The 18th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta

As it celebrates it 18th year of showcasing world-class exhibition of Pinoy talents, as well as its international guests, Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta made this year flying season more extravagant and more exciting as it moves back to its original venue the Omni Aviation Complex at Clark, Pampangga, Philippines.

This is my third year to attend this exciting event where everything flies, and this is my first time that I'm about to experience all myself, well, that was until I found some friends who happen to be there too! So, yeah, my day at the first Fiesta Day or the 18th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta started nicely and just fun.

I arrived at the event's ground at around 5 in the morning and unlike the past three years, I was obliged to walk probably a kilometer before finally reaching the main entrance. Since the Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta is back to its old home, the Omni Aviation Complex, visitors of this colorful and fun fiesta have to endure the "Death March to the entrance" before you get a glimpse of the exciting things that they have here.

If there's one good thing about it, Omni Aviation Complex feels a lot homey than the Clark Airfield. There wasn't much people the time that I arrived so buying tickets and getting wasn't a problem yet.

The time I got inside, I was surprised by how big this venue is. If you've been to the past venue, I think, this one is double its size, but the down side is, the place was so dry making the dust all over the place. There were a lot of stall in here too, and sadly, by the time I'm strolling around, most of them at still close, so instead of me having an early breakfast, I was left with no choice but to secure my place once the ballooning starts.

My friends from Stratworks, Manila Bulletin and AXE Philippines were able to secure me  photo pass, so from just being one of the ordinary audience, viola, I managed to cross the fence and enjoyed the perks of being one of the "VIPs" of the said event - meaning a closer encounter to the balloons and more! Weeeeeee! Thank you, lovely friends! Muah!

AXE Philippines is one of the sponsors for the first Fiesta Day, and in line with this, they have this AXEHOHOL thingy or the AXE Hot Air Hot Air Lang. It was a pick-up line contest, which AXE hosted where one lucky guy get to win and had his dream come-true flight via hot air balloon together with the AXE ladies. 

The Patriot, AXE Philippines Hot Air Balloon

That guy up there, suited up in an AXE Apollo astronaut, that was him! And guess what, I happened to know him too! Hahaha! he is a fellow blogger and his name is Resly George Amador! You are so lucky, Resly! Congratulations!

But before the ballooning really start earlier, one of the most awaited exhibit in the morning took place first, which by  the way, never fails to amaze me.... The Flag Ceremony.

Unlike any other flag ceremony, the Philippine flag here at the Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta isn't raised but rather carried by a soldier in his parachute. The soldier carried a flag as big as four cars according to the emcee earlier. The goal in this exhibition is for the soldier to land just as the National Anthem ends, and earlier, they made it again! Bravo!

And immediately after that, the ballooning starts. There were about 23 balloons that joined this morning, I was hoping that all of them could fly, but due to bad air condition, only half of them managed to go up in the air.

But again, since this is my first time to be there on the ballooning ground, to be that close to these gigantic beauties, I didn't mind not having their up in the air. I actually enjoyed them more when they were just there on the ground because I had a lot of time taking picture of them and WITH THEM! Hahaha!

From the ordinary ones to the customized hot air balloons, oh, all of them were so beautiful upclose and they really  made my morning soooooo colorful and lovely! I super love them all! It made me feel like a child on the field, really, and though I was there to support that gigantic space shuttle balloon of AXE Philippines, I honestly can't take my eyes off of the Bouquet of Tulips balloon that looks sooo fluffy I could die!!! Hahaha!

Other balloons were crowd's favorite too, like the giant sun that bears the Department of Tourism latest campaign "Its More Fun In the Philippines" and the hot air balloon that has two feet up in the air. Hehehe. So cute! And then the fire truck, which is the only customized hot air balloon that was able to lift up.

And for the first, I saw the man behind the successful campaign, the man of the hour, Secretary Ramon 'Mon' Jimenez, who came in this very happy mood, smiling at everyone as he traverse the field to check out all the participating balloons.

If I'm not mistaken, it took an hour til around 10 balloons has finally took off and painted the clearer sky then with their wonderful shapes and color that you could only see in this part of the country! Hot Air Balloons are the love, really!

