One of the many highlights of our trip North was flying on 2 consecutive days in a single engine 1949 Navion-A classic aircraft. The plane affords all 3 passengers quite literally a bird's eye view of some of the most spectacular scenery in the Philippines. Moni, Kev and Jule flew on Boxing Day, while Moni repeated the flight with Arnel and I a day later.
The plane is flown by a retired United States Air Force pilot named Jimmy Boyd, who served with the military for 28 years and has over 4,000 hours flying experience with single engine aircraft.
Your day in the clouds starts at 7.30am, when Jimmy makes one last check of his instruments as you all strap yourselves in. The route initially takes you up over the crater lake of Mount Pinatubo, so we were able to observe the entire length of the river bed that we had walked up to reach the crater only the day before.
After looping several times in and around the crater, Jimmy proceeds to fly onwards to Baguio City, one of the Philippines most famous mountain retreats. In order to clear the surrounding peaks, at the highest point you reach an altitude of 10,000 feet in the plane.
Once you've passed Baguio, the Banaue Rice Terraces come into view, and from the air the sight is truly breathtaking. Jimmy takes his time, flying in circles and allowing you to savour the moment for as long as possible.
He then heads over to the coast, where you fly south over San Fernando City before proceeding above Lingayen Gulf in the South China Sea to view Hundred Islands below. The coral is clearly visible beneath the surface of the water. You land for lunch in the coastal resort of Zambales, where you are taken by trike to a restaurant overlooking the ocean and in the afternoon, you take the short flight back via Mount Pinatubo.
The flights operate from the former USAF airbase at Clark Field which was an American military facility from 1903-1991. At its peak in 1990 the base housed a total of 15,000 personnel on a permanent basis. However, just one year later the military withdrew when the US and Philippine governments could not agree terms to extend the lease, following extensive damage caused by the eruption of Mount Pinatubo. The base was systematically looted as a result and left abandoned until it was reopened as a small international airport in 2003.
Today Jimmy remains the only US pilot operating such flights out of Clark. His company, Navionair, is essentially a non-profit organization as he offers the service purely out of his love for flying. After enjoying the view from the cockpit of his classic Navion aeroplane, it's very easy to see why.
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