My First Cessna 172 and Britten-Norman Islander Ride with the Philippine Navy

This week was one of the most precious and memorable days of my life. I was invited by photography guru and regular Manila Bulletin contributor, Roy Van Morales to accompany him to Sangley Naval Air Base (Naval Base Heracleo Alano), Philippine Navy for an aerial photography workshop. Roy has been conducting photography lessons to the different service branches of the Armed Forces and now invited by the Naval Aviation Training Squadron of the Naval Air Group of the Philippine Navy to conduct a workshop to the naval pilots.

It was a two-day workshop. On the first day, we did classroom lecture and taught the basic functions of a DSLR. The second day was the actual aerial shoot. Roy and I accompanied the naval pilots in an aircraft for their aerial photography practical exam.

And the most EXCITING and FUN part for me? -- THE FLYING!

From Sangley Naval Base in Cavite, we took off via a Philippine Navy Cessna 172 4-seater plane. Since it can only accommodate 4 people (including the pilot and the co-pilot), only one navy pilot who will do the actual aerial shoot was with me at the back seat. Roy, on the other hand was at the 8-seater Britten-Norman Islander plane. Since it's an aerial photography and we needed good subjects, we asked the pilots to get a nice view for us. So for about an hour, we were just flying around Mt. Samat and some islets around Bataan. We landed at Subic Bay International Airport at around lunch time. From there, Roy and I switched planes. I transferred to the Britten-Norman Islander 8-seater plane going back to Cavite Naval Base.

As I kept on saying, it was a priceless experience. Thanks to Roy for inviting me over. Thanks to NATS Commander, Lt Rowene Colita PN for this opportunity; and thanks for the goodies too! :) Thanks to the Naval Aviation Training Squadron of the Philippine Navy for the awesome and priceless experience. Having to ride for the first time a Cessna 172 plane and a Britten-Norman Islander all in one day from Cavite to Subic and back is something that will be forever etched in my memories.

You guys are awesome! And thanks for the comfortable room and a bunk bed. See you next year for our next photography workshop!

Here are some photos and videos. More photos posted on my Facebook.

[Vid] Cessna 172 Ride

[Vid] Britten-Norman Islander takeoff at Subic Bay International Airport

Preparing the Cessna 172 for takeoff at Sangley Point Air Base, Cavite

 Capt. Dens Resuallo doing flight planning for our Cavite - Subic flight

Capt. Resuallo and his co-pilot LTJG Tabali

 Aboard the Cessna 172

Aerial view of Mt. Samat National Shrine (Dambana ng Kagitingan) at approximately 1500 ft. above sea level

Somewhere in Bataan

 Aerial view from the Cessna

 With Roy Morales and Instructor Pilot Dens Resuallo at Subic Airport

Subic Bay International Airport

Britten-Norman Islander and Cessna 172

Aboard the Britten-Norman Islander headed back to Cavite

View from the Britten-Norman Islander

With Lt Rowene Colita PN, NATS Commander

With the Naval Aviator Training Squadron of the Philippine Navy

BlackBerry - Everything You Love

I am a very outgoing person and I always make sure that I stay connected with my friends. Thanks to Twitter, Facebook, and all those social networking sites. Name it, I have it! With BlackBerry, it is so easy to stay connected with your circle of friends even without a computer.

The BlackBerry Bold 9780

BlackBerry offers a world of possibilities when it comes to staying connected because of its BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) trademark feature that lets you interact with other people as if you are in front of your computer. Here are some of the BBM features that I love:

1. Send pictures, files, calendar and contact data with a snap of a finger. If you're chatting with someone, you can quickly share a photo, video or contact details and it will be automatically integrated with your contact.

2. Sending location information. BlackBerry Messenger uses GPS technology to send our current location to the person we are chatting with. That way, we can easily share where our current location is. Let’s admit- we sometimes have a poor sense of direction!

3. Voice memos. This is a very interesting feature. Just select a contact and you can directly record and send a short voice clip. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a tone of your voice is worth the same.

4. Groups. In BlackBerry Messenger, you can create groups so you can send a message to multiple users all at the same time and their replies will only be sent to you. In fact, I introduced the BBM group feature to our photography group (The Helios Project International) and we use it for our 24/7 online mobile club membership support, high-speed and real-time inquiries and sending updates about our group at any time and anywhere.

5. Add a contact effortlessly. Using its barcode feature, adding a contact will take you no time. Just ask the person to show you his or her BBM barcode, scan it with your camera and voila! Contact added!

6. And lastly, BBM is a way for me to laugh my heart out even when I'm alone. All I do is I chat with my friends and it's as if they are just beside me. I laugh, giggle and sing my heart out even when I'm all by myself as long as I have the BlackBerry Messenger. :)

BlackBerry Messenger is an extremely powerful and robust instant communications application that allows you to stay in touch with all your contacts wherever in the world they may be.

A perfect prepaid promo partner for your Blackberry is the first ever in prepaid - Globe Prepaid GoSAKTO. GoSAKTO lets you create your own promo that suits you. You can choose how may texts, calls or MB of surfing- all up to you! One of my favorite custom-made promos that I always use is the 1-day promo with unli calls to Globe/TM and 100 texts to all network. Guess what? It costs only 20 pesos! SULIT! :) To create your own promo, go to http://globe.com.ph/gosakto. :)