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| PAF diamond flies again after 30 years; propeller-version pala | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Mar 6 2009, 01:28 AM (970 Views) | |
| pachador | Mar 6 2009, 01:28 AM Post #1 |
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PAF diamond flies again after 30 years Defense chief leads formation By Katherine Evangelista INQUIRER.net 03/05/2009 CLARK FIELD, Pampanga -- On Thursday, the skies over the former Clark Airbase in Pampanga saw a spectacle not seen for three decades as 16 planes formed a diamond formation as they flew past. The flyby, led by Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., who is a licensed pilot, Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff General Alexander Yano, and Air Force chief Lieutenant General Oscar Rabena, marked the maiden flight of 15 T-41 Bravo Trainer Planes donated to the Philippines Air Forces by South Korea. The 15 planes, which Teodoro had just accepted from South Korean Ambassador to the Philippines Choi Joong-Kyung in a turnover ceremony, were joined by an SF-260 Marchetti to complete the 16-plane formation. "It has been a long while na hindi natin nakita sa ere ang diamond formation na kasing laki nito [that we have not seen a diamond formation as large as this in the air]," Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Alan Ballesteros said. So long ago, in fact, that Ballesteros said the last 16-plane diamond formation before Thursday’s was that of Saber jets of the defunct 5th Fighter Wing that took off from Basa Airbase in Pampanga in the mid-1970s, when the Philippine Air Force was at the peak of its strength. Ballesteros, who was then a training cadet in the Philippine Air Force Flying School (PAFFS) at Basa, explained that the large diamond formation symbolizes “cohesion, unity and pride.” Thus, while the Thursday flyby was not as spectacular as the one he remembered from his cadet days, Ballesteros said he was nevertheless happy to see the diamond in the air. "Something is happening, may naidadagdag na eroplano sa atin [our planes have increased]," he said, especially at a time when the Air Force is having difficulty training its personnel. Teodoro, in a separate interview, acknowledged it would take a long time for the Air Force to regain its peak strength, much less acquire modern fighter aircraft. Asked how soon he thought this would happen, he replied: "Show me the money and I'll show you as soon as possible." Brand new, top-of-the-line attack aircraft can cost up to $83 million or P3.7 billion each, he said. At the moment, Teodoro said what the country needs are aircraft for internal security and logistical aircraft such as helicopters and transport planes. Besides, he added, "Wala namang bansa na gusto pang gumyera sa ibang bansa unless siguro forced-to-good na [There is no country that wants to wage war against other countries, anyway, unless forced to do so]." But Teodoro said the planes donated by South Korea will help ease the Air Force’s three-year backlog in training its personnel, caused by a lack of trainer aircraft. Before South Korea donated the planes, which it had decommissioned in 2007, the Air Force only had eight T-41 Bravo aircraft and could train only 58 flight students a year, Philippine Air Force spokesman Major Gerardo Zamudio said. The donated plans will be deployed in PAFFS, now based at Fernando Air Base in Lipa, Batangas, Teodoro said. This year, he added, the Air Force will also be acquiring 16 new SF-260 Marchetti aircraft. |
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| pachador | Mar 6 2009, 01:32 AM Post #2 |
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since Philippine air lines is the # 1 beneficiary of PAF pilots who switch to civilian careers, then PAL should help the PAF buy trainer aircraft |
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| markniraq | Mar 6 2009, 10:59 AM Post #3 |
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You will begin to see more Koreans in Philippines now too and their will make businesses there |
| "You Have Never Lived...Till You Have almost Died...For Those Who Fight For It.. Life has a Special Meaning the Protected will Never Know" | |
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| City Hunter | Mar 6 2009, 11:04 AM Post #4 |
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Nice! Okay na muna sa ngayon even if the planes are trainer ones. Hopefully, our officials shape up and realize that its the country that should be their priority and not their pockets. We can easily afford modern jets kung mag-ayos lang sila. |
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Command is about authority, about appointment to a position. Effective leadership is different. It must be learned and practiced in order for it to rise to the level of art. You must love those you lead before you can be an effective leader. You can certainly command without that sense of commitment but you cannot lead without it; and without leadership, command is a hollow experience. .. a vacuum often filled with mistrust and ignorance. Gen. Eric K. Shinseki | |
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| flipzi | Mar 11 2009, 10:24 PM Post #5 |
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R-A-T-S
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photos naman diyan. |
![]() " Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them! - Art. II Sec 1, Philippine Constitution " " People don't care what we know until they know we care. " getflipzi@yahoo.com | |
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| truegrit | Mar 12 2009, 06:25 AM Post #6 |
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Wonder what modern attack jet are we going to acquire? Korean A50....its a good lightweight tactical fighter. |
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8:49 AM Jul 11