Originally Posted by
FlyingDentist
I had similar feelings in 1995 when I first went to HKG. I'm sure the plane caught a few washing lines on the way down through the sky scrapers.
By that time the construction at Chep Lap Kok was in full swing. A friend of mine's father was one of the very senior engineers (or maybe the actual big boss, I can't remember) for the new airport project so she arranged for us to go out and have a look at the site. Grand Designs on a grand, international scale!
Does anyone know if there are any documentaries about the Chep Lap Kok airport building project anywhere?
Oh it was a pain actually. We were working on it which meant visiting regularly, and they were using the airfield area for storage of materials. Just as you thought you'd worked out the road system, tonnes of materials would be dumped in the middle of them, and you'd be back at square one trying to get from one end to the other end. Still, I did spend one afternoon walking across the runways, and I saw some of the first test flights on it occurring. CAA must have loved doing those!
As a result of working on that project, I did the Kai Tak approach rather a lot before it closed!