Ah, landing at Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong used to be the life. From 1925 to 1998 it was the only airport with access to Hong Kong. Landing on Runway 13 always provided entertainment for the pilot and folks on the ground, but probably a lot of fear for those sitting in the back of the aircraft.
Today I am sharing four videos high lighting how exciting landing with large aircraft at Kai Tak Airport used to be. However, in 1998 a new airport was opened, Hong Kong International Airport and Kai Tak was closed.
VIDEO1: Shown above, shows a Japan Air Lines Boeing 747 Freighter from the ground landing at Kai Tak Airport
VIDEO2: Shows from the city how the large aircraft looked flying over.
VIDEO3: Takes a look at the approach from the cockpit
I never had the opportunity to land at Kai Tak, anyone else care to share their stories in the comments?
Hartsfield’“Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) is the busiest airport in the world. Yet, they don’t have a heck of a lot of large aircraft flying in and out. You might catch an Air France Boeing 747-400 or Lufthansa Airbus A340, but you will mostly see smaller Delta Air Lines aircraft, like the Boeing 767 down to regional jets. This video was shot from the balcony of my hotel room while down in Atlanta last week. Originally it was about 15 minutes long, but sped it up 700%. Check out that DC-10 being towed near the end.
While I was hanging out with United Airlines at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) a while back, I was invited to go on top of the old FAA tower to get one of the best views of the airport. Words can’t really describe it, nor can photos, so I took a video.
United uses the top part of the tower to guide their aircraft from the gate to the taxi way and back.
Be sure to check the Qantas Airbus A380 parked off to the side.
Boeing 787 Dreamliner undergoes fatigue testing at Paine Field. Photo from Boeing
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner has started it’s fatigue testing. The fatigue test frame might look like a crazy construction rig, but think of it more like a time machine.
The fatigue rig will put the Boeing 787 through 100,000 simulated flights, which is equivalent to about three times an expect life of the Dreamliner. The best part? It never has to leave the ground.
The fatigue test rig simulates every part of the flight. From the push back at the airport to the arrival at its destination. This process is called a ground-air-ground (GAG) cycle. Boeing has five different GAG cycles that put the aircraft through different simulations, ranging in duration and flight severity.
While the structural test program already has validated the strength of the airframe, fatigue testing looks at long-term, continued use. It allows Boeing engineers to see what will give over time and create inspection techniques for airlines.
“Every kid’s dream is to build something and then try to break it, right?,” asks Peter Brownlow, the fatigue testing conductor for the 787 program. “In essence, that’s what we’re doing. We take an airplane and we try to put it through its paces and try to break it at the end.”
To create this havoc, 100 mechanical devices have been connected to the exterior of the Dreamliner. Engineers in a control room use the devices to mimic actions the 787 will go through.
Boeing told me that they expect the fatigue testing to take about three years. Not bad. Too bad someone can’t earn any frequent flier miles for all those flights!
The music isn’t the best in the world, but the shots of this American Airlines Boeing 777 getting a Rolls Royce engine swapped out is pretty slick. It took them about six hours to swap out this engine and send the aircraft on her way.
Near about the 3:45 mark where they pull the 777 outside and start the engine up, check out how the vapor interacts with it.
