1 Hour of Plane Spotting at HONG KONG KAI TAK (1995)

[@RunwayAction]

Download 6 hours of Kai Tak Airport Action, 2 programs $15 each at shop.justplanes.com/search?q=kai+tak + 1000 other videos!

[@힐만94]

thanks for not adding any bgm in this video... 🥰

[@SleepRelaxingBed]

Anyone else get sad watching this? I feel like this was the peak era for aviation. This video is full of beautiful trijets and widebodies that are no longer in service.

[@ChrisZoomER]

I got sad too, but our hearts shall go on... 😔

[@asifpathan9971]

100%. Trijets, different variants of the 747. Airports were interesting then. Sadly no longer the case

[@DaPlenThing]

I hate how wide body planes just are kind of phasing out they’re so cool they seemed to be so dominant but now it’s all just the little narrow body planes They’re cool but wide bodies are awesome I love seeing all those tri jets

[@Janet_Airlines802]

Fuel was cheap then. The tri engines are replaced with dual, the Concorde couldn’t continue profitably with rising fuel prices. It def was the peak for plane spotting.

[@KevinQ1989]

Yep. The 70s to late 90s was the golden era for trijets and older variants of 747.

[@AlonsoRules]

It is absolutely extraordinary that this airport remained open for as long as it did. A true aircraft carrier.

[@coconutpalm1631]

19:39 There she is, the Legendary 747SP N4522V! This aircraft was severely damaged in 1985 after rolling over and losing 30,0000 feet of altitude, resulting in forces up to 5Gs, much of the horizontal stabiliser being lost and her wings being permanently bent upwards by 2 inches. She was repaired and put back into service but now spends her days in the hot Mexican sun at Tijuana airport, still fully intact but abandoned by her last owner, Global Peace Ambassadors, since 2005.

[@uncaringbear]

It's so nostalgic seeing all these old liveries and classic models. I've only had the privilege of going through Kai Tak once, but it's an experience I'll never forget.

[@jesjes5255]

me too

[@QuicknStraight]

I used to live in an apartment on the hill in Kowloon Tong looking almost straight down the runway, in perfect position to almost be looking down on the planes as they made that final turn at the chequerboard. Stand out of the balcony and watch them all day long!

[@robertjones8667]

This is the best one yet. All those 747s and tri-holers. Amazing!

[@davidcampbell351]

Tri-holer, I like that..

[@SharksSJ408]

I love how Korean still has that same livery after all these years

[@mariocadiziii]

Same with Philippine..

[@Skyteam_8492]

And ANA

[@Joao-kp5xp]

Lufthansa and Qantas

[@HAL-bo5lr]

Yep. Korean Air's livery was kind of ahead of its time.

[@FLEXTAPE234_truly]

@@Joao-kp5xpqantas changed theirs like 7 years ago

[@MadhukeshwaraSNaik]

Back when the a350 wasn't even a sketch on a drawing board

[@totally61306]

fun probably already known fact: the a350 was originally just gonna be the a330neo but singapore ceo said no and made airbus make their own design

[@timkrpan6272]

@@totally61306another fun fact: Airbus wanted to make an A350-800, but it got cancelled because not many airlines wanted to buy it

[@thehonouredone223]

Why are you so against the A350?! It’s a beautiful bird.

[@Spudchucker92]

The A350 is a cool plane 😕

[@InsertGenuineName]

@@thehonouredone223I don’t think this comment has any bad feelings towards the A350, just pointing out how recent the A350 was and how Kai Tak was a relatively long time ago

[@HD_555]

58:19 That was the same KLM B747 Combi that flew into Mount Redoubt volcano in 1989 (KLM flight 867) and survived the incident

[@turbofanlover]

Man, do I ever miss this time. So many awesome birds that we just don't see (or hear) anymore. There are plenty of good birds in the sky today...but they're boring in comparison.