The fire truck balloon even hovered on top of the crowd adding mo applause from the people who spent traveled from different parts of the world just to see this outstanding fiesta. How I really wish that next time, I could afford to ride in one of those beauties! Hihihi. It would be an experience worth remembering, for sure! :-)

And since this is a weekend of everything flies, aside from those amazing hot air balloons, other things like kites, light planes, jets and even para-gliders and sky divers who never fails to make my heart skip a beat! :-)

Schedule of the 18th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta

February 21st thru 24th 2013 at the Omni Aviation Grounds

February 21 Thursday - First Fiesta Day

5:30 - 6:15 AM UFO flyers
6:20 - 6:35 AM Philippine Flag jump and Opening ceremony
6:40 - 7:40 AM Hot Air Balloon flight
6:30 - 8:00 AM RP/Malaysian/Spain/Australia Paragliding Exhibition
8:30 - 9:00 AM Meynard Halili Aerobatic Show
9:00 - 9:45 AM Breitling Jet Team Aerobatic Exhibition
9:45 - 10:30 AM PNP Sky Diving Exhibition
10:30 - 11:00 AM ACFC Ultralight/Microlight formation Flights and Flour Bombing
11:00 - 11:45 AM AOPA-P Light aircraft balloon bursting competition
11:45 - 12:00 PM PT 13 Fly By
12:00 - 12:30 PM Radio-controlled model aircraft demonstration
12:30 - 1:00 PM KAP / KTP Kite Flying Exhibition
1:00 - 1:45 PM Airlink / WCC / Omni / Aviators / Alpha flyby
1:45 - 2:30 PM      AOPA-P Light aircraft balloon bursting competition
2:30 - 2:45 PM      FEATI/PHILSCA Rocketry/RC Demonstration
2:45 - 3:15 PM Radio-controlled model aircraft demonstration
3:15 - 4:00 PM ACFC Ultralight/Microlight formation Flights and Flour Bombing
4:00 - 4:30 PM PT 13 Stearman
4:30 - 5:00 PM Skydiving and Tandem jumping Exhibition
5:00 - 5:30 PM      Meynard Halili Aerobatic Show
5:30 - 6:00 PM RP/U.S./Malaysian/Spain/Australia Paragliding Exhibition
5:30 - 7:00 PM Hot Air Balloon Fly-In, RC Nightflyers

February 22 Thursday - Second Fiesta Day

5:30 - 6:15 AM UFO flyers
6:20 - 6:35 AM Philippine Flag jump
6:40 - 7:40 AM Hot Air Balloon flight
6:30 - 8:00 AM RP/Malaysian/Spain/Australia Paragliding Exhibition
8:15 - 9:00 AM Meynard Halili Aerobatic Show
9:00 - 9:45 AM Sky diving exhibition
9:45 - 10:30 AM AOPA-P Light aircraft balloon bursting competition
10:30 - 11:00 AM ACFC Ultralight/Microlight formation Flights and Flour Bombing
11:00 - 11:15 AM FEATI/PHILSCA Rocketry/RC Demonstration
11:15 - 11:45 AM Radio-controlled model aircraft demonstration
11:45 - 12:15 PM Para-Gliding Tow Exhibition
12:15 - 12:30 PM KAP / KTP Kite Flying Exhibition
12:30 - 1:15 PM WCC / Omni / Aviators / Alpha / Leading Edge / flyby
1:15 - 1:45 PM German aerobatic glider flight
1:45 - 2:15 PM Car Drifting Display
2:15 - 2:45 PM Radio-controlled Jet Turbine Model Aircraft Demonstration
2:45 - 3:15 PM ACFC Ultralight/Microlight Aircraft formation Flights
3:15 - 3:45 PM AOPA-P Light aircraft balloon bursting competition
3:45 - 4:15 PM Sky diving exhibition
4:15 - 4:45 PM Meynard Halili Aerobatic Show
4:45 - 6:15 PM RP/Malaysian/Spain/Australia Paragliding Exhibition
5:30 - 7:00 PM Hot Air Balloon Fly-In, RC Nightflyers
6:00 - 8:00 PM Hot Air Balloon Night Glow, OPM Concert

