Sunday, June 03, 2012

Kai Tak Airport

... if you ever wondered why Hong Kong went to the expense of creating a giant island just to put an airport on top of it... there are some views of the old airport from the air and from the ground. I flew into and out of this airport once in my life. I am glad it is closed. The closeness of people's laundry to the wing of the Jumbo jet reminded me that I would probably need to change mine...

Pilot / Cockpit view... skip to about 2:40 or so and you will see the 'checker' on the mountainside which is the "Turn NOW!!!" reference point to align with the runway. Here.

Passenger view... here.


A view from the ground gives you a better idea... remember it is a 747... here.

In addition it is important to remember that many of the planes are long-haul flights and are running on minimal fuel. As a result it is easy to misjudge the dynamics of the plane when the weight has changed significantly. Plus Kai Tak was infamous for fog, smog, and vicious cross-winds... see here.

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