I am a bit emotional watching this as today British Airways retired their last two 747's and it brought back memories of this legendary airport. I lived in Hong Kong as a teenager during the years 1976-1979 and flew back and forth between Heathrow and Kai Tak on many occasions on BA 747's and VC10's. The approach into Kai Tak was always exciting and on one occasion in the summer of 1978 I was sitting on the right hand side of a 747 on final approach and as we did that last turn to line up with the runway I looked down the right wing right into the lounge of a top floor apartment and could see what was on the television. In those days on the old 747-100's it was a 24 hour flight from Heathrow but the anticipation of that landing made the long and dreary flight worthwhile. Our flat (apartment) on Hong Kong island overlooked the harbour and we could watch the planes as they came in over Lantau island and over Kowloon on the approach. And many happy teenage hours were spent on the viewing gallery at Kai Tak plane-spotting. The best day was when Concorde came to visit. I was at at the airport and watched this elegant aircraft land - what an experience. Those days have gone - alas
@@Shabon67 It was total flying time including stopovers. Sometimes we were let off the plane but rarely and it depended on how busy the airport was and the availability of ground handling equipment for 747's. Which depending on the airport and the number of 747's on the ground at the time could be in short supply. Don't forget that the majority of long haul aircraft in those days were the Boeing 707, Douglas DC8 and Vickers VC10 so until the 747 became more common it was quite normal to land at an airport and not be able to get off it because there weren't sufficient stairs available. From memory it was two refuelling stops, usually the Middle East and India.
thats got to be hands down the most epic comment I have ever read on youtube. Must have been such a cool experience, especially the Concorde. Really wish I had the chance to see one of those beauties in the air
@@jacquesmertens3369 Not needed for me, except one landing where everyone on the flight gasped in unison, as we were sure we would all die. That flight came in as a typhoon was coming in, & the crosswinds were fierce...very scary. Other than that, I loved the approach, the landing, & the short transit home after arrival.
Yup.... still remember my first Kai Tak landing. Stb side window seat. On the turn, looking down the wing into someone’s balcony. And I timed it from walking out of the aircraft’s door to arriving in an office in Central: 45mins. Wow. I.e. straight through immigration (chose immigration gate 2, and jump to 1 when aircrew done), into taxi yards away, and into the tunnel minutes later, emerge from the tunnel and straight into Central. HK was like NY on steroids then. Fantastic place.
I've always heard that Kai Tak was the safest airport in the world because the pilots would be wide awake, eyes wide open and butts puckered for landing there. ;)
There will always be something unique about that first generation of Airports that came about before Aviation really matured. The cramped charm of airports like Kai Tak are met by few modern airports today.
a unique historical wonder ... the checkerboard on the left, apartments on the right, the road (causeway) then a sudden drop to a relatively short runway ... had to live it to fully grasp it ... pilots all those decades --- Heroes all !!! ... miss you Kai Tak
I was lucky enough to fly in to Kai tak in the 80s its a memory I will never forget. We landed both day and night flying above the Jordan street market momentous 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
@@LochLomondSeaplanes I can tell you that the CX PAPI requirement was two reds and two whites on final, 747 or otherwise. Anything else (ie 3 reds or 3 whites) would get you written down on your annual line check and a remark upon your lack of precision hand-flying the aircraft in the check report. Indeed, even your runway touchdown point was assessed on a line check - you had to be as close to 1,500' as was undetectable from the flight deck. I touched down at 1,400' on one check ride and this error was written up in the check report, which I had to sign in the post-flight de-briefing. An annual line check was traditionally four sectors in all (eg HKG-TPE-NRT /overnight and return the same way). Touching down either before the 1,000' or beyond the 2,000' once might not result in your being failed on a line check, but do it twice in one check and you would definitely fail. A 'firm' landing at 1,500' was much safer and vastly preferred over a 'greaser' at 2,000' - or a 'greaser' at 1,600', for that matter. Fail two line checks at any time in your CX career, and you were fired. So, we all religiously practiced nailing two reds/two whites on the PAPI during the approach, landing on centreline and hitting the 1,500' marker on touchdown during all our regular line flights. By the time our annual line check came around, we each and all wanted this level of precision to be absolutely second-nature. There's a video famous on RUclips, which shows one aircraft (not CX, I hasten to add) landing a 744 on RWY13 at Kai Tak, in which the pilot's flying is generously praised in the comments. Actually, it's a complete and total screw-up by the pilot flying (PF) and an embarrassment to our profession. First, the PF starts the final turn late, over-banks and then over-cooks the turn. He then sees he's now way too high on the approach and wide-left of final. He then over-corrects both massive errors, initiates a rate of descent that's far too steep and rapid, and ends up in the flare not just wide right of the centerline but almost in the grass to the right of the runway surface. Realising he's about to slam down onto the runway, he flares desperately at the last moment, and as touches down on the hard-surface short of the runway threshold (!), he's in a steep left bank as he touches down sideways, with the wheels of his starboard main wing truck literally on the right-hand edge of the runway. At CX, if you had performed a landing like that (instead of going around as soon as you screwed up the right turn to final), not only would you have failed the line check (if the flight was a line check) but you would certainly have lost your job as well.