February 23 Saturday - Third Fiesta Day

5:30 - 6:15 AM UFO flyers
6:20 - 6:35 AM Philippine Flag jump
6:40 - 7:40 AM Hot Air Balloon flight
6:30 - 8:00 AM RP/Malaysian/Spain/Australia Paragliding Exhibition
8:15 - 9:00 AM Breitling Jet Team Aerobatic Exhibition
9:00 - 9:45 AM Meynard Halili Aerobatic Show
9:45 - 10:30 AM Tandem Skydiving exhibition
10:30 - 11:00 AM ACFC Ultralight/Microlight formation Flights and Flour Bombing
11:00 - 11:30 AM Turbine RC flying display
11:30 - 12:00 PM Helicopter Flight Display
12:00 - 12:30 PM Philippine Coast Guard Rescue Demonstration
12:30 - 1:00 PM PT13 Stearman / AOPA-P flyby
1:00 - 1:30 PM WCC / Omni / Aviators / Alpha / Leading Edge / flyby
1:30 - 2:00 PM Winch-launched German aerobatic glider flight
2:00- 2:30 PM KAP / KTP Kite Flying Demonstration
2:30 - 3:00 PM Para-Gliding Tow Exhibition
3:00 - 3:30 PM Radio-controlled Jet Turbine Model Aircraft Demonstration
3:30- 4:00 PM ACFC Ultralight/Microlight Aircraft formation Flights
4:00 - 4:30 PM AOPA-P Light aircraft balloon bursting competition
4:30 - 5:00 PM Sky diving exhibition
5:00 - 5:30 PM Meynard Halili Aerobatic Show
5:30 - 6:00 PM RP/Malaysian/Spain/Australia Paragliding Exhibition
5:30 - 7:00 PM Hot Air Balloon Fly-In, RC Nightflyers
6:00 - 8:00 PM      Hot Air Balloon Night Glow, OPM Concert

February 24 Sunday - Fourth Fiesta Day

5:30 - 6:15 AM RC Nightflyers
6:20 - 6:35 AM Philippine Flag jump
6:40 - 7:40 AM Hot Air Balloon Flight
6:30 - 8:00 AM RP/ Malaysian / Spain / Australia Paragliding Exhibition
8:15 - 9:00 AM Brietling Jet Team Aerobatic Exhibition
9:00 - 9:45 AM Meynard Halili / Aerobatic Show
9:45 - 10:30 AM Tandem Skydiving Exhibition
10:30 - 11:00 AM Wings Over Asia  / AOPA-P Light Balloon Bursting Competition
11:00 - 11:30 AM ACFC Ultralight / Microlight formation flights and flour bombing
11:30 - 12:00 PM Coast Guard Helicopter Rescue Demo
12:00 - 12:30 PM Radio-Controlled Model Aircraft Demonstration
12:30 - 1:00 PM German aerobatic glider flight
1:00 - 1:30 PM Car Drifting demonstration
1:30 - 2:00 PM PT13/ WCC / Aviatour / Omni / Leading Edge / Airlink flyby
2:00 - 2:30 PM   KAP / KTP flying Exhibition
2:30 - 2:45 PM  FEATI/PHILSCA Rocketry/ RC Demonstration
2:45 - 3:15 PM Radio-Controlled Model Aircraft Demonstration
3:15 - 3:45 PM PT13 Stearman fly by
3:45 - 4:15 PM ACFC Ultralight / Microlight aircraft formation flights
4:15 - 4:45 PM      Skydiving Exhibition
4:45 - 5:15 PM Meynard Halili / Aerobatic Show
5:15 - 6:15 PM RP/ Malaysian / Spain / Australia Paragliding Exhibition
5:30 - 7:00 PM      Hot Air Balloon Night Glow, RC Nightflyers, Fireworks

This fiesta is up until Sunday, so if you don't have plans this weekend, plan heading north and catch the amazing display of things that fly at the 18th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta and let your heart says it's more fun in the Philippine!

Happy Rammmpa!