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.

Philippines: Kamikaze attack

Found this video the other day, not much info on it, but apparently dated October 25 1944, it shows a Japanese Zero diving on the Carrier USS Franklin off Leyte. The ship surrvived the war after many attacks and campaigns.

Grumman JF-2 Duck

Grumman Aircraft Co. produced Ducks for the Navy and Coast Guard from 1933 to 1946. The Grumman Duck was used widely in the Pacific durring World War two. The Grumman JF-2 Duck was used in the Philippines as an inter coastal aircraft and excelled because of it's ability to handle rough water.

The Duck originated with designs made by Loening Aeronautical Engineering Corporation. When Loening was taken over by Curtiss-Wright in 1929, several key employees of the former Loening Aeronautical, including Leroy Grumman, formed the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation which was financed by Grover Loening.

Grumman accepted the aircraft as "Design 7". After modifications to facilitate manufacturing, Grumman submitted the specifications to the Navy in 1932 and the Navy accepted it as the XJF-1.

On Tuesday, April 25, 1933, the XJF-1 flew for the first time. Pilot Paul Hovgaard, took off from a grass strip in front of the Grumman factory at Farmingdale, NY. Power for the XJF-1 and the JF-1 came from a 14 cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-1830-62 Twin Wasp engine of 700 hp (522.4 kW) and a Hamilton Standard three blade prop.

A large single large float was mounted under the centerline of the craft. Faired into the sides of the main float was the main landing gear which could be raised and lowered by a system of motors, sprockets, chains and gears. A small float was mounted near the tip of each wing. The crew consisted of a pilot and rear gunner under the telescoping canopy. There were also provisions for two passengers located just aft of the lower wing in the main float.

A total of 632 JF/J2F Ducks were built in all. By 1945 they were scattered all over the world, including the Philippines, performing duties nothing short of amazing.

This is selected footage from the film Murphy's War starring Peter O'toole. I am not sure which I feel more sorry for, the pilot or the aircraft. Obviously a versitile aircraft it takes a beating in this video clip. Check it out.



This clip is featuring a Duck painted like "Candy Clipper", a Grumman Duck that saw duty in the Philippines during WW II. The Clipper flew medical supplies, and candy to the troops during the seige of the Philippines in 1942. It was the last aircraft to leave the Philippines before the Japanese took possession of the Islands.

Airstrip repair at Pag-asa

The Philippine Air Force plans to make repairs on the old airstrip on Pag-asa island, the Philippines most significant claim to the contested Spratly island chain.

Colonel Pedro Rieza, of the 355th Aviation Engineering Wing, said engineers were to begin repairing the 1,260-meter Rancudo Runway, which has been in a serious state of neglect over the last few years. Repairs on a portion at the southwest side of the runway are the priority and are expected to begin by the third quarter. A 6.6 millon Peso fund was allocated by the Armed Forces in August 2004. The repairs will include a seawall to be constructed.

Minor repaving work and runway painting was done in 2004, but repairs on the eroded parts have been delayed.