Up in the sky on a hot-air balloon in Clark!

CLARK AIRPORT CITY: I’m here in Clark for the four-day 15th Philippine International Balloon Fiesta sponsored by the Clark Development Corporation (CDC), the Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC) and the Philippine Air Force (PAF). Main organizer Capt. Joy Roa of Air Safari TV fame told the foreign balloonists during the opening night, “We are offering you a weekend for Philippine Aviation and anything that flies!”

Indeed, all roads or runways are focused on what used to be the Clark Air Base for this four-day international balloon event that also features many other aviation related activities from aerobatic flying, aerial stunts, sky-jumping, including radio controlled airplanes and kites! All I can say is, Capt. Joy Roa has truly helped the country’s tourism industry by promoting this great aviation event! This is something that only Pampanga can offer because of its huge plain . . . something we don’t have in Cebu.

I left Mactan on board a Cebu Pacific Air 5J 588 just before its scheduled flight at 5 p.m. last Wednesday and arrived in Clark or the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) exactly an hour later. This Cebu-Clark direct flight was almost full and as we flew over Metro Manila, the pilot announced that we were already on our final approach to Clark and in 10 minutes we landed in Pampanga. Clark is a very convenient way to go to this part of Luzon without passing through the hustle and bustle of Metro Manila.

I have always believed that when the US Air Force left Clark Air Force Base at the height of the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo (and that bigger eruption in the Philippine Senate), the Philippine government should have decided to make it the International Airport for Metro Manila because it has two parallel runways and therefore it can accept more flights than what the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) can take with its single runway.

The money used to build the NAIA-3 Terminal should have been used to construct a high-speed railway from Metro Manila to Clark. That railway could have easily been placed between the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and travel time by rail would have been a mere 30 minutes from Manila to Clark. As far as the NAIA is concerned, it could remain as the Domestic Terminal for Manila. This is the right way to decongest Metro Manila!

We got out of the hotel by 4:30 a.m. dawn to prepare for the balloon flight and I was surprised that a lot of people were already in the field, including the news media, ABS-CBN and GMA-7 preparing to cover the event. There were 20 registered balloon entries most of whom were Europeans. I was assigned the balloon team of pilot Wolf-Dietrich and Susan Kadach, a very jolly fellow who gave me instructions from unfolding the balloon from its small bag and preparing it for flight and it was no small feat! His balloon featured the red, yellow and black colors of the German flag.

The basket where you ride on is placed on its side and blowers blow air into the flimsy material to blow the balloon. Then hot propane gas is blown into the balloon and the balloon and the basket attached starts to stand up, though it is fettered to the jeep, lest it flies away. With more hot air turned on, we slowly and gently lifted up into the air and suddenly we were over Clark air field enjoying a terrific view especially that most of the balloons were still below us. Yes, that’s scratch one in my bucket list! I’ve always wanted to experience flying in a hot air balloon, thanks to Capt. Joy Roa, he made this old kid extremely happy!

Balloons can only be steered up or down, as there is no forward thrust. To move forward, it is akin to a sailboat…, which cannot move when there is no wind. There were no winds early morning yesterday in Clark field and we literally floated on top of the event area for many minutes. A slight breeze pushed us only 300 yards away and as fast as we could go up, we had to end the flight as the gas pressure was dropping. So we landed . . . or should I say bumped and crash landed into the grassy parking area . . . but surprisingly the basket didn’t fall on its side. The balloon sat there until most of the balloonists also started to land. But the folks in their cars rushed for a great photo event! Indeed, the camera clubs were all there yesterday!

The 15th International Philippine Balloon Fiesta is very unique in this part of Asia and undoubtedly a huge tourist crowd drawer. As we returned to the hanger, I spotted a Vietnamese gentleman who talked to one of the balloonists asking him if they could have this also in Vietnam? I just hope that the Philippine Government goes all out for this event before the other ASEAN nations grab it away from us! The 15th International Balloon Fiesta is not focused only on balloons, but a lot of aviation stuff, from sky jumpers, balloon bursting light planes, and even kites. The PAF also had a static display of its aircraft and it’s a good PR to show to the Filipino people what the PAF is doing for our people. It was indeed an exciting weekend in Clark!

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