Learn to Fly: Angeles City Flying Club

"Now I'm looking to the sky to save me 

Looking for a sign of life 

Looking for something to help me burn out bright 

I'm looking for a complication Looking 'cause I'm tired of lying 

Make my way back home when I learn to fly high."

- Foo Fighters, Learn to Fly

People commonly think that learning to fly a plane is one of those impossible aspirations, just relegated to a far away dream that one can only wish for. I was surprised to learn that there was such a thing as the Angeles City Flying Club - a hub for light aircraft hobbyists and pilots and dreamland for those who wants to learn to fly.

The club is composed of trained and experts pilots, light aircraft owners and flying enthusiasts. They offer intro flights for first timers, where they demonstrate the basics of flying a light aircraft and you get to control an actual plane in flight. When I took my intro flight, my captain was an actual commercial pilot based in HK, and he would spend his weekends in Pampanga with the Angeles City Flying club, to get to fly for fun.

The trial intro flight stars at PHP 1,650 for a 15 minute flying experience.

Angeles City Flying Club - Pampanga Rates

What can I saw? It was totally awesome experience!!! The take off, circling around, following the river and approaching the magnificent Mt. Arayat - it all felt so unreal. The closest thing I can compare it to is a roller coaster that seems to move 10x slower but intensity of the rush you feel is 100x more thrilling. Roller coasters happen so fast, there's no time to process how you feel, you just scream your guts out and it's done. But flying a plane - gliding with the wind, seeing the ground moving farther and farther away, your altitude going higher until your view of the land becomes wider and greater - hard to compare this exhilarating feeling to anything else.

With the intro flight too, you get to control the plane! Once in the air, navigation basically involves the pedals which makes the aircraft go right or left, and the hand lever that directs it up or down. The controls are mechanically duplicated or mirrored for the passenger and the pilot - so we both have our own pedals, but if the pilot pushes down, my pedal pushes down too. If I pull the lever, his lever gets pulled too. It's a way of making sure that a wayward student doesn't crash the plane.. because it's quite easy to do that hehe.

Angeles City Flying Club - Pampanga

Angeles City Flying Club - Pampanga

Angeles City Flying Club - Pampanga

Angeles City Flying Club - Pampanga

Angeles City Flying Club - Pampanga

This is highly recommend for anyone whose dream is to fly! :-)

For more information and map for directions on how to get to the Angeles City Flying Club, see links below. You can also try having lunch at Abe's Farm, - which is in the same town and just about 10mins away from the flying club.

Angeles City Flying Club - Pampanga About

Angeles City Flying Club - Pampanga Map Directions

ROOM RATES: Banaue Hotel - Banaue, Ifugao

RATES AS OF JANUARY, 2015:

Banaue Hotel, Ifugao Room Rates

P2,300 Standard (Single/Twin)
P3,000 Deluxe (Single/Twin)
P7,000 Suite
Extra Bed: P650

*All rates inclusive of breakfast


CONTACT INFORMATION:
Mobile: +63 908 4007596
Mobile: +63 927 5702355
Email: pta_banauehotel@yahoo.com
Email: tieza.banauehotel@yahoo.com

Beyond the Photo: Beach Bumming in Bagasbas

The ultimate beach bumming experience is when you have an absolutely nothing to do except waste the day on the shore under the summer sun - down a few drinks, read a book you've been dying to finish, pick a few sticks of bbq street food, and dive into the wild waves that playfully spit you back out to the shore. Relieved that we survived our one-week romp through the Bicol Region, we savored the downtime in Bagasbas - the last stop in our trip with our crazy itinerary behind us.

Bagasbas Beach. Daet, Camarines Norte - April 2011.

This was our BUSY schedule: We left Cubao in Manila Palm Sunday. Holy Monday we swam with Whale Sharks in Donsol, visited the ruins of Cagsawa, tried to get a glimpse of Mt. Mayon  (she skillfully hid behind a thick cloud) and spent the night in Camsur Watersports Complex after miserably failing at wakeboarding. Holy Tuesday we hied off to logistically elusive Caramoan but finally arrived before sunset despite the transportation challenges. Holy Wednesday we went on an early morning island hopping tour of the Caramoan Islands and had an amazing breakfast on a secluded white-sand island, we headed to Naga right after and caught onward bus to Daet. My sister Marija joined the trip at this point, our shuttle van picked her up in Pili. Holy Thursday we braved the waves on a rickety boat for 2hours on the way to jaw-droppingly-pretty Calaguas Islands where we spent the whole day with JM's clan - which meant we were free to act like kids in a family beach picnic. Which brings us to...

