2018 SAEP National Convention Resource Speakers

Last November 10, 2018, SAEP held its 14th Annual National Convention participated by its members coming from different sectors in the aviation/aerospace industry, from airline companies, maintenance repair organizations, chartered aircraft companies, aviation schools, government agencies, etc.  The topics presented and discussed ranged from strategies for modernization of our airports to research on how to minimize fuel consumption on narrow-body aircraft.

The following are the resource speakers who gave their time and effort unselfishly to share their experiences and expertise in their respective areas. More power to them.

Col. Edmundo Gammad, (PAF, Ret.) spoke about "Philippine Airport Modernization and Expansion: A Private Sector Perspective." It's high time for the Philippines to upgrade our airports. It doesn't take a keen eye to see the miserable state of our airports and terminals when it comes to passenger services. Our airports are over crowded. They have surpassed their limits on passenger capacity. In fact, it's been a long time coming. Finally, we see bright light in the horizon as plans are afoot to build new airports and expand old ones. There are presently four proposals for the modernization of our country's premier gateway. We hope this can be realized under the government's BUILD3 program. 

One insight though is that "airports should not be seen as quick ways to raise cash, focus should be on consumers and economy." 

Col. Gammad is from the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB).

Col. Ed Gammad on Philippine Airport Modernization & Expansion

Col. Ed Gammad with Hon. Ernesto Ferreras Jr., PRB Chairman & Engr. Robin Rabin, SAEP President

Mr. John Lee talked about the activities and role of the "Aerospace Industries Association of the Philippines (AIAP)." Mr. Lee is presently Chairman of the AIAP, which presently consists of 76 member companies. The AIAP has a very important role in the development and progress of Philippine aviation/aerospace industries, especially in manufacture and distribution of aircraft and parts. AIAP's vision is to "make the Philippines to be a major hub for manufacture of OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) parts and allied services (MRO) for the global commercial aircraft industry." One of its missions is to "serve as liaison of the membership in influencing government policies and development programs, partnering with government and established institutions to revitalize and elevate the state of the Philippine aerospace industry." 

What we sorely need right now are machines and materials to build a genuine foundation for the manufacturing industry. We hope the association will help usher a new era in the establishment of a vigorous aircraft manufacturing activity in the country.

Mr. John Lee talking about the role of the Aerospace Industries Association of the Philippines

Ms. Rubie Sobremonte, Customer Service Manager of Universal Weather Aviation Philippines, talked on the role of "Asian Business Aviation Association (AsBAA)" in the Philippine setting. Aviation business is thriving not only here in the country but around the Asian region as well. We need fresh inputs of both ideas and capital to hasten development of private business aviation. General and business aviation are being utilized mostly by high-profile users and the association aims to find ways to "increase efficiency of travel and business productivity." This is geared towards providing services to high net-worth individuals, company executives, sports teams, celebrities, and even heads of state.

Dr. Louie L. Timajo presented the results of their research on "Minimizing Fuel Consumption for Narrow-Body Aircraft." A collaborative effort, the project aims to "formulate a solution to reduce the fuel consumption by tackling all the possible causes of fuel waste and thus increase the revenue of the airline." A lot of data is presented and airlines can benefit from the results of their research. One thing I was curious is the use of the PIANO software in the research, in addition to using survey questionnaires. PIANO stands for Project Interactive Analysis and Optimization. It is "a versatile modern-day professional tool used by many airframe and engine manufacturers for preliminary designs, competitive evaluation, performance studies, fuel consumption analysis, environmental emission assessments, etc. It contains a database of 250 files of different types of aircraft." I guess you can do a lot of research using this software.

Dr. Louie Timajo and his team, consisting of Laxamanan Kurappa and Sim Ming Seng, are connected with Nilai University, a private institution in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia.