[@HD_555]

Just like video games. They're often Remastered into a new plane to save money. And I HATE it

[@Bombardierr]

A shame that the airport closed down, it had one of the greatest approaches this world has ever seen, especially for an international airport

[@planesandgeographyaremything]

Fr

[@yeetoburrito]

As cool as the approach was, it was probably for the better

[@AlonsoRules]

Kai Tak was a disaster waiting to happen. The new airport is much better and safer and opened probably 20 years too late.

[@zikalokof1challenge414]

@@AlonsoRules Sort of a miracle there was never a bad accident on that approach path in 60+ years of operation

[@o2benaz]

There weren’t any disasters BECAUSE it was so dangerous. Pilots are the first people at the scene of a crash and being alert and aware to the specific dangers of Kai Tak was in everybody’s interests.

[@johanvandyk]

So many 747SPs… So many beautiful old liveries and some of airlines that no longer exist. My favourite is the old SAA, flying Springbok❤

[@HerogMcpe]

6:37 As a Brazilian, I was surprised to learn that the now defunct Varig once operated in Kai Tak.

[@normanriggs848]

Flew, as pilot, on the 747 many many times over the years. Fun airport so long as the wind behaved itself. If not it could be sporting on landing! But, what is the fun of calm winds!! lol

[@britodewagner4436]

Those Varig's MD-11 used to made a insane route. The plane departamento from Rio de Janeiro, with stops at São Paulo Garilhos, Johanesbourg, Bangkok and Hong Kong. What a nice memories! ❤

[@yoyleb1711]

i was never alive to see the golden age of this airport. videos like these give me a glimpse into such an interesting part of aviation history!

[@TinYanWu]

Yeah, me too

[@tomkandy]

9:26 Smol 747! Love the SP, only saw one once in LHR about ten years ago and felt really lucky.

[@Minetaofficialreal]

BABY 747

[@MattCoffeyAviation]

Its crazy how popular the 747 was

[@toyanaydin8248]

I was just thinking this. Travel patterns have changed so much!

[@albertobrasil1344]

6:40 Beautiful landing of Varig MD-11 !!!! Brasil !!!!

[@EK244_EMIRATES]

Kai Tak airport will be legendary forever

[@johnb777300]

啓徳空港懐かしいです。学生の頃、返還前の香港に行ってみたくて二度行きました。

[@Repub_Yt]

At 41:55 there is the Boeing 747-209b (b-1866) of China Airlines which disintegrated in the sky of Taiwan on May 25, 2002, following poor repair.

[@HD_555]

Surprisingly, it flew as much as it did. It could have disintegrated earlier in its lifespan

[@kwakaholic]

Spectacular. Watching these heavies being flown by pilots and not computers, seeing these big airframes turn at low level something akin to an airshow. Just awesome.

[@IRBF]

Man these pilots are good at landing, So smooth in every single shot!

[@arvindvader1363]

An airport right in the middle of the city … offices were just a 20 min cab ride away 😊 … I have spent hours spotting planes from the car park roof. Kai Tak, famous for Checkered Board landing would pause from 11pm to 5am to let residents below the flight path sleep. Watching jumbos land was ultimate … miss Kai Tak a lot 😢

[@Rassalhague2]

Nice to see Varig and Ansett still active back then and flying around the world.

[@jothelegend8923]

35:54 SPECTACULAR view of that JAL 747 🤯

[@jameschen8673]

41:55 B1866 which became B18255 lost in Penghu Taiwan in May 2002 with all souls on board lost.

[@jbrown7403]

I had the pleasure of landing and taking off from Kai Tak back in June 1987. So unique. Probably the highlight of my commercial passenger travels. I wonder if I was onboard one of the United Airlines 747 clips? 😉

[@AaronTheMobileGamer]

Damn bro

[@CaliPlanesFan]

It’s great to see so much old planes while plane spotting and seeing these current airlines with the retro liverys

[@robertdavealonzo]

Great spotting. So many B747 Queen of the Sky aircrafts. Even Philippine Airlines was captured landing B747 here, sadly they had to retire them in favor of the triple 7.

