Airport comments for Asia
Comments 5,201 to 5,207 of 5,247
Another Great Home For A Year
I spent the year of 1972 at Khorat. Like my earlier time at Tahkli it is hard to think why a person would have such fond memories of a place ... but I do. Again I spent most of my year there building drop tanks, leading a wonderful crew of Thai civilian workers. The end of my tour there encompased the last Linebacker missions when our F-105s and F-4's flew round the clock stopping only when all the tanks we could build were used up. The B-52s from Guam and Utapao flew missions right into the "Downtown" Route packs and even shot down Migs on their own. A sad thing indeed, war, but at least we got the air war stopped ... I'll leave it to others to battle over the rights and wrongs, I served.
A Home For An Eventful year
I lived and worked at Takhli Royal Thai AB for a wonderful year of my life in 1967. There was a war on so I wonder that I consider it "wonderful" but it was .. my first real time truly away from home and holding down a really responsible job ..building drop tanks for the mssisons we were flying over North Vietnam.
I'm glad to see the old place is still going strong. The former American quarters are west of the south end of runway 36 and the shiny new maintenance complex to the est is all new in the past few years ... I dearly miss my time there and I miss the wonderful Thai workers I was priviledged to lead as we did our bit to help.
My Home for Three Years
I was the communications planner/program manager at Yokota for the years 1996 through 1999. Among the neat aviation-related things I got to do were the installation and commissioning of the runway 18 ILS ... a ssytem we physically removed from Minot AFB Montana, shipped across the pacific and put back to good use at Yokota. Mnay civilian plots have been through Yokota as a significant part of its traffic is contract passenger and cargo flights and I recall a number of times when I was there that Northwest used it to land when weather gave them a problem at Narita
My Current "Home base"
This former USAF installation is now run by a hybrid government-commercial development corporation. in addition to hosting many ground-based industries, casinos, hotels and recreatioal facilities it is being built up as a major international airport, slated to be linked to Manila via high-speed commuter rail and US-standard expressways ala the current Hong Kong airport.
If you zoom in just to the east of the approach end of runway 02R you'll see the separate runway and hangar facilities of Omni Aviation a busy flight school and FBO situated in the former home of the Clark AB Aero Club ... and an excellent place to base if you're in the Philippines. best of both worlds ... fly out of a major international airport but with your own runway and facilities.
My Current International Gateway
I presently make my home in the Philippines in Bulacan, about 25nm north of NAIA. NAIA is the major Philippines airline hub. The current government is working to move a lot of airline traffic to the former Clark Air Base, about 40nm North of the city ... which will be known as DMIA (after the father of the current Philippine Republic president) and is already a significant air freight hub.
Musharraf plane attack
This seems to be the air base where President Musharraf's plane was fired on on Friday 6 July 2007.
Cebu International, where Magellan came to stay
🔗 Wed, 18 Jul 2007
— @XingR at Mactan Cebu International Airport, Philippines
Another former USAF Base, Mactan is joint use now with the airlines and the Philippine Air Force. The terminal is small, only about 6 gates but quite modern. A really huge contrast with the much better known NAIA in Manila 400 miles to the north. Cebu is the "queen city" of the southern Philippines and an interesting destination, much more laid back than other Asian cities. The airport is actually in the municipality of Lapu-Lapu named after one of the original residents (also known as the Kaliph Pulaka) who wasn't exactly overcome with joy at the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 and showed his displeasure by ending Magellan's voyage (and life) on the shore just north and east of the departure end of runway 4.