Aviation aficionados around the world have watched the videos and they've seen the photos of the infamous checkerboard approach onto RWY 13 at the old Hong Kong International Airport, aka Kai Tak (VHHX). Thankfully, FlyTampa released a detailed version of the old airport allowing the legacy to live in the flight sim world. And, the Hong Kong VATSIM division continues to support arrivals and departures into the legacy field and they certainly did not disappoint on our recent Nutter flight from Sydney, Australia.
Flying into Kai Tak takes extra preparation since for all intents and purposes, Kai Tak doesn't exist anymore. The various flight planners no longer recognize VHHX as a destination airport and the AIRAC cycles no longer have the approaches for the airport. But, the older Navigraph information has been kept in tact and a manual install allows the information to be be selected during the flight, including the infamous IGS (Instrument Guidance System approach). And, here it is for your viewing pleasure. This is one of those approaches that needs to be flown manually and after a long, routine flight in the skies, we were all about to experience the
excitement and rush of the landing....all for about 3 minutes :-)
The Nutters, aka yours truly, Flightsim Hobby, Danish, Wiki, Matt, and Chris met up at Kingsford International Airport in Sydney, Australia for the long journey north. Yes, that darn time zone thingy made for a late night for me but I would be taking a cruise break on this flight to help with my sanity. The international gates were packed at YSSY and for this flight, the following airlines would be represented: Japan Air, Cathay Pacific, China Airlines (the best callsign out there...Dynasty) and American. Since I wasn't able to use my normal flight planner to load the flight plan, I had to manually enter the flight plan into the MD-11's FMC. Normally, I just click a button and the flight plan segments are loaded into the FMC. The only thing needed to enter is normally the departing runway, SID, arrival runway, STAR, and some other parameters regarding the flight. Clearance was obtained from the Sydney tower and after the flight preparation, the Nutters were beginning to push back and taxi to RWY 16R for the DEENA5 departure.
We quickly settled into our cruise phase of flight and we were looking at an 8.5-9 hour flight to Kai Tak. After about two hours, I allowed my virtual flight crew to take control of JAL107 while I took a four hour cruise break. Upon return, I found my aircraft bouncing around the virtual skies over the Philippines with turbulence and lightning flashes in the cockpit. Manila Center was still on-line so I logged back into VATSIM and made contact with a very busy controller who was vectoring aircraft throughout the airspace. By this time, our arrival was getting close and in two hours, we would all be descending into Hong Kong for the arrival. I think it is safe to assume that nobody was expecting ATC coverage in Hond Kong due to the late hour. But, we were fortunate to have Hong Kong center along with a tower controller at VHHX to guide us into the airspace. The controllers did a great job and as is usual, made the experience that much better and memorable.
Hong Kong Center began providing descent instructions which stepped us all down from our cruising altitude for an initial flight level of 250. Then, it was direct to the CHEUNG CHAU VOR (CH) with a descent to 8,000 feet. Fortunately, the FMC in the MD-11 had the approach perfectly plotted with the appropriate speeds and altitudes. And, the weather wasn't bad during the approach which allowed us to take in the sights as we buzzed over the numerous office buildings and apartment buildings toward the "checkerboard." This was my first time flying into Kai Tak so I wasn't aware that our approach would take us over the new Hong Kong Airport. Had I known that, I would have activated my Taxi2Gate Hong Kong scenery but this blog only shows the default scenery as I flew over top.
Before I knew it, I was given permission to begin my approach toward RWY 13 from the CH VOR. Things began to happen quickly all while listening to the other Nutters landing on the runway, completing the task of the RWY 13 IGS approach. The checkboard was soon in sight and the large MD-11 was configured for the famous right turn. I disconnected the autopilot and auto throttle before banking the plane to the right. The MD-11 is surprisingly agile, especially with a lighter fuel load and my throttle control wasn't the best but I managed to touch down on the centerline with an acceptable landing. And yes, anything is good as long as you aren't sliding off into the ocean at the end of the runway. Graham was turning final while I taxied to gate 3 and I had a nice view of his right turn at the checkerboard.
And then, it was over as the final Nutter made the approach into the infamous Kai Tak Airport. A great flight to be sure and thanks for following along. Until next time........
Griff
Add-Ons Used:
FSX with DirectX 10 Enabled
PMDG MD-11
FlyTampa YSSY (Kingsford, Sydney Airport)
FlyTampa VHHX (Kai Tak, Hong Kong Airport)
Active Sky Next
REX Textures and Soft Clouds
VATSIM
Orbx Global
FSDreamTeam Ground Services
And, enjoy the video of a real world 747 landing at Kai Tak
747 Kai Tak Approach
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