C J Campbell wrote:
On 2007-03-16 17:08:08 -0700, "Borat" said:


"C J Campbell" wrote in message
news:2007031616433375249-christophercampbell@hotmailcom...
On 2007-03-16 07:56:10 -0700, "Jon" said:

I'm still working on my private but if my company sends me overseas
can I keep flying with my license? Real good chance I might be in the
Phillipines for a while.
Jon

Magandang hapon.

I did not fly while in the Philippines but you can be sure that I
checked
it out. :-) The main problem was that up in Laoag City where I was there
were no rental planes available.

There are rental planes available in Manila and at the old Clark AB in
Angeles. I don't know about Cebu or Davao, but they would be good bets,
too. The rental fleet is old, mostly 172L and M models. Cost is about
the
same as in the US. I do know that my old 206 is in Davao, being flown by
an agricultural firm, and that some airplane owners in the Philippines
will rent to individuals.

Where there are rental airplanes there are instructors and flight
schools.
The Air Transportation Office in Manila will issue you a Philippine
license on the basis of your American one with the same restrictions and
privileges. Satellite offices will not do; you have to go to the one in
Manila, in person, by appointment. They are unlikely to ask for a bribe,
but they might ask for 'handling fees' so that it doesn't take six
months
to a year to process the paperwork.

The outfit at Clark has the best reputation for safety and that is where
the Philippines is planning to center its efforts for training new
airline
and military pilots. There is a critical shortage there and new
pilots are
strongly discouraged from leaving the country. Of course, they might not
have that critical shortage if they were willing to pay more, but who
am I
to tell someone how to run his business?

The Philippines is mountainous, hot and humid, very rugged with large
areas of jungle. Storms are frequent; the Philippines gets more than a
dozen typhoons a year, with three or four of them being category 3
(Katrina) or higher. However, weather reporting systems are good
except in
remote areas. Airfields marked on the map might not actually be in
use and
could be completely overgrown or occupied by squatters, so it is best to
check things out first.

The country is about the size of Arizona,
but unlike Arizona, it has a population of c 85 million about 30% of
the US.

Arizona is catching up, though. Pretty soon we are going to have to just
rename the state to "Downtown Phoenix," with Vegas, LA and Santa Fe as
"Suburban Phoenix."

No, you'll run out of water before you get that big.

Matt