WEEKEND OF EVERYTHING THE FLIES 

History of the hot air balloon festival 

Before it even became the biggest sports event in the country, having a festival was decided by the then Tourism Secretary Mina Gabor and three of her friends including a hot air balloon pilot in 1994. Three years after the massive devastation brought by the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, the hot air balloon festival aims to jumpstart Pampanga’s economy. Another objective is to position the province as a center of aviation in the Philippines.

In 1994, there were 21 balloon pilots from 10 different countries. The Philippines has an entry. The 1994 balloon festival was so successful there was an increase in the total number of participants in 1995 from 21 to 27 which include the basketless one-man balloon and 2 entries from the Philippines. In 1995, the use of ultra-light planes was introduced.

From 1996 to 1998, the hot air balloon festival saw an immense growth not just in terms of participants and watchers, but also to the events involved. Other aero-sports such as paragliding, skydiving, motorized hang gliding and kite flying were introduced. Other regular attractions are the aerobatic stunts conducted by the Philippine Air Force.

In 1999, the festival was cancelled. It resumed in 2000 with only 12 balloon participants and 18 light planes hailing from Japan, Thailand and Singapore. In 2003, the festival witnessed a change in the traditional format of balloons that the Pampanga skyline had not seen any before. For instance, Korea introduced the newspaper hot air balloon while Japan presented a large dog. Balloon pilots from Malaysia, Germany, Sweden, United Kingdom, Czechoslovakia and Netherlands participated during that year.

From 2004 until today, the hot air balloon festival now draws more than 50,000 visitors from all over the world. Participants are from the US, the UK, Canada and Asian countries.

In 2015, the festival will be held on February 12 to 15, a four-day event that expects an estimated 70,000 number of spectators.

FLYING ACTIVITIES :

Hot Air Ballooning

A hot air balloon is the oldest human-carrying flying technology that has been successfully launched. Consisting of a bag called an envelope that contains heated air, and a gondola or basket, which carries passengers and a heat source, the hot air balloon becomes buoyant because the heated air in the envelope has a lower density than the cold air outside it. Today, hot air balloons can come in many special shapes, aside from the traditional balloon shape.

Hot air ballooning as an activity is highly enjoyable because of the exceptional quiet, slow and steady movement, and the bird’s eye view it affords.

Literally following wherever the wind takes you, landing in a small town which you will never get a chance to visit in any another way, gives you the happiness of meeting kids and their families smiling and waving excitedly to welcome a flying balloon.

Kite Flying

Kites are tethered flying objects, which fly using aerodynamic lift requiring wind or towing to generate airflow over the lifting surfaces. They now come in many shapes and forms, and are now made from newly developed materials such as graphite and nylons.

Chase Crew & Off-Road Driving

Once a hot air balloon lands, returning the deflated balloon to the launch site is accomplished with the help of a chase crew and vehicle. The chase crew maintains contact with the balloon while it’s in flight, extracts the balloon from its landing site, and helps pack up all the equipment into the vehicle. Of course, passengers are also expected to help in packing the deflated balloon, as it is part of the ballooning experience.

Aerobatic Exhibitions

Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers that involve aircraft altitudes not used in normal flight. Most aerobatic maneuvers involve rotation of the aircraft about its longitudinal axis (roll) or lateral axis (pitch). Other maneuvers such as a spin displace the aircraft about its vertical axis (yaw).

Sky Diving

Sky Diving involves exiting an aircraft to return to the ground with the aid of gravity, then slowing down during the last part of the descent using a parachute. If jumping from a higher altitude, the skydiver may free-fall before deploying their parachute. Once the parachute opens, the skydiver can control its direction and speed with toggles controlling the steering lines, and can aim for the landing site and come to a gentle stop.