Good Friday - with all to-dos masterfully crossed out of our ambitious checklist, we could finally wind down and take things slow. We allowed ourselves to sleep in late, have a prolonged and lazy breakfast, and play  around with the kids. We headed to Bagasbas to bask in the morning sun, and it was simply magical feeling to have nothing to do looming over you. Finally we could exhale deeply, relax our clenched muscles and just let time run its course without worrying. We could have tried surfing, but we were simply too lazy even for that, and just opted to skimboard. Walked around town after that, went back home and slept some more. Ahhhhhh, a perfect way to end a great adventure. 

Bay's Inn Baler Rates

This is the published rate card of Bay's Inn, Baler Philippines (as of October, 2010).
Please contact them directly for reservations and to get updated prices.

Here are their contact details:
Mobile - (+63)9189266697
Email - plasb_43@yaoo.com

Baler, Aurora Philippines

Baler is famous as the shooting location of Apocalypse Now, as the birthplace of the Philippines’ 2nd President Manuel Quezon, as the last standing garrison where the Spanish surrendered and ended their rule of over 300 years… but nowadays it’s more famous for one thing - the best waves this side of the country!





How I Got There

• Genesis Bus travels from Manila to Baler daily, trips from 3AM to 7AM
• The Cubao terminal is located in the northbound side, right after crossing Aurora Blvd.
• One-way fee was P395.00 for the standard airconditioned bus
• They also have a roomier deluxe coach, with only 28 seats on the bus!
• We took a special midnight ride, and it only took us 5.5 hours to get to Baler
• Call (632) 7090803 / (632) 4211425 or visit http://www.genesistransport.com.ph/
  

Where I Stayed

• Bahia de Baler I, located on Sabang Beach – the main beach and surfing spot in Baler. A tricycle ride from the transport terminal to the beach is about 5mins, and costs P12/pax for a group of 3
• The Bahia grounds is split into 2 – the beachfront area has cottages, a camping area and a function hall, and across the street you will find the neatly lined rooms with porches fronting a small field
• A twin room was P1,700/night and extra bed costs P300
• It’s the most expensive accommodation in Sabang beach, but still reasonable. You get an air conditioned room, private toilet & bath, hot water, cable TV and free breakfast
• Other good places to stay: Bay’s Inn, Bahia de Baler II, Aliya Surf Resort, Little Surfer Girl

Where I Wined & Dined

• Bay’s Inn: we had breakfast here when we arrived – best location on the beach, in my opinion. Had a good serving of pancakes with bacon, and strong brewed coffee. They also serve your regular Filipino dishes, and a good selection of shakes. Get’s packed lunch and dinner time, get table early. Spent about P150 for breakfast.
• Bahia Bar & Grill: we had generous serving of sinigang and lechon kawali. They also have excellent fruit shakes. Live band plays on certain days as well. Spent about P270 pesos for lunch
• Gerry Shan’s: is the most famous dinner place located in the town proper, a short walk away from the Museum. They have a huge selection of Filipino, Chinese, and American dishes, they also serve pizza and pasta. Spent about P200 for dinner.

Top Things to Do

• Surfing! Board rentals typically cost P200/hour and getting an instructor to help you paddle and push you will cost another P150/hour. Getting an instructor is a MUST for beginners. An hour will get you tired, but won’t be enough. 2 hours per session will be just right.
• There are 3 main surf shops: Aliya Surf Camp, Charlie Does and Maddox. They all charge the same, but ask for a discount from where you are staying, they usually have special rates
• Museo de Baler: located in town, get to see some relics from the town’s history, props from the movie “Baler,” and personal effects of the late Manuel Quezon – like his recently restored presidential Cadillac
• Ermita Hill: take a tricycle and climb a few steps to get a sweeping view of the Bay of Baler
• Balete Park: home to what is supposedly the largest Banyan Tree in the whole of Asia – it’s estimated to be 60meters high and 300 years old.
• Waterfalls: Diguisit and Ditumabo falls are just a short tricycle ride and hike away from town, and will make for a refreshing day trip

How I Got Away

• Took the same Genesis Bus back, trips start at 4:30AM and leave every hour thereafter
• There are only2 buses that leave from Baler directly, the other buses come from Casiguran – so there is no guarantee on availability of seats
• Fee is the same P395.oo per way
• From the 5.5 hours getting to Baler, it took us 10hours to get back to Manila! It was because of the slow traffic in some towns, but mostly because of the numerous stopovers – we must have taken about 8 stops and some were almost 30minutes long
• Another option is to take a van shuttle to Cabanatuan, and from there it will be easy to get an onward ride to Manila with the many bus companies available