[@DouglasDC10.30]

My dad was a soldier in Hong Kong around the time this was filmed. He lived in an apartment just under the approach!

[@MrJimheeren]

Poor him. That must have sucked

[@JuanRamirez-rs4od]

This is one of your finest videos released by you ever. It was one of the first releases I got back in 1996 (released in VHS as Just Planes International 2). It would be good if you slowly add sharing all the rest of your HKG material which nearly comprised 10 hours in total. Great work!

[@justplanes]

Thank you Juan!

[@kclefthanded427]

That Federal Express Boeing 747-245F has very rare PW JT9D-70A engines. Neat catch at 16:02

[@MrJimheeren]

How do you even know that. Seriously

[@MrJimheeren]

How do you even know that. Seriously

[@PepiCat]

@@MrJimheeren you can just google the registration number at the back of the plane and there are countless websites that will tell you that stuff

[@kclefthanded427]

​@@MrJimheereneven though a few were made, they started off as Seaward World Containership with the smaller engines (JT9D-7J) until the bigger more powerful ones are available later (JT9D-70A). After they went bankrupt, Flying Tigers acquired the planes. And finally Federal Express bought Flying Tigers but with the livery still intact for a while longer. Take a look at the nacelles, they're similar to the DC-10-40s from Japan Airlines with the bigger JT9D-59A but without the smaller winglets resulting as JT9D-70A for the Boeing 747-245F. They only did that for quick interchangeability but with mixed results. They're very hard to find on tape and in pictures that even Avianca ordered a passenger version with very few pictures

[@ekspatriat]

Landed there in 1992 for a week layover before starting a new life in New Zealand. We were the last plane before it was shut because of a tropical storm. Terrifying and brilliant at the same time. Looking out the window at people in their flats.

[@genkishan]

1995 the end of the pre-internet pre-mobile phone era when you had to go to the travel agent or airline to get your ticket and queue at the consulate for your visa, no KZbin videos about the place of your destination but travel guides like the Lonely Planet or The Rough Guide > actually the limited sources of information added more to the excitement, the adventure, I miss those days dearly, felt like the surfer riding the wave, Asia has been at least for me always the ultimate destination. BTW beautiful video, missing traveling in the 90's terribly (sigh)

[@markca8937]

And Lufthansa 747-400 is still flying with its old livery ♥️

[@kclefthanded427]

Back when Emirates was a small airline

[@tomtalker2000]

One of THE HARDEST airports to land at. Great plane spotting from a top the buildings though. That turn in every plane had to do before straightening out and landing made it special.

[@SC-sf8xt]

Was a "target on a hillside"

[@purrple.shadows]

To a non-pilot it looks hard but to the pros it was normal.

[@dana.q2447]

59:34 Garuda Indonesia... ...and Kai Tak I think was the one and only the extremely manuver for landing...

[@CharlyBaby77]

Nice to see the old liveries.

[@worldaviation4k]

*i went back to film there, there checker board is still there and you should be able to touch it, I forget but I was right close up to it. There was still parts of the runway there at the end of the cruise terminal*

[@bwoolno]

Flew into Kai Tak (passenger) in 1988 on a Qantas 747 . Unreal . I flew into Kai Tak in a real 737-800 simulator a few years ago . Of course there was an instructor in the right seat guiding me . Bloody difficult and nerve wracking

[@LokiChristchurchaviation]

11:26 that gave me flashbacks of aeroflot flight…

[@ytsui0]

I am amazed at the fact that this little airport (with only 1 runway!) in 1996 had an annual passenger volume of 29.5 million. In contrast, the current Hong Kong International Airport with 3 runways only served passenger volume of 34 million in the past 12 months.

[@lukasmihara]

Still recovering from Covid. Chek Lap Kok had >70 million passenger movements in 2019

[@22k_LOL]

There was many reasons why Kai Tak shutdown. It was creating lots of pollution in the surrounding city, it was also not able to handle to growing air traffic, and also is was difficult to fly the approach into Kai Tak.

