I must seem to some of you on the outside looking in that my like here in the Philippines is nothing but tax issues, making money online, government office issues, retirement panning, Social Security dealings and that old bugaboo everyone loves to talk about … health insurance. 
Actually, nothing could be farther from the truth. Here’s tow of the things I spend a lot of my time with … my nephews, Sami (on the left) and Mazen. Yesterday (Monday) dawned cloudy and undecided about promising rain or sunshine, so I made a command decision to bundle the boys (and Mita and the boys mom and Mita’s dad) into the car and head up north, east of Angeles City, to check out a place I had hard about for years but never visited … the Angeles City Flying Club.
Flying Club? Yep, famous around the world for their international ultra light aircraft activities. I’ve seen club members from time to time flying demonstrations at various shows and events and I wanted to see just what was there at their site at the foot of Mount Arrayat, aside from a neatly trimmed grass runway (like the one I earned my pilot’s license on, lo those many years ago). Well, it turns out there is a LOT more than a runway there. A compete ‘fixed base operation” (FBO) as we’d call it in the US. Aircraft for rent, fuel, repairs, flight instructors and a complete flight training program, hangar space if you want to store your own aircraft and much more important to the boys … a complete little cafe with a view overlooking the runway and all the flying activity, overnight room for guests who want to come by and spend a few days dying, and a great kid and adult and bahay kubo complex. The boys loved their lunch … lots of German 
delicacies as well as American and Filipino favorites (pleasant, friendly staff and very economical pricing .. the exact opposite of the food facilities at most tourist destinations), but
they really liked going swimming in the afternoon. We stopped by just to see what it was all about and wound up spending three plus fun-filled couple hours there … a great place to visit. (Oh, and memo to other tourist destinations … the restrooms have toilets that flush with a handle, not a bucket, seats on the toilets!, a bidet WITH SOAP and even hand towels (real, made from cloth) at the sinks … an exceptional Philippine find, believe me) If you want to learn more about the club or want to get the low-down on ultra light aviation in the Philippines (no 
license required, by the way), visit the club’s excellent website here (another plus factor many tourist sites have yet to catch onto). A thoroughly enjoyable day, no work involved … after all, I am allegedly retired, you know.
And just in case learning to fly, at a price you can afford, has made you interested in coming to the Philippines (if not now, when?), and you want insider info that can save you real money how you could still afford to fly you might be interesting in this: "If you are planning a vacation, wish you could visit distant family or just want to see the world then my guide is for you. I give you all the essentials on how to get Extremely Cheap Flights , tell you the scams to avoid and reveal all of the biggest money saving and confidential insider secrets the airlines have threatened me to keep silent about…"
Sounds like a great place Dave! I’ve never heard of it until now! Did you get a chance to fly?
Hi Dave, i was at Clark a year ago working on a casa airplane and did not find this place. I wish i had….I am in the process of moving to the PI, Cebu or Bohol, or wherever i can find a enough property to have a small plane or ultralight. I have a pilots license and instructor…. can you tell me or point me to the rules and regs for flying privately in the PI? thanks, Don
Donny (ID 5733) » You won’t find the Angeles City flying club at Clark, as it is about 16 km east in the town of Magalang … I linked to their website in the article…
To see the rules and regs on Philippine flying try http://www.caap.gov.ph/
In general, the Philippines is an ICAO country as is the US, so you can fly as a tourist on you host country certificates, or you can get a Philippine certificate based on you home country documents with minimal hassle … I think you need something like 10 hours familiarization instruction and a written test on Philippine aviation regs. When you say ‘a small plane or an ultralight’ remember you are talking two different things. ‘Real’ aircraft, like, say, a Cessna 150, requires licensing, physicals, written and practical flight tests, etc., much as in the US. These folks have all the data and experience:
http://www.omniaviation.com/
Ultralights are not regulated to that degree, very simple licensing, etc. is required. Same with airports. My wife and I are buying land which adjoins her present land in Zambales and that deal will give me a run of more than 600 meters with clear approaches, more than enough for an ultralight strip. I’m not intending to establish an operation like the flying club, but I certainly could fly in and out of there if I wanted to…..
I didn’t fly, Bob, but it would have been easy .. they offer Intro Flights … local sightseeing … staring at P1600 … about $34 USD … it would be well worth it early in the am. Thunderstorms were rolling in after we were done eating and I was too cheap to distract the boys from their swimming.
I’ve given it a lot of thought, though … I do miss flying and this place makes it so simple and accessible. I talked with one guy who has already flown an ultra light down to Leyte from Angeles … stops im Batangas and Naga City on the way, did it in three hops total, wonder how much longer it would take to fly to Davao?
Dave;
It sounded like a nice little get-away, which proves, that with a tad of planning, and an innate spirit of adventure, you can lead a full and enjoyable life here. Plus you won’t go broke doing it.
P.S. Kids will keep you young.
Yep, those boys go out of their way to keep me young
. Seriously, though, I love them to pieces, they brighten my days for sure. I never cease to wonder at those guys who rant and complain about their Philippine families … I know I’ve been very blessed or very lucky (both), but the Philippines would be “hollow” and boring for me without my family.
Dave
I just checked out the flying website. That is sick in a good way.
Now the Wife is pissed because I added some other risky thing I told her I HAVE to try. She says I am getting carried away and asking for trouble.
I say its just having passion for living and It cant be any more risky than Night Diving at Bolo Point on Okinawa.
Well I’m not one to “bust on” diving, it’s a big sport here, and like all sports, has it’s hazards but is also quite safe if you follow the rules.
Wives tend to be that way, (God love them) … trying to protect us from every possible hazard, but the truth is … we’re all dead men walking anyway, and we have no idea how many days or decades we have left, so I say, let’s make the most of our time.
The flying these guys do is very safe, and I have some expertise in looking over an aviation operation and deciding if it is well run … this one is, in my view.
Take her there for lunch and a swim anyway, also, Alaya just opened a huge new mall right on the NLEX at the closest exit to the flying club, about 8 or 10km away … something else for the wives to do while hubby is ‘risking life and limb”
wow, great to read!
is it really safe sir? i had this fear (most of the times) flying even in commercial flights
im no aviation person but i have been thinking of pure fun experience flying such light aircraft..
ACFC emailed me that they offer to guest for a trial introductory flight, great!
Allan, define ‘safe”, please. I can guarantee it’s statistically much more dangerous to drive to the airport on public roads than it is to fly the aircraft there. But could there be a crash? Of course there could. Just as I seldom drive up or down the NLEX that I don’t see a bloody wreck, often a passenger bus likely driven by a drugged, overtired, semi-insane driver … yet the last tie I looked, people are lined up crowding their way onto buses.
The strange thing is, after I went and did the flying and then wrote about it, you asked me if it’s safe … as if I’m so stupid I would do something I thought was unsafe and then advised others to do the same?
Seriously, sir, you really need to think more about your definition of ‘safe’. What’s really unsafe here in the Philippines is hospitals where the CR’s don’t even have running water and soap and doctors don’t wash their hands in between patients … or where supermarket works handle raw chicken and then other food without a bar of soap in sight.
In short, it’s not “safe” to get out of bed in the morning. It’s certainly not ‘safe” to cross the street, eat in a restaurant, visit the doctor or ride a bus or a ferry …yet the funny thing is, we are both here reading and writing about “safety”.
Hope you enjoy your flight, them them Dave at PhilFAQS sent you.