Hot air balloons and flying drones

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FILE PHOTO of the Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta. — FACEBOOK.COM/PIHABF

SOCCER DRONE demo at the press conference. — BRONTË H. LACSAMANA

ASIDE from the usual hot air balloons set to fill the skies of New Clark City (NCC), Tarlac, in February of 2026, the 26th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta (PIHABF) is preparing more flying spectacles, like helicopters, kites, radio-controlled aircraft, and even drones.

With the theme “A Weekend of Everything that Flies,” the festival will run from Feb. 13 to 15, 2026, offering families, friends, and aviation enthusiasts an opportunity to witness non-stop flying exhibitions.

One of these is a nightly drone show, one of the biggest in the Philippines, lighting up the night sky for the three-day festival. It will use 550 drones in total.

“The drone show at night I think is something very different from all the other drone shows that we’ve had in the previous years,” said PIHABF founder and director Capt. Jose Mari C. Roa, at the press conference held on Monday in Pasay City.

This year, the festival also marks the largest display of special-shape balloons in its history, with 22 colorful designs flown by pilots from the United Kingdom, the United States, Belgium, the Netherlands, Macedonia, Switzerland, Germany, and Brazil.

Mr. Roa told BusinessWorld that this is the most that they’ve had in any edition of the balloon fiesta.

Another highlight is a locally made manned drone, known as the Hoverbike Air X1. A one-seater version was previewed at the press conference, but a two-seater version is being finalized to be showcased in time for the event, according to its inventor Kyxz Mendiola.

“It can carry up to 80 kilos in weight,” he told the press. “All Pinoy engineers ang gumawa nito at nag-welding nito, so kami ng team ko (It was made and welded by all Pinoy engineers, so me and my team).”

Aerobatic superstars like the Breitling Jet Team, Wing Walkers, and world-renowned stunt pilot Mark Jeffries will also be at the event to provide unique forms of entertainment.

Aero sports like paragliding and paramotor, with support from the Philippine Sports Commission, are scheduled across the three days. Other international competitions slated are first-person view drone racing, paper planes, and soccer drones. Some of the competitions are sanctioned by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale.

In terms of attendees, Mr. Roa said that they hope to exceed the previous record crowds from their original venue in Pampanga.

“At our old venue, we used to have over 130,000 people over the weekend. The difference with New Clark City is that it’s a new location and people are still learning about it,” he explained. “We hope to maybe go beyond that number because we now have the space for it.”

The country’s longest-running aviation sports event moved from its home in Clark, Pampanga, to NCC in Capas, Tarlac, back in 2024.

NCC, a sports hub developed by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) for the Southeast Asian Games back in 2019, features a 20,000-seat Athletics Stadium and expansive open grounds ideal for large-scale outdoor events.

Mark P. Torres, BCDA’s senior vice-president for conversion and development, said that they have been working on making NCC “more accessible to the public.”

For the festival, BCDA will provide shuttles from SM Clark in Pampanga and from Bamban and Capas in Tarlac to the venue. Meanwhile, the Tarlac local government will provide a free shuttle from Tarlac City. Commute options from Metro Manila are buses from Manila and Cubao.

Mr. Torres explained that NCC contains public infrastructure that visitors can enjoy outside of the fiesta grounds.

“There are many sites and parks that BCDA was able to develop in New Clark City, like the River Park, which is a public park that stretches to around 2 kilometers, just along the river,” he said.

Asked about what families with children can get out of the experience, Mr. Roa shared that they will have an array of kid-friendly events at the festival.

“There will be a petting zoo, horseback riding, bow-and-arrow target shooting, and seminars about aviation for those who want to be pilots when they grow up,” he said.

Frances Margaret Canlas, local economic development and investment promotions officer of the Tarlac provincial government, added that the PIHABF is able to “amplify local tourism because it caters to different age ranges through the micro experiences within the big event.”

“It really gives a new identifier for the province as a tourist destination. It’s a point of attraction for investors and it will contribute to the vitality of local economic development,” she said.

Entrance tickets to the festival cost P750, with a percentage of the amount going to the PIHABF Foundation Scholarship Fund, which grants scholarships to underprivileged students who want to pursue a career in the aviation industry.

For details, visit www.philballoonfest.net or https://www.facebook.com/pihabf/. Tickets are also available via SM Tickets. — Brontë H. Lacsamana