As a Hong-Konger, thanks so much for the video. Kai Tak was a symbol of bright days in Hong Kong and we missed these soo much Good things in HK like Kai Tak was long gone since the handover to China
Ken .. I have to agree! I have many happy memories of HKG, since my first trip in June of 1982. Back then, HKG was a wonderful vibrant mixture of English and Chinese and despite the colonial past, everyone seemed to get along, very well. Kai Tak, the Star Ferry, the smells, dim sum ... oh, the memories!
@GodBotherer1 no way . you are bullsshit. hk is part of china Even taiwan is part of china. You say domocrazy. That is politics. But they are all in one country. no doubt.
Ha, I used to go to St. Andrews primary school just off Waterloo rd in 1971 - I used to say the same thing - rivets..........loved it - sounds like you were even closer, down by 'Stinky market' perhaps..........
So nice to hear stories about the past from you! My dad used to work for a shipping company (the merchant marine) out of Hong Kong, during the 70's, 80's and early 90's, and would always fly there for various reasons, including joining his ship. So many fond "memories" of Kai Tak, even though I've never personally landed there, unfortunately!! First time, I visited Hong Kong, was in 2018, and obviously, Kai Tak was long gone by then :(
Love that checkerboard and those guys brought her home picture-perfect. Mind you, I adore the new airport terminal - it's like being at Gatwick with a mountain backdrop in the tropics. Home away from home!
My dad said he landed there a few times going to check on our factory. he said he heard gasps on the right side of the plane always because you could see buildings 😂
I flew in there (as a passenger) back in the day on a Navy P-3 Orion. Navy pilots had to be certified to land there. They had to sit in the copilot seat at least once for a landing there.
I have been priveliged to have landed at Kai Tak - we have lost the BEST airport in the world with the most adrenaline pumping approach to 13. Every other airport PALES into insignificance compared to the IGS approach to the MM then that stomach dropping 47 degree bank to get onto the offset threshold!😳 Pilots who flew this approach can proudly declare that they are 'MASTER AVIATORS'. Im affraid that accolade can NEVER be earned by another pilot.😦 Hong Kongs tourist visitor numbers have declined massively for 2 reasons The Chinese dictatorship took over Chek Lap Cok is just another BORING way to arrive in a country! They should have bit the bullet and laid a SECOND crosswind runway and improved our beloved KT. Sadly and dearly missed. 😭I kissed the tarmac the last time I landed there😘 They threw away THE BIGGEST TOURIST ATTRACTION!🤷🏻♂️ Beautiful landing btw!
Very challenging especially when approaching "Checkerboard Turn" in nasty weather conditions. ruclips.net/video/KGphWcMnhxA/видео.html www.atlasobscura.com/articles/kai-tak-hong-kong-airport-scary-landing
Yeah, until you consider that one of the most unique approaches was killed off. Sure, you still may have circle-to-land and visual approaches into airports like Madeira, but since Kai Tak Airport closed, have you seen any new HD quality pictures of a 747 making a swinging right hand turn low above the ground, with the city underneath it and green mountains in the background? Didn't think so.
new airport on lantau island is not so seamless from plane to retrieve luggage and get a tax if one travels by budget airlines esp for the disabled and the weak elderly passengers and the way theairport workers handling your luggages just throw them from plane holds to transport to terminals my extra strength luggage was broken into pieces
I am a hong konger. I don't understand why everybody is so excited about Kai Tak. Its a horrible airport. Very third world and totally unworthy of HK. I just wished it had been closed way earlier than it was.
