History · Scenery & Weather
Lion Rock and Kai Tak
The peak behind Kowloon, built from real terrain data, and what it does to your approach.
Look north from Kai Tak and the horizon is a wall of green hills. The highest peak in that wall is Lion Rock. Fly Kai Tak builds it from real elevation data, so the ridge you see from the runway, the approach and the air is the real shape of the land behind Kowloon.
The wall behind Kowloon
Lion Rock stands about 3 km north of the Runway 13 threshold. From above Kowloon Bay you can see how the land climbs away from the dense streets of Kowloon straight into the ridge, with Lion Rock the central peak and the hills running on either side.
Real terrain, not a backdrop
The hills are not a painted picture. The terrain comes from SRTM elevation data with the building bumps filtered out, draped with the Lands Department aerial imagery. The sim's own ground at Lion Rock tops out at about 420 m, and the slopes are steep enough to show the gullies and the bare rock on the upper face.
Where it shows up on the approach
On the IGS 13 approach you fly heading 088 toward the checkerboard on the hill at Kowloon Tsai. Lion Rock and the ridge stay off the left wing the whole way, then drop behind you as you make the 47° right turn toward Runway 13. The hills are your reference for how close the land is, and they frame the turn.
Hit the high ground and the crash report names the hill: fly into the slope near Lion Rock and it reads "Flew into Lion Rock". Hit the ground short of the runway and it reads that instead.
Weather and night
The ridge is the first thing the weather takes away. In low cloud the hills disappear completely and the skyline is a grey wall, so you lose the one landmark that tells you where the land is.
At night it is a dark mass above the lights of Kowloon. The city's lit windows end where the slope begins, and above that line there is only black and stars.
Try it
- Pick IGS 13 and watch the left side of the cockpit as you fly toward the checkerboard.
- Switch the weather to low cloud and see how much of the ridge you lose.
- Fly the approach at night, with the glow of Kowloon below the ridge.
由啟德向北望，地平線係一道青綠色嘅山牆，當中最高嗰個山頭就係獅子山。Fly Kai Tak 用真實高度數據砌出佢，所以你喺跑道、進場同空中見到嘅山脊，就係九龍後面真實嘅地形。
九龍後面嘅山牆
獅子山企喺 13 跑道跑道頭北面約 3 公里。喺九龍灣上空望過去，可以見到地勢由密密麻麻嘅九龍街道直接升上山脊，獅子山係中間嗰個山頭，兩邊都係連綿嘅山。
真實地形，唔係背景畫
啲山唔係畫出嚟嘅背景。地形用 SRTM 高度數據，已經濾走樓宇凸起，再貼上地政總署嘅航空影像。模擬器入面獅子山最高約 420 米，山坡夠斜，見到山谷同上面嘅裸露岩石。
進場時喺邊度見到
飛 IGS 13 進場，你以航向 088 飛向九龍塘山上嘅棋盤。獅子山同山脊成程都喺左機翼嗰邊，到你向右轉 47° 對正 13 跑道，就跌到後面。啲山係你判斷地面有幾近嘅參考，亦都框住個轉彎。
撞到高地，墜機報告會寫出座山：撞入獅子山附近嘅山坡，會顯示「Flew into Lion Rock」；喺跑道前撞地就會顯示嗰個原因。
天氣同夜晚
天氣第一樣收走嘅就係山脊。低雲嗰陣啲山完全消失，天際線變成一堵灰牆，你就失去咗唯一話你知地面喺邊嘅地標。
夜晚佢係九龍燈光上面一團黑。城市嘅燈窗去到山坡就停，嗰條線上面淨係得黑色同星。
試吓
- 揀 IGS 13，飛向棋盤嗰陣留意駕駛艙左邊。
- 將天氣轉做低雲，睇吓山脊冇咗幾多。
- 夜晚飛進場，睇九龍嘅光喺山脊下面。
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