Dr. Louie Timajo delivering his paper on Minimizing Fuel Consumption for Narrow-Body Aircraft

Dr. Jay-R D. Basitao also delivered his paper on "Implementation of Project-Based Learning (PBL) with Embedded Assessment in the Aeronautical Engineering Laboratory Course." One objective of his research is to "determine the competencies and attributes that aeronautical engineering graduates should possess to be immediately employable in the industry and to prepare them for the changing demands of Industrie 4.0." Industrie 4.0 refers to the 4th Industrial Revolution which is characterized by the establishment of smart factories, among others.

How should he able to do this takes a long shot. One way to do this is to improve and develop the curriculum and the design of the Aeronautical Engineering course through the conduct of industry survey and the use of CDIO syllabus.  CDIO stands for "Conceiving-Designing-Implementing-Operating," a new framework that provides students with an education stressing engineering fundamentals. According to Dr. Basitao, the "use of embedded assessment ensured that students attained learning outcomes as evidenced by the strong correlation between student grades and student learning." The project was deemed successful as it was recommended to apply embedded assessment to other courses.

Dr. Basitao together with Dr. Felicito S. Caluyo, first presented their research during the 4th International Conference for Engineering Education Philippines (ICEE-PHIL) in 2008.
Dr. Basitao holds teaching position at the Holy Angel University School of Engineering and Architecture in Angeles City, Pampanga.

Dr. Jay-R Basitao presented his research on Implementation of PBL with Embedded Assessment in the Aeronautical Engineering Course

Engr. Alvin P. Brosas of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) spoke on "Performance-Based Communication and Surveillance (PBCS)." The PBCS concept offers innovative approach to manage the performance of communication & surveillance features of the air traffic management (ATM). Its aim is to make sure that new technologies in communication & surveillance are adapted for safe implementation and operation.

What with the congested airways in the space above us, I hope this novel approach can ensure the safety of air travel and above all, help airlines and operators to schedule on-time departure and arrival of aircraft.

Engr. Alvin Brosas delivering his topic on Performance-Based Communication & Surveillance

Two events during the National Convention worth mentioning were participated by Engr. Jaime Dominic Panelo of Holy Angel University and Mr. Kyxz Mendoza.

Engr. Jaime Panelo presented for the first time to an assembly of aeronautical engineers his musical composition with accompanying lyrics dedicated to aeronautical engineers. The song was played during the event sung by both Engr. Lorenzo Naval Jr. and himself.

Engr. Jaime Panelo proudly presenting his musical opus

Mr. Kyxz Mendiola is the inventor of Koncepto Millenya, a manned drone prototype, dubbed as the smallest flying sports car in the world. The prototype can seat a single pilot and has been tested many times. The plan is to mass produce the aircraft for sale both here and abroad. Mr. Mendiola has tied up with a multinational company for further development and eventual production of the drone.

Kyxz Mendiola on the controls of Koncepto Millenya

We're proud to have Mr. Kyxz Mendiola as one of us, by conferring him the title of Honorary Member of SAEP. Welcome to the club, Mr. Mendiola. It would be nice to feature the drone and Mr. Mendiola here in this blog in the future.

Kyxz Mendiola accepting the title of Honorary Member of SAEP

PRB Chairman, Hon. Ernesto Ferreras Jr. and Mr. Kyxz Mendiola, inventor of Koncepto Millenya

Congratulations to SAEP Officers for successfully holding this year's Convention. Mabuhay!

The PRB and SAEP Officers

The PRB Chairman and SAEP President

And thanks to the MC of the event: Engr. Joraine Jost C. Razal...

Engr. Joraine Razal on standby...

And after business was done, it's relaxation time...

A gathering of aeronautical engineers...

In the picture, clockwise: Engrs. Ryan Cauntay, Michael dela Cruz, Rey Roca, Den Malia, Janus Reyes, Benjie Simbulan, Jun Martinez, Jun Ferreras, Raffy Presnilla, Jay Jack Manzano, Ronald Cayaban & Robin Rabin...