I am a bit emotional watching this as today British Airways retired their last two 747's and it brought back memories of this legendary airport. I lived in Hong Kong as a teenager during the years 1976-1979 and flew back and forth between Heathrow and Kai Tak on many occasions on BA 747's and VC10's. The approach into Kai Tak was always exciting and on one occasion in the summer of 1978 I was sitting on the right hand side of a 747 on final approach and as we did that last turn to line up with the runway I looked down the right wing right into the lounge of a top floor apartment and could see what was on the television.
In those days on the old 747-100's it was a 24 hour flight from Heathrow but the anticipation of that landing made the long and dreary flight worthwhile. Our flat (apartment) on Hong Kong island overlooked the harbour and we could watch the planes as they came in over Lantau island and over Kowloon on the approach. And many happy teenage hours were spent on the viewing gallery at Kai Tak plane-spotting. The best day was when Concorde came to visit. I was at at the airport and watched this elegant aircraft land - what an experience.
Those days have gone - alas
Watched a woman ironing in 1987.
24 hour flight?? Is that total time, including a stopover to refuel somewhere in between? Did they not let you off the plane there...?
@@Shabon67 It was total flying time including stopovers. Sometimes we were let off the plane but rarely and it depended on how busy the airport was and the availability of ground handling equipment for 747's. Which depending on the airport and the number of 747's on the ground at the time could be in short supply. Don't forget that the majority of long haul aircraft in those days were the Boeing 707, Douglas DC8 and Vickers VC10 so until the 747 became more common it was quite normal to land at an airport and not be able to get off it because there weren't sufficient stairs available. From memory it was two refuelling stops, usually the Middle East and India.
thats got to be hands down the most epic comment I have ever read on youtube. Must have been such a cool experience, especially the Concorde. Really wish I had the chance to see one of those beauties in the air
As is Kowloon City
I miss that sooooooooooo much...loved living there, & loved this approach & landing...di this about twice/week on average for 4 years.
Did every flight come with a free pair of underpants?
@@jacquesmertens3369 Not needed for me, except one landing where everyone on the flight gasped in unison, as we were sure we would all die. That flight came in as a typhoon was coming in, & the crosswinds were fierce...very scary. Other than that, I loved the approach, the landing, & the short transit home after arrival.
no lovely when everyday you hear airplane flying above you and make a "weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" noise
@@abc1993able I do understand that. Planes too close to too many people, & pretty endless all day & night.
I remember my first arrival like it was yesterday. I was terrified and fascinated. I loved working in Hong Kong too !!
Yup.... still remember my first Kai Tak landing. Stb side window seat. On the turn, looking down the wing into someone’s balcony. And I timed it from walking out of the aircraft’s door to arriving in an office in Central: 45mins. Wow. I.e. straight through immigration (chose immigration gate 2, and jump to 1 when aircrew done), into taxi yards away, and into the tunnel minutes later, emerge from the tunnel and straight into Central. HK was like NY on steroids then. Fantastic place.
I used to live in Sunderland road, in 1976-78, in front of the checkerboard (now Sunderland Court) and loved watching them coming in.
I've always heard that Kai Tak was the safest airport in the world because the pilots would be wide awake, eyes wide open and butts puckered for landing there. ;)
That's funny as hell, and logical I think.
I flew into Kai Tak numerous times, and yes, you are definitely awake shooting the checker board approach. I do miss the old airport.
Yeh there is definitely a logic to that! :)
Few accidents actually happened at Kai Tak, considering the high traffic and dangerous approach.
@@bullwinklejmoos WTF? You were dead in 1926, which plane did you use?
There will always be something unique about that first generation of Airports that came about before Aviation really matured. The cramped charm of airports like Kai Tak are met by few modern airports today.
"Matured"... as in "turned boring and mundane"... :^\
a unique historical wonder ... the checkerboard on the left, apartments on the right, the road (causeway) then a sudden drop to a relatively short runway ... had to live it to fully grasp it ... pilots all those decades --- Heroes all !!! ... miss you Kai Tak
I was lucky enough to fly in to Kai tak in the 80s its a memory I will never forget. We landed both day and night flying above the Jordan street market momentous 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
Gotta be a 747 with how high these guys are. I love all of the sounds right after they touch down!
CX pilots would probably have had 3 reds and one white on the PAPI at the side of the runway
Yeah, that's a 747-400. That spoiler extension sound is unmistakable. Miss that plane.
@@LochLomondSeaplanes I can tell you that the CX PAPI requirement was two reds and two whites on final, 747 or otherwise. Anything else (ie 3 reds or 3 whites) would get you written down on your annual line check and a remark upon your lack of precision hand-flying the aircraft in the check report.
