Besieged at Baler

Even today, Baler remains besieged … by weather, mountains, the biggest ocean in the world.  But with weather wisdom, terrain awareness and the patience to turn back and try again another day, you can break the siege.
And remember, the Crispy Buntot is delicious.
 
  
  
  
   
There are three routes across the Sierra Madre mountains to Baler.
 
Short and Fast
Through the Bongabon-Baler pass.  Short [...]

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The Continuing Perils of Flying with Mom

I first learned of Baler from the former General Manager at Omni Aviation, Aljess, now a big jet pilot for Philippine Airlines.
He had pictures of a rugged coastline and a small inland airport.  And stories of crab, seafood and surfers.
   
   
     
     
You would think that my Mom, in her 80s, would be fearful of flying.  But she has [...]

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Flying North

Every Christmas, Carlo and I miss some family reunions to fly beyond our Central Luzon backyard.  I figure that if I get a heart attack and lose my Class II medical, then I can go to all the family reunions.  

  
Last December’s plan: 
1.  Baguio to scavenge childhood memories
2.  Beaches.  La Union!
3.  Stunning coastline to Vigan, Ilocos Sur
4.  Home for New year
   
We’ve done this for two years now.  Four days together, talking about [...]

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Tested at Baguio. Passed.

Every Christmas, Carlo and I venture gingerly out of our Central Luzon backyard.  We journey to Northern Luzon — 500-mile round trips, 4 or 5 days out-of-base, no maintenance facilities, no mechanics.  In our Cessna 152.
This akin to going on a culinary tour to India without Diatabs.  The psychological horror exceeds the actual peril. [...]

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Yuletide Flying

The days sped by too fast.  One day I arrived in Manila for my annual home leave, my 73rd and last airline flight in 2008.
Just 3 weeks later, I was back on an airline flight to Bangkok.
  
  
  
  
In between, one of our best Yuletide Seasons ever.
    
Christmas mass at the Ateneo was nostalgic — the Church of the Gesu was decorated with a creche and photos commemorating the old Padre [...]

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Hot and High

The Philippine Flight Simmers Group is one of the best communities on aviation in the Philippines.  There are aviation enthusiasts of all ages, from pre-teens to retirees, and also a lot of active pilots on the Forum, from all over the world.  PFSG deserves an article by itself, really. 
PFSG’s Kevin and Iyoy, friends who actually care [...]

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Loafing Off Loakan

  
  
  
  

  
It’s fitting to end the Baguio series with this departure story.  It could have been our last flight at Baguio — “the departed”.  
It turns out Carlo shot a video.  The “scary video” I’ve promised here.  After I saw it , I became a believer — there is no lift at Loakan.
  
  
   [...]

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Presidential Insecurity at Baguio

     
    

The Mansion House is the Philippine version of Camp David.
Ironically, this Presidential retreat in Baguio is used most during the cool Christmas holidays. 
When the President spends Christmas week there, a gaggle of Presidential aircraft descends onto Loakan airport.
  
 

    
  
  
  
     
During these Yuletide deployments, Loakan, with its runway edged by cliffs and ravines, looks even more like an aircraft carrier.
Helicopters crowd the tiny ramp.  [...]

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An Angry Spirit Leaves Baguio

We had Carlo’s birthday lunch at Mario’s, on South Drive. 
They used to have Dagwood’s corned beef and cabbage on the menu, but no longer.  
I still get their lentejas con chorizo, and Carlo never passes on their classic gambas.  They have a packed dessert cart, too.
  
  
  
  
The HS748 crashed because the flight crew followed the wrong river.  It led to [...]

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Spirits Over Baguio

There used to be a disco (remember those?) in Baguio called Spirits.  Not sure if it’s still around.
Until last month, Asian Spirit operated flights to Baguio 4 times a week.  The inbound flight, call sign Spirit 760, arrived at 1050. 

The outbound Spirit 761 left at 1110.  NAMC YS-11s and De Haviland Dash 7s.

The flights are no [...]

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Real Hazards and Imagined Terrors

My earliest Baguio memories are of annual vacations as a child.
Kiddie trikes and sailboats at Burnham.  Real fog.  Panicky asthma attacks from the cold.  Star Cafe congee, Good Shepherd strawberries.  Mario’s.   
At night, My Dad parked his 1948 Chevy at the safest spot in town — City Hall police station.  Then he stealthily pocketed the distributor rotor (remember those?) to [...]

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High Road to Baguio

It’s time to share our explorations beyond our Central Luzon backyard.  Easily the best place to fly to in Luzon is Baguio, high up in the Cordilleras, the summer capital of the Philippines.
  
Baguio’s Loakan Airport is intimidating.  High density altitudes, forbidding terrain and a lack of lift due to the black hole in the sky that spews anti-matter, ghosts, [...]

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Flying Into a Volcano

I once had a dreadful, almost revolting, bias against volcanos.  Leprous open sores in the earth, disgorging the planet’s revolting wastes, the disgusting stink of rotten eggs completing the horrid scene….
Is your skin crawling yet?  Well, imagine flying over a volcano crater. 
It’s like getting out of bed at midnight to stand in front of an open window, trying not to [...]

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