North West and followed the coastline up to Hermana Menor. Despite the haze, Milyn was still able to enjoy the aerial view of Subic, her house and the coast line. From Hermana Menor, We headed North East to Asingan and go direct to Baguio. There were clouds at 9000’ en-route to Baguio, and we were asked to join left base of Runway 09 from the South.

Clouds en-route to Baguio; Hermana Menor

Milyn was scared during our descent to Baguio, we were close to the mountain. I told her that it is normal and we were still high from the runway. After we landed and secured the aircraft, we headed to the local market to buy strawberries and vegetables. I didn’t want to get stuck at Baguio, we quickly headed back to the aircraft and departed back to Omni.

Over San Roque Dam; Milyn at Baguio to buy vegetables and strawberries

The value of an aircraft, you can have breakfast at Zambales, buy vegetables mid-morning at Baguio and still be able to eat lunch at Pampanga. ;)

The next day, I was up again with Kozo for an Instrument training flight. When is the next long weekend holiday???

Island Hopping

The long vacation allowed me to join my friend Kozo for his long cross-country journey. We started on the 5th of April to have lunch in Mindoro. Mamburao, is in the north western tip of Mindoro and approximately 100 nautical miles south west of Manila. Kozo, now building time for his instructor license loves to fly right seat and allowed me to take the left seat. We flew RP-C8833, one of Omni’s new aircraft gave us a cruising speed of 110-115 Knots.

Punta Fuego and Nasugbu Batangas

Me and Kozo at Mamburao Airport; Puerto Galera

Calatagan airport below; Check the altimeter and the bag of chips.....

Mamburao has a long runway more than enough to accommodate a Cessna 172, Philippine Airlines used to fly in and out of Mamburao. After landing, we secured the aircraft and headed to the town. Holy week started on the 5th of April, most stores and even the public market in Mamburao was closed. We were forced to eat on the town’s hotel. The price of the food was cheap but the quality was great.

After having lunch in Mamburao, we then headed to the small island west of Manila. Corregidor was once the headquarters of the allied forces and the seat of the Philippine Government during World War II. Kindley Airfield is located on the East end of the island. This is one of the challenging airports here in the Philippines. Wind shear is often present, ravine on both ends of the runway and of course the runway is short and unpaved.

After landing, we asked for the island jeepney. En-route to the hotel the jeepney driver toured us to Malinta Tunnel and giving us some history lessons. After having a drink on the beach of Corregidor we then proceeded back to our aircraft and flew back to Omni to prepare for our next long flight.

The following day, the weather was very good. Jenny (Taiwanese) and Kozo were waiting for me for our briefing. I calculated our weight and balance, and checked the weather while Jenny and Kozo were carefully planning the route, fuel and flying time. Our flight took us over the coast of Cavite, Batangas, Mindoro and hopping straight to Panay Island.

Boracay and Carabao Island

After the 3 hours flight direct to Kalibo, we then had lunch on of the restaurants outside Kalibo Airport. We then headed to South West to Iloilo for our last stop of the day. The short flight was a bit bumpy due to the terrain and low clouds. We saw Iloilo’s new airport and landed on runway 02 with 18Knots crosswind.

Jenny and Kozo, lost in Iloilo; Jaro Church

My uncle was already waiting for us outside the airport and drove us to their house. We then toured the city. Jenny was happy to see many people outside the streets. It was a Good Friday and many people joined the processions. Kozo was amazed on the Spanish built Churches. After the tour, we had our dinner at a local restaurant. I advised Jenny to order Pancit Molo, specialty of Iloilo.

The morning after (7th of April), we started preparing for a short flight across the Island of Negros. I flew left seat this time and asked Kozo’s permission to land the aircraft in Bacolod. Approaching Bacolod, I saw Bago River, on my right and La Tondena on my 12 o’clock. Having flown countless times on both Flight Sim and Airline Flying, I know where to find the airport. A couple minutes had passed and I saw the runway on my 10 o’clock. I declared runway in-sight and prepared the aircraft for landing, wind was 030 at 12 knots runway 04 was in use. No sweat, just chop the power a later than the usual and apply a little right rudder before touch down. I managed to land the aircraft smoothly and safely.

My uncle and my cousin in Bacolod; Bacolod Airport

Again, one of my uncles was waiting for us at the ramp. We then headed to my grand mother’s house to eat lunch. They served us fresh shrimp, chopsuey and fried-chicken. After having a quick lunch, we said our goodbyes. We refueled the aircraft and were airborne heading back North.

Local Thunderstorm a few nautical miles north of Boracay; Capt Tonet and Capt Anton at work

We quickly refueled the aircraft in Calapan, Mindoro and headed back again North to Clark. We were given clearance for a straight in approach to runway 02, a very nice treat to end a very long journey. That afternoon, I saw Tonet on the ramp. He later asked me if I want to join him. At first I thought he was just asking me if I wanted a ride going out of Clark. As soon as I heard from someone that Tonet will be flying night IFR, I quickly asked Capt Tonet if I could join him. Unfortunately there was a memo released to the clark tower which prohibited us from departing from Omni after sunset. Hope to fly with you next time Captain. :)

Hmmmmm..... which jeepney should I take to go to work???