VHHH · IGS 13 · 1998
The Fly Kai Tak blog
New features, bug fixes and notes from the Kai Tak approach.
Posts by category
Aircraft7
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.
Read the post →Flying & Procedures6
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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The checkerboard turn: flying the IGS 13 approach
How the famous Runway 13 IGS approach into Kai Tak works in Fly Kai Tak: the 088° course, the checkerboard on the hill, the 47° right turn over Kowloon City and the landing grade.
Read the post →Scenery & Weather9
Apron taxi lines and numbered stands
Fly Kai Tak's apron now has yellow taxi lines, numbered stands, red stand boxes and service road lines, and the other aircraft taxi along them.
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New: Plane Spotter on Runway 31
Fly Kai Tak Plane Spotter now has a Runway 31 mode: arrivals over Lei Yue Mun, departures toward Kowloon City, and a Lei Yue Mun spectator view.
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New: ground vehicles on the Kai Tak apron
Fly Kai Tak adds airport ground vehicles: buses, catering trucks that lift to the door, baggage tractors with loaded carts, container and box freight trucks, and fire tenders at a fire station.
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New: giant billboards and neon over Kowloon
Fly Kai Tak now has 1990s-style giant floodlit billboards on Kowloon rooftops and roadsides, plus glowing neon signs. Brands are invented; no real logos.
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Plane spotter viewpoints: the car park roof and the Peak
The history of two Kai Tak plane spotting viewpoints, the airport car park roof and the Peak, and how to watch from both in Fly Kai Tak's Plane Spotter mode.
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The Peak Tram, the Peak Lookout and a view from the Peak
Fly Kai Tak adds the Peak Tram, the Peak Lookout and a Spectator: The Peak view, alongside Ocean Park's cable car between the Waterfront and the Summit.
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Landmarks tour, plus Ocean Park and Happy Valley
A tour of the Hong Kong landmarks in Fly Kai Tak, with screenshots, plus the new Ocean Park amusement park and Happy Valley Racecourse.
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