Airshow Practice in Manila

MANILA, Philippines—If you see military planes flying overhead, don't be alarmed, be proud.
The Philippine Air Force on Thursday laughed off fears of an aerial invasion after it was deluged by inquiries about sightings of fighter and trainer planes in Metro Manila skies.
PAF spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Miguel Ernesto Okol said it was just a dress rehearsal of sorts for Air Force planes for their "flyby," or ceremonial flight, as part of a military parade during the Armed Forces of the Philippines anniversary later this month.
"When we see those planes, we should be proud rather than scared," Okol said told the Inquirer in telephone interview. "I wish when the public sees these aircraft, they will just say 'I'm proud. That's our Air Force'."
It is, Okol said, an accomplishment already that the woefully under-equipped and under-funded Air Force possesses these aircraft to begin with.
Between 24 and 30 planes and choppers of various types will be joining the flyby, from S-211s to OV-10s Broncos to Huey rescue helicopters and a pair of brand-new SF-260s recently acquired by the PAF.
Rehearsals for the parade started this week and will continue just before the Air Force Day on December 21, the anniversary of the AFP, Okol said.
"There's nothing unusual about this. Maybe people just aren't used to seeing these aircraft flying about," he said.
He said the PAF had gotten several calls from worried people and members of the press since the flyby practices began.
Okol said the PAF had coordinated with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines and had secured air space clearance from the ground controllers for the rehearsal flights.
"All pilots have been informed of minimum altitude requirements," as well as standard protocols of keeping apart by least 500 feet, and staying aboveground at least 1,000 feet from the highest point, Okol said.
He said the flyby was "not a military exercise," but a display of PAF aircraft as well as the skills of Air Force pilots, who would be flying in sync during the parade.
"It's going to be a showcase of what the Philippine Air Force is all about," Okol said.

U.S. to aid C-130 search

A US Navy vessel was steaming to the southern Philippines Friday to help locate the wreckage of a Filipino military transport plane that crashed at sea, the Asian country's air force chief said.

The oceanographic survey ship USNS John McDonnell is set to arrive in the Davao Gulf on Saturday, five days after the C-130 went down killing all nine people on board, said Lt. Gen. Pedrito Cadungog.

"The survey ship should arrive in the area tomorrow afternoon," Cadungog said. "It would help us locate the position of the plane."

He said the government needed to recover major parts of the wreckage, which lies in deep water, to determine the cause of the crash.

"We are no longer looking for survivors," he added.

The 41 year-old US-made aircraft lost contact with air traffic controllers shortly after taking off from Davao airport on restive Mindanao island late Monday.

The Philippine military has ruled out its own earlier suggestion that it could have been shot down by Muslim insurgents.

Meanwhile, a civilian training plane crashed at sea off the island of Lubang south of Manila on Thursday, killing its pilot, Cadungog said.

The cause of this second accident, involving a Piper PA-38 aircraft, is under investigation by civil aviation authorities, he added.

Training Aircraft To Be Built At Clark

The Philippines’ aviation sector received a lift after an Italian defense contractor and a Filipino aviation firm signed a deal for the manufacture of training aircraft at Clark Development Zone.

Alenia Aermacchi of Aerotech Industries Philippines Inc. signed the agreement to build 18 SF 260F aircraft trainer on April 24, and they will be used by the Philippine Air Force.
The aircraft, spare parts and services to be provided by Alenia will cost the government $13.8 million.

“The agreement will definitely boost the Philippines’ aviation industry,” said Teresa Parian, Aerotech Industries’ chief operating officer.
“The agreement is through 2015, which means that all orders that Alenia Aermacchi will receive worldwide up to that period will be assembled in and supplied out of the Aerotech Philippines facility.

“Considering that 27 armed forces use SF 260 trainer aircraft all over the world, with about 1,000 units in operation, Alenia Aermacchi estimates 100 new units of this aircraft type will be sold in the next five years,” Parian said.

In a statement, Alenia Aermacchi said it would start delivering the aircraft to the Air Force next April, and that and all planes would be supplied within 18 months.

Philippine Airforce Buys 18 Planes

The Philippine Air Force will buy 18 trainer planes from Italian aircraft manufacturer Alenia Aermacchi for P625 million ($14.6 million), an air force spokesman said Saturday.

The contract for the 18 SF260 trainer planes includes pilot, technical, and maintenance training, spare parts support and other after sales services support said Lieutenant Jonelle Beltran.
The planes are scheduled to be delivered in batches starting June next year and will be used for pilot training.

Under the terms of the contract, Alenia Aermacchi will transfer some parts production technology and aircraft assembly to its local partner, distributor, and authorized service station Aerotech Industries Philippines Inc., Beltran added.

Bob Hoover Flys Philippine F86F

Rare footage here of the Legendary Bob Hoover flying a Philippine Airforce F86-F at Clark Airbase in 1961. Awsome gentle aerobatics.

Philippine Airforce

Heavily dependent on the U.S. for it's air defense, modernization of the Philippine airforce has been on hold. Recently with the help of U.S. anti insurgent advisors, especially in Mindinao, this is slowly beginning to change. Technology and hardware is being updated.

By the time the United States Armed Forces left the Philippines in 1991, the Philippine Air Force was direly in need of modernization. By the 1990s, it was still using 30-year-old F-5A fighter jets. The first aircraft to be acquired during its five-year modernization plan were the Aermacchi S-211, and the McDonnell Douglas MD-520MG Defender.

The planned purchase of modern fighter aircraft, with the IAI Kfir, F-16 Fighting Falcon, JAS 39C/D Gripen and the F/A-18 Hornet being the most popular choices, has been put on hold as the PAF concentrates in bringing its current fleet of aircraft into current and flyable standards.

Current efforts are concentrated on the acquisition of aircraft for counter-insurgency (COIN) operations, in particular, more helicopter gunships and transport aircraft. The PAF has put up a requirement for Night Capable Attack Helicopters (NCAH), and a replacement for the UH-1H, with 8 units planned initially. There is also a requirement for additional T-41 and SF-260 training aircraft.

At present the of the PAF inventory consists of:


17 -Aermacchi S-211 - for ground support and jet training
7- Aermacchi SF-260TP/-WP - for primary training and counter-insurgency (COIN)
14- North American OV-10A/-D Bronco - for light ground attack
15 -McDonnell Douglas MD-520MG Defender - attack helicopter
1- Sikorsky S-70A Blackhawk - multirole helicopter
4- Sikorsky S-76 Spirit - multirole helicopters
2 -Aérospatiale Puma - multirole helicopters
3- Lockheed Martin C-130B/H Hercules - heavy transport aircraft
2 -Fokker F27 Friendship - mainly as support to the Lockheed C-130 Hercules
2- GAF Nomad - light transport aircraft
18- Britten-Norman Islander - light transport aircraft
55 -Bell UH-1H Iroquois - for transport duties
1 -Fokker F28 Fellowship - mainly for domestic trips of the president of the Philippines
14- Cessna T-41 Mescalero - used for primary training
8 -Bell 412 - for VIP transport

Wherever possible the PAF has relied on local skills for modification projects as in the recent Huey II program.

The Philippine Air Force retired its fleet of Northrop F-5A/B Freedom Fighter with a ceremony on October 1, 2005. While retired, they are still being maintained and are serviceable in case of future need. The F-5s were used by the PAF's "Blue Diamonds" aerobatics team, and have appeared in several films and television programs shot in the Philippines.