Aviation Specials – May 2018

HONG KONG KAI TAK

46 // Extreme Airports

At this point it’s worth explaining Kai

Tak’s instrument guidance system,

commonly referred to as the IGS. Many

airports have instrument landing systems

(ILS) which provide approach guidance

to pilots. The ILS delivers data to primary

fl ight display screens on the instrument

panel, which enables the crew to ensure

the aircraft is at the correct height and

on track. An aircraft can be fl own almost

to touchdown using the ILS, without the

pilots having to look through the windows.

However, Kai Tak didn’t have an ILS

on Runway 13 because the approach

demanded a low-level 47o right-hand

turn shortly before touchdown – fl ying

a straight-in wasn’t possible due to the

mountainous terrain and tall buildings

northwest of the airfi eld. But aircraft had

to land in poor visibility, so the experts

came up with the unique IGS. To all

intents and purposes it was the same

as an ILS, except that it guided us pilots

to the point where we had to start that

right turn, 2.2 miles from the end of the

runway and 675ft above it. At that point

we passed over the middle marker (MM)

navigation beacon and had to be visual

with the runway. If we couldn’t see it we

had to abandon the approach and give

it another try, or divert to an alternate

airport. The minima were much higher

than most other airports we fl ew to –

understandably so though, as the tower

blocks were just below us and there was

ground up to 2,500ft ahead, 3,500ft to the

north, and 3,000ft to the south. Having

four engines gave us the most latitude.

The minima for twins diff ered depending

on their missed approach climb gradient,

which addressed performance limitations

if an engine was lost after commencing

ABOVE: The

aeronautical

plates for Kai Tak

provide a good

illustration of the

complexity of the

approach.

BELOW: It was

possible to

catch a glimpse

of jets between

the buildings

on Kowloon

City Road.

(AirTeamImages.

com / Daryl

Chapman)

42-49_Kai Tak.indd 46 11/05/2018 12:29