[@user-yo8ab1ys9e]

So much beautiful 747. I miss flying on them. After all it was very exciting in the past.

[@geoffreylee5199]

Great parade of Boeing 747s and others DC10s any L1011s? Will see!

[@DaesoTheOne]

39:10

[@JUSTENization]

Love and missed that classic China Airlines lively since the early 1970 ❤

[@Gamerguy-501]

Kai Tak needs to comeback!!!! Those iconic approaches over the city to where suddenly the runway popped out of nowhere so fast, was ultimately a reason this airport received a ton of love and attention! The quick reaction those pilots needed to have on approach is insane to believe

[@tiax0340]

As much as Id love for it to come back, its probably for the best if it doesnt, it was a disaster waiting to happen

[@HD_555]

20:00 That MD-11 was very similar to the other HB-IWF (i.e. Swissair 111)

[@CaliPlanesFan]

50:54 Asiana Airlines Retro Livery Is Awesome

[@jonlim1396]

This is awesome

[@justplanes]

Thank you Jon!

[@bentleybrabec]

3:18 3:24 747s are my favorite to watch

[@bertjilk3456]

Back when airliners didn't all look the same, and Hong Kongers still enjoyed freedom.

[@MrJimheeren]

How is being ruled by a small island 1000th of miles away from you being free. Nobody likes being a colony

[@Nae395]

The glory days. The centre of the world. What a place.

[@bobgriffith1810]

Lived there in the 80s additionally travelled in/out of HK for 30 plus years, we called it the manhattan of Asia,, my wife loved it as did I,, I miss it as it was,, great city .

[@Nae395]

@@bobgriffith1810 absolutely mate.

[@Nae395]

@roadieman209 so true. So true.

[@ThomasthetrainspotterYT]

17:38 There is a Garuda Indonesia DC 10?!

[@Indianmen234]

It’s a dc 10

[@ThomasthetrainspotterYT]

@@Indianmen234 oh sorry

[@dana.q2447]

Some people said that Merpati Airlines (Indonesian commercial plane too) ever visited Kai Tak but I can't search the document about it...

[@bigseanontop9438]

It’s a Md11 because it has middle gear

[@KahanuErmeyas-Tulu]

@@bigseanontop9438No it isn’t. It’s a DC-10-30.

[@FlyDriveawsome]

Stunning to watch! Best approach ever!🎉 So much has changed in just 30 years!

[@modedesah4016]

I miss Garuda Indonesia in the 90s because the bird logo on the tail was more dashing

[@beejwestner1056]

This is the kai tak heart attack! OMG, heard about it for so long and this is it!!!! Wish it was still here 😢

[@beejwestner1056]

Btw, did someone actually have a myocardial infarction on arrival which gave it the name?

[@miked9958]

great video !

[@qwerty-o4u3u]

as a kid with a dad that is cantonese and a whole family that speaks cantonese, i aprove of this, such a shame this airport closed.😐👍👍👍👍👍👍💯💯💯💯💯😥😥😥😥

[@parischarley8956]

Que de magnifiques souvenirs Landings et Takeoffs sur Kai Tak Dont la piste est très courte et la descente au dessus des immeubles pectacle inoubliables . Tous les Pilotes étaient hautement qualifiés par les heures d entraînements en simulateur. Tous disaient on se serre les fesses au landing. Cette vidéo superbe les 747 le plus beau avion de lignes long courriers du siecle.splendides en Landings et takeoffs❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤👍

[@mrchomikguy]

24:25 there she is, the infamous Philippine airlines 747-200! This bird was a gigantic and great living one, it sadly got retired around 2001, but PAL still kept their 747-400s until 2014

[@stevenholt1867]

Great times. White knuckle ride for the 747s.

[@74viation]

sometimes i wish i could just magically teleport into the 90s in hong kong with a friend and watch all these iconic planes takeoff and land.

[@matiasn6533]

The China Airlines 747sp seen at 17:09 almost crashed as flight 006 in 1985 and isn’t the China Airlines 747 seen at 41:56 the same plane that was lost as flight 611?

