Cebu: 1st to host an int''l RC helicopter event!

This coming Friday, April 13th, the Hirobo Cup International Asia will reel off at the South Reclamation Properties (SRP). The Hirobo Cup is an RC (Radio Control) helicopter competition organized and sponsored by the world''s leading RC Helicopter manufacturer, Hirobo Limited of Japan. This competition aims to bring together RC helicopter enthusiasts from all over the world to test their skills according to the sporting code section 4 volume F3C of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), the world air sports federation.

This is the very first time that an International RC Event is being held in the Philippines and proudly, all roads lead to Cebu. There will be participants coming from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Korea, South Africa and the United States and of course the modelers from the Philippines. The event is packed with many activities such as fine-tuning of machines by factory mechanic and/or pilots, demonstration flights of both F3C and 3D by Hirobo''s factory pilots and other well-known pilots from different parts of the world.

This International event is done with the cooperation of the City of Cebu under Mayor Tomas Osmeña and Cebu City Council Chairman for Sports, Games and Amusements Councilor Sylvan "Jak d'' Wak" Jakosalem where a runway for RC Aircraft was asphalted for this International event in coordination with Hirobo Export Manager Takahiro Kobayashi and World Air Sports Federation Shakespeare Chan. FAI-Philippines Team Manager JP Reyes. It is hosted by the Cebu Aeromodeler''s Club headed by President John Wong.

You may say that watching the Hirobo International Cup Asia is like watching "Boys with their Big Toys" but the truth of the matter is, flying an RC helicopter is not much different from flying a real helicopter except that the person flying the chopper is on the ground, not on the helicopter. When I used to fly my trusty old Decathlon Aerobatic plane, I have come close enough to see my friends in the Cebu Aeromoderler''s Club fly their helicopters, but that machine is too expensive for my pocket.

If you think that flying RC helicopters or planes is just for a hobby, fun and recreation, better believe that there is a more serious and even deadlier side to flying RCs. When the American military helped look for Abu Sabaya in the remote jungles of Sulu, they used an unmanned vehicle dubbed "Predator", a single propeller engine unmanned air-craft bigger than a Piper Cub laden with sophisticated sensors, like a Thermal Imaging radar that can detect the heat of a human body from high up in the air. The dense jungle cover is a cold environment, which is why the Predator can spot humans with their rifles through this thermal radar.

The Global Hawk is the latest in the US inventory of Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAV), which is autonomous, high-altitude long endurance surveillance aircraft that is controlled from a thousand miles away. They also have an armed version of this aircraft, which can fire on the suspected enemy if the operator decides that the threat is imminent.

All this might someday lead to the aircraft of the future that the US Military calls the Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) where in the future, America''s air defenses would already be "pilotless", thus making the attack aircraft more efficient as it can maneuver at higher "Gs" that what piloted planes can do today as there is no more pilot to consider.

Hence the aircraft can carry a higher payload of weapons and stores and if it is shot down, there is no worry of a pilot to get killed or captured. It has been said that the F-22 Raptor, the latest Supersonic, Stealth and Short-take-off and Landing (STOL) fighter plane of the US made by Lockheed Martin is considered the last of the piloted fighter planes in the US Air Force.

Who knows, we just might be training the members of the Cebu Aeromodeler''s Club to be the fighter pilots of the future. Right now, we hope that they can make a local version UAV to patrol the Visayan Seas from illegal fishermen and dynamite fishermen. This is the most cost-effective way to patrol the huge expanse of the precious coastal waters. Indeed, radio controlled flying has a great future here in Cebu and with the hosting of the Hi-robo International Cup Asia, it would entice more people to join.

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It sounds surreal, but indeed figures don''t lie. The peso has gained so much strength vis-à-vis the US dollar! When I left for the US exactly a month ago, I bought a few dollars, which fluctuated from a low of P48.50 and went as high up to P48.95. Now the figure has reached a low time low of P47.95, the strongest that the peso has gained since six years ago. This shows that the economy is growing despite the ugliness of our political season!