Indeed, even your runway touchdown point was assessed on a line check - you had to be as close to 1,500' as was undetectable from the flight deck. I touched down at 1,400' on one check ride and this error was written up in the check report, which I had to sign in the post-flight de-briefing.
An annual line check was traditionally four sectors in all (eg HKG-TPE-NRT /overnight and return the same way). Touching down either before the 1,000' or beyond the 2,000' once might not result in your being failed on a line check, but do it twice in one check and you would definitely fail. A 'firm' landing at 1,500' was much safer and vastly preferred over a 'greaser' at 2,000' - or a 'greaser' at 1,600', for that matter.
Fail two line checks at any time in your CX career, and you were fired.
So, we all religiously practiced nailing two reds/two whites on the PAPI during the approach, landing on centreline and hitting the 1,500' marker on touchdown during all our regular line flights. By the time our annual line check came around, we each and all wanted this level of precision to be absolutely second-nature.
There's a video famous on RUclips, which shows one aircraft (not CX, I hasten to add) landing a 744 on RWY13 at Kai Tak, in which the pilot's flying is generously praised in the comments.
Actually, it's a complete and total screw-up by the pilot flying (PF) and an embarrassment to our profession.
First, the PF starts the final turn late, over-banks and then over-cooks the turn. He then sees he's now way too high on the approach and wide-left of final. He then over-corrects both massive errors, initiates a rate of descent that's far too steep and rapid, and ends up in the flare not just wide right of the centerline but almost in the grass to the right of the runway surface.
Realising he's about to slam down onto the runway, he flares desperately at the last moment, and as touches down on the hard-surface short of the runway threshold (!), he's in a steep left bank as he touches down sideways, with the wheels of his starboard main wing truck literally on the right-hand edge of the runway.
At CX, if you had performed a landing like that (instead of going around as soon as you screwed up the right turn to final), not only would you have failed the line check (if the flight was a line check) but you would certainly have lost your job as well.
@@xetalq Thank you - Ex STC at CX for 30 years
My wife’s first flight with the family was LHR to HKG - good job she never realised what the approach was like. Loved Kai Tak!
As a Hong-Konger, thanks so much for the video.
Kai Tak was a symbol of bright days in Hong Kong and we missed these soo much
Good things in HK like Kai Tak was long gone since the handover to China
Ken .. I have to agree! I have many happy memories of HKG, since my first trip in June of 1982. Back then, HKG was a wonderful vibrant mixture of English and Chinese and despite the colonial past, everyone seemed to get along, very well. Kai Tak, the Star Ferry, the smells, dim sum ... oh, the memories!
@GodBotherer1 no way . you are bullsshit. hk is part of china Even taiwan is part of china. You say domocrazy. That is politics. But they are all in one country. no doubt.
@GodBotherer1 Absolutely agree with you!
I’m glad I got to do this approach before it closed. Breathtaking. Thanks for sharing.
So sad 😞 that Kai Tak Airport closed down
❤
i can remember bar hopping in HK nearly 50 years ago, and being startled by one flying overhead, so low i swear i could see the rivets.
Ha, I used to go to St. Andrews primary school just off Waterloo rd in 1971 - I used to say the same thing - rivets..........loved it - sounds like you were even closer, down by 'Stinky market' perhaps..........
So nice to hear stories about the past from you! My dad used to work for a shipping company (the merchant marine) out of Hong Kong, during the 70's, 80's and early 90's, and would always fly there for various reasons, including joining his ship. So many fond "memories" of Kai Tak, even though I've never personally landed there, unfortunately!! First time, I visited Hong Kong, was in 2018, and obviously, Kai Tak was long gone by then :(
Love that checkerboard and those guys brought her home picture-perfect. Mind you, I adore the new airport terminal - it's like being at Gatwick with a mountain backdrop in the tropics. Home away from home!
It's super and great landing at the older airport's Hong Kong
To finish that last turn and see the PAPIs with a perfect red and white must have been quite encouraging....
And to roll out with exactly the correct amount of drift applied at “plus ten seven hundred” ....... ahhh
Great video. Tales me back. I flew a corporate BAC 1-11 into Kai Tak a few times. Loved it, hated it !!
Makes me nostalgic as I’ve not been on a plane for 2.5 years now
Time flies!!!
We still love you Kai Tak
Magnificent Pilot!!
it's july 6 press F to pay respects for kai tak airport
THE RIGHT STUFF. Whatever it is, these guys have it!
