How Things Are Going

We have been in the Philippines a few months now. Missionary work is
going fine, but I still have not found any place to rent a plane here
in Laoag. I will probably have to plan a trip down to Clark or
something like that.

General aviation does exist in this country. Several of the more
wealthy individuals and some politicians maintain private airfields on
their estates and they fly both helicopters and small planes. In a
country with a land area about the size of Arizona spread across 7000
islands, flying is often the only practical way to travel. Still, I
have not seen a small plane since I arrived here. The skies are empty.

I already have a list of places I want to photograph from the air: the
rice terraces, some volcanic mountains and lakes, Cape Bojeador and its
lighthouse, and some offshore reefs.

This is the rainy season, so ceilings are frequently low with mountain
obscuration, but there are still plenty of sunny days. Temperature and
humidity are very high. Combined with the salt air, I would guess that
corrosion is a constant problem. I will have to find out how tropical
pilots take care of their aircraft.

I will continue to check back once in awhile just to see what everybody
is up to. If I can't fly the least I can do is read about it -- a poor
second, but better than nothing.

Christopher Campbell
World Famous Flight Instructor