History
Plane spotter viewpoints: the car park roof and the Peak
Where Kai Tak's spotters stood: the airport car park roof and the Peak, with a little history and how to watch from both in the sim.
Kai Tak was a runway you could watch from the city. Two of the spots in Plane Spotter mode are the roof of the airport car park, where the regulars stood, and the Peak, high above the harbour. Here is what we know about each, and how to find them in the sim.
The car park roof
The multi-storey car park beside the terminal gave spotters a roof with a clear view of the apron and Runway 13. Time, looking back in 2003, described around a hundred spectators on the roof at once, watching the curved approach and applauding the neat landings. The same piece says the official spectators' terrace above the terminal was a poor second, because its glass was thick and dirty.
Spotters did not stay on one roof. The same account mentions Kowloon Tong, where jets turned right over your head near a shopping centre, and Kowloon Tsai Park, which sat under the final approach.
In Plane Spotter mode, the car park roof is the default view. It is the place to watch arrivals land every 100 seconds, with departures rolling in between.
The Peak
The Peak is a different kind of viewpoint: a wide view over the harbour, not an overhead pass. The Peak Tram has been carrying people up the hill since 30 May 1888, the first cable funicular in Asia. The Peak Tower opened in 1972 and was rebuilt in a redevelopment that reopened it in May 1997, a year before Kai Tak closed.
The Peak was also a place to photograph aircraft. One Hong Kong photographer recalled climbing down from Victoria Peak and meeting the actor Chow Yun-fat, who had been photographing the landings at Kai Tak too.
In the sim you stand on the rim of the Peak Tower. Pick Spectator: The Peak from the view menu, or press C to cycle to it.
The last day
Kai Tak closed on 6 July 1998, when Chek Lap Kok opened. By then the airport was handling more than its designed capacity, and the approach had become famous: a 47-degree right turn at about 650 ft towards the checkerboard on the hill, then a descent over apartment blocks.
Try it. Choose Plane Spotter on the start screen, then press C to move between the car park roof, Prince Edward Road, a Kowloon City street, a harbour junk, the checkerboard, the Peak and the tower. Press T to speed up time.
Sources
啟德係一條喺城市入面睇得到嘅跑道。Plane Spotter 模式有兩個觀機位置：機場停車場天台（發燒友長駐嘅地方），同高高在上、俯瞰海港嘅山頂。呢篇講下兩個地方嘅背景，同埋喺模擬器入面點樣搵到佢哋。
停車場天台
客運大樓旁邊嘅多層停車場，天台望到停機坪同 13 號跑道，視野清晰。《時代》雜誌 2003 年回顧時提到，天台上同時有大約一百個觀眾，睇住彎彎曲曲嘅進場，降落漂亮就拍手。同一篇文章亦提到，客運大樓上面官方嘅觀景台反而唔掂，因為玻璃又厚又污糟。
發燒友唔係淨係企喺一個天台。同一篇報道仲提到九龍塘：喺商場附近，客機喺你頭頂轉彎；同九龍仔公園（Kowloon Tsai Park），就喺最後進場航道正下方。
喺 Plane Spotter 模式，停車場天台係預設視角。每 100 秒有一班降落，期間仲有航班起飛，最啱喺度慢慢睇。
山頂
山頂係另一種觀機位置：視野廣闊，望過海港，唔係頭頂掠過嗰種刺激。山頂纜車由 1888 年 5 月 30 日開始載客上山，係亞洲第一條纜索纜車。凌霄閣 1972 年開幕，經重建後喺 1997 年 5 月重開，即係啟德關閉前一年。
山頂都係拍飛機嘅地方。有一位香港攝影師憶述，佢由太平山落嚟嗰陣撞到演員周潤發，原來對方都喺度影啟德降落嘅飛機。
喺模擬器入面，你企喺凌霄閣嘅邊緣。喺視角選單揀 Spectator: The Peak，或者撳 C 轉去就得。
最後一日
啟德喺 1998 年 7 月 6 日關閉，赤鱲角機場同日啟用。當時機場處理嘅客量已經超過設計容量，而進場程序亦已經馳名：喺大約 650 呎高度向右急轉 47 度，朝住山上嘅棋盤，再飛過成片住宅大廈降落。
試吓。喺開始畫面揀 Plane Spotter，然後撳 C 轉換位置：停車場天台、太子道、九龍城街道、海港帆船、棋盤山、山頂同控制塔。撳 T 可以加快時間。
資料來源
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