My dad said he landed there a few times going to check on our factory. he said he heard gasps on the right side of the plane always because you could see buildings 😂
Perfect !
A lotta years of rubber on that runway!
I flew in there (as a passenger) back in the day on a Navy P-3 Orion. Navy pilots had to be certified to land there. They had to sit in the copilot seat at least once for a landing there.
Cool video my man! The first thing I'm going to do when I get a time machine is go back to the 1900s and fly this approach in a DC-10 🥹
I was never there. Would it be feasible to make a smaller copy of kaitak somewhere, just large enough for single engine turboprop passenger plane?
Excelente piloto ✈👏👏
Checkerboard Hill! Sadly, now faded and overgrown!
Gone are the days of the knights ... the 747 knights of Kai Tak :-(
There has been talk to restore the checkerboard.
@@YaoiMastah Lip Service is just that!........I'll believe it when i see it done!
@@irongoatrocky2343 the checkerboard is now restored.
Video recording before GoPro's and suction cups!!! Such archaic technology!!! LOL
MiniDV 720 by 480!
Respekt an alle Piloten...die hier gelandet sind👍
720p in 1998? WOW!
Amazing... No place to mistakes
When looking from pilots view it's just an airport where you have to turn a 90 degree before landing. I wish i could fly one concorde to there
Wow, this pilots view didn't really make it look that bad........ but on the outside.......
I went to school near the airport and the teachers had to stop talking whenever a plane was near coz it's too loud
thank you for share
I have been priveliged to have landed at Kai Tak - we have lost the BEST airport in the world with the most adrenaline pumping approach to 13. Every other airport PALES into insignificance compared to the IGS approach to the MM then that stomach dropping 47 degree bank to get onto the offset threshold!😳
Pilots who flew this approach can proudly declare that they are 'MASTER AVIATORS'. Im affraid that accolade can NEVER be earned by another pilot.😦
Hong Kongs tourist visitor numbers have declined massively for 2 reasons
The Chinese dictatorship took over
Chek Lap Cok is just another BORING way to arrive in a country!
They should have bit the bullet and laid a SECOND crosswind runway and improved our beloved KT. Sadly and dearly missed. 😭I kissed the tarmac the last time I landed there😘 They threw away THE BIGGEST TOURIST ATTRACTION!🤷🏻♂️
Beautiful landing btw!
I miss business class in a 747 and landing at this airport 😐
Been in and out tens of times
I weep for the People of Hong Kong who have lost their English liberties now..
It is really saddening that China just trample on everything HKers are proud of. First the HSBC, then Cathay Pacific, who knows what goes next...
why they dont land the on the other side of the runway ??
because you always land into the wind (headwind)
duh..no floats!
It will crash into buildings.
They did land both ways depending on the winds.
Whys the runway so short
The big displaced threshold makes it look shorter, but it’s more of an optical illusion with the water on both sides.
I believe the runway was over 11,000 feet long.
Bryan Clementi just 2800 meters or 9500 feet long
Because of the ocean. ;-)
The camera zoom also make it look shorter than it is.
Poetry!!
Imagine the Cathay pilots who did this every week.
Several times a week
Nice video! You had to be a "real" pilot to land there.
The Cathay pilots had it down pat, but some of the other airline landings were ... interesting!
Very challenging especially when approaching "Checkerboard Turn" in nasty weather conditions.
ruclips.net/video/KGphWcMnhxA/видео.html
www.atlasobscura.com/articles/kai-tak-hong-kong-airport-scary-landing
👍👍👍
Very happy that Kai Tak close down and ushered a new era of modernity in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Yeah, until you consider that one of the most unique approaches was killed off. Sure, you still may have circle-to-land and visual approaches into airports like Madeira, but since Kai Tak Airport closed, have you seen any new HD quality pictures of a 747 making a swinging right hand turn low above the ground, with the city underneath it and green mountains in the background? Didn't think so.
Aviões e Músicas
new airport on lantau island is not so seamless from plane to retrieve luggage and get a tax if one travels by budget airlines esp for the disabled and the weak elderly passengers and the way theairport workers handling your luggages just throw them from plane holds to transport to terminals my extra strength luggage was broken into pieces
I take it you've never been to O'Hare in Chicago?
I am a hong konger. I don't understand why everybody is so excited about Kai Tak. Its a horrible airport. Very third world and totally unworthy of HK. I just wished it had been closed way earlier than it was.
mou man tai