Image courtesy Philippine Paragliding & Hang Gliding Association

The Philippine Paragliding & Hang Gliding Association was officially registered with the Securities & Exchange Commission this month in Metro Manila, to further develop the fledgling air-sports of paragliding and hang gliding around the Philippines.

Paragliding in particular is a burgeoning adventure sport that has attracted individuals from all walks of life because it gives the freedom of the skies, using the same principles the have kept raptors aloft since the dawn of the dinosaurs.

Image courtesy Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta

The Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta (PIHABF) is now in its 15th year at Clark Field, Pampanga. The Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta is simply biggest festival celebrating things airborne in the Philippines and brings the hottest balloons and flying machines together for four days of fun and spectacle.

Hot-air balloons lift off after 6.00am and return in the afternoon around 4.00pm’ish. In between the hot-air balloon take-off and return there are flying displays by microlight/ultralight airplanes, skydivers, paragliders, motorised paragliders and possibly, this year for the first time, glider sailplanes.

Photo courtesy Rolf Dunder

Gliding in the Philippines became a reality on Sunday, December 13, 2009, when a group of gliding enthusiasts wrote a small piece of aviation history. Finally, after two years of preparation, what is believed to be the first flight of a glider (sailplane) in the Philippines occurred at Nampicuan, Nueva Ecija.

Two gliders were launched from the 800 meter grass runway using a fabricated glider winch. German glider pilot and prime mover, Rolf Dunder, took the first flight, which saw a single seat Ka-8 soaring over the Luzon countryside for 1 hour and 40 minutes.

Photo by Bernadette Villaluz

Flying in the Philippines by microlight / ultralight aircraft is the latest adventure sport we have experienced in Angeles City, Pampanga; Cebu Pacific Air may offer Go-Lite fares but a microlight / ultralight experience puts you in touch with Mother Nature in a way that only a true adventure sport can do.

One sunny morning last week I took that chance to drop by the Woodland Airpark, home of the Angeles City Flying Club, about ten minutes off the North Luzon Expressway, near Angeles City. Arriving at the Angeles City Flying Club I discovered three hangers stuffed full of

Photo by Bernadette Villaluz

New free Internet tools now available for those asking the question “how to fly to . . . in the Philippines” but don’t which airline or who to ask.

Don’t waste hours waiting on-hold on the telephone, trying to contact an airline that doesn’t go where you want to go, instead follow this free How To Fly To link and simply select your From/To route, then click “Show”. Within less than one second you will be shown ALL the of the airlines that fly your selected route; click on the airline logo of you choice to get the direct link to the airline’s on-line booking page.

In addition to answering the How To Fly To question