VHHH · IGS 13 · 1998
The Fly Kai Tak blog
New features, bug fixes and notes from the Kai Tak approach.
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Aircraft9
Concorde at Kai Tak: The Rare Visits
Concorde's rare visits to Kai Tak: the 1976 sales tour, a 1985 charter, and how Fly Kai Tak's Concorde special lands, taxis and takes off.
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A Concorde Visits Kai Tak
Plane Spotter gets a rare Concorde-style special: a drooped-nose delta-wing jet that lands hourly, parks at stand 6 and leaves, with its own gold board rows.
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Fix: Buildings and Vehicles Clear of Aircraft
Fly Kai Tak apron fix: aircraft no longer overlap the car park, the fire station or service vehicles, which now wait out of sight until their aircraft docks.
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New: Aircraft Collisions and Damage
Fly Kai Tak aircraft now have collision detection: ground traffic avoids each other, and a collision shows broken wings, scorch marks, smoke and fire.
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New: jet bridges and pushback tugs at the Kai Tak terminal
Fly Kai Tak adds jet bridges to the Kai Tak terminal. Aircraft taxi in and dock at them, and pushback tugs push each departure back and turn it toward the runway.
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Fix: the 747 upper-deck hump now has the right shape
The 747-400 upper-deck hump in Fly Kai Tak was too tall and narrow. It is now lower and wider with a long shallow slope into the roof, like the real 747.
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Redrawn aircraft: embedded cockpits and real winglets
Fly Kai Tak update: the 747-400, 777-200, A330-300 and A340-300 are redrawn with embedded cockpit glass, swept winglets and tapered wings.
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The airlines and aircraft of Kai Tak
A guide to the airlines and aircraft types at Kai Tak in the 1990s: Cathay Pacific, Dragonair, Qantas, BA, Singapore, Thai and JAL, with brief histories.
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Other aircraft now bank the right way
Fly Kai Tak fix: other aircraft were drawn banking the wrong way in turns. Arrivals and departures now dip the inside wing, as real jets do.
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Wider spacing between taxiing aircraft
Taxiing aircraft at Kai Tak now keep double the gap on the taxiways. Departures queuing at the runway end can still close up.
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The checkerboard turn tightens at the end
Kai Tak's checkerboard turn now starts gently and tightens to about 25° of bank over Kowloon City before rolling out on the runway.
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The checkerboard turn now starts at 650 ft, 2 NM out
Kai Tak's checkerboard turn now starts about 2 NM out at 650 ft and rolls out near 140 ft, with an orange-and-white checkerboard.
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Fix: Aircraft Stay on the Tarmac
Fly Kai Tak ground fix: arrivals leave the runway by a link taxiway, every aircraft keeps its wheels on the tarmac, and the grass is off limits.
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New: a landing lesson for first-time pilots
Fly Kai Tak now has a Landing lesson: a coach panel walks first-time pilots through the Runway 13 IGS approach in nine steps with live meters and plain-language tips.
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A map toggle with live aircraft
Fly Kai Tak's corner map now plots the other aircraft live, amber in the air with altitude and grey on the ground, and a Map button or the M key hides it.
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New: take off from Runway 31 in free flight
Fly Kai Tak free flight now starts on Runway 31 as well as Runway 13, with Runway 31 radio calls, mirrored airport traffic and a climb out over Kowloon City.
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New: a take-off lesson for first-time pilots
Fly Kai Tak now has a Take-off lesson: a coach panel walks first-time pilots through a Runway 13 take-off in eight steps with live meters and plain-language tips.
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Fix: no more false "too low" calls after take-off
Fly Kai Tak fix: the "Too low, gear" and "Too low, flaps" warnings no longer fire on take-off. They need a descent now; the IGS 13 approach is unchanged.
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New: easterly approach to Runway 31
Fly Kai Tak adds a Runway 31 approach: a straight-in final over the sea, through the Lei Yue Mun gap and across Kowloon Bay, with its own lights, PAPI, radio calls, traffic and spotter view.
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Aircraft now turn smoothly on the ground
Fly Kai Tak fix: other aircraft snapped to a new heading at every taxi corner. They now curve through turns, ease their speed and line up on the runway.
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