BY : The Philippine Star



For an air force with an acute lack of aircraft, personal computers may be good enough to hone the skills of its pilots.

Maj. Gen. Michael Mendoza, chief of air staff, told The STAR that with the lack of fighter jets and training equipment such as flight simulators, Philippine Air Force (PAF) pilots have to make do with office computers at Basa Air Base in Pampanga for their training needs.

"It’s compulsory training for pilots," Mendoza said.

He lamented that PAF, which turns 60 on July 7, has no combat capability and that in the event of an attack it has to depend on its few trainer jets reconfigured for combat purposes and on its aging Vietnam War era Huey choppers.

Mendoza said PAF’s last true blue fighter aircraft – F-5 Freedom Fighter – had already been decommissioned and that the air force will have to wait for two more years to get new fighter planes.

He said PAF is trying to figure out which type of aircraft to buy with its P5 billion budget. Many PAF pilots had left the service to work for commercial airlines where "they can hone their skills and at the same time earn more," an air force official said.