[@lutfhieazwar1668]

You're right. You have sharp eyes and memory ...

[@Afanofplanes]

The 747sp is indeed flight 6 but the china airlines 747 shown was not flight 611

[@matiasn6533]

⁠@@AfanofplanesThe aircraft here seen is reg. B-1866 and was re-registered as B-18255 in 1999 and was the register of the aircraft used on flight 611 in 2002

[@Afanofplanes]

@@matiasn6533 oh yeahh i forgot it was re registered. Also wouldnt it have been horrific to see its tail section fall off during landing? That would have been terrifying.

[@matiasn6533]

@@AfanofplanesYeah… And we know the fatigue crack was there in the tail section as the plane lands in this video, but those people had no idea that a disaster was waiting to happen

[@Mafcarc]

58:10 The airplane that lost all four engines due to vulcanic ash

[@HD_555]

Papa Hotel- Bravo Foxtrot Charlie also known as KLM 867. And fun fact: between all 747-400s manufactured in 1989, this was the most aged one of them, it continued flying until its sad retirement in 2018

[@epiccatgamer5837]

The perfect alarm clock in the morning

[@insulani]

Quite the show 👍

[@deglecj]

those old varig md-11s look so good

[@ChrisZoomER]

ngl, I teared up while watching this!

[@hogjeg4950]

Excellent!!❤❤

[@higor_alpha_romeo]

6:32 Varig MD-11 💙

[@lucreasia.]

I miss the era when there were many 747 in the sky.

[@MrJimheeren]

I don’t, try living near an airport then we talk

[@TrentonThomas627]

When you like planes it doesn't bother much ​@@MrJimheeren

[@SunsetEnds]

hong kong a magical place

[@coconutpalm1631]

The Singapore 747-400 at 13:27 was built in 1993 and was the 1000th 747 built. She was converted to a BeDek Special Freighter in 2011, yet was scrapped in 2015. This is very strange to me because there are many 747-400 that were converted to BDSF earlier than 2011 and are still in use today. Does anyone know why she was scrapped so soon after conversion? She was only 22 years old at the time.

[@Imlegitthatonedude]

Probably due to cost or replacement.

[@Pz349]

I think is cuz Southern Air tries to replace those 747 with new 777F, which has been proved not a good idea

[@x0_BlueRabbit367_0x]

I am a Hong Konger, and I miss Kai Tak Airport

[@rossginn1171]

Great content,, thanks for sharing.

[@sasasa789789]

miss the atmosphere of this age

[@YourDailyNewspaper]

Why is this suddenly relaxing???

[@ThatAudiGuy23Aviation777]

4:37 A Beautiful Vietnam Airlines 767….

[@ToastedMusic00]

17:12 This 747-sp its stored in Tijuana since 2006. And this aircraft had an incident in 1985

[@CRJ08]

It's sad we lost Kai Tak before HD, and how many airplanes on the video may have crashed…

[@pgilb70]

Pity there's no footage of how close the approach was to housing. Was epic.

[@CaliPlanesFan]

Thanks for my extra second 😂

[@konggg]

Back when aviation was in the golden age: No hard landings No sensitive jokes Smooth landings Cheap prices Amazing service

[@KL-jr5ip]

Diversity, small carriers

[@konggg]

@@KL-jr5ip Yes

[@HD_555]

Aging but enduring aircraft

[@konggg]

@@HD_555 Yes

[@Coldstreamer17]

8:00 that must have hurt..

[@ThatIndianaPlanespotter]

"Ah, those were the good old days" - 13 year old me 💀

[@Pz349]

engines were unique that days too as you can know an aircraft by its noise. Now most engines are identical in nacelle and noise

[@totallynotjadelol]

Approach : Head Towards Hills and Mountain Take a very Sharp turn Be Aligned and Make sure to touchdown late

[@dougmcdonald3662]

Going to Kai Tak was always on my bucket list but I'm only 13 years old.

[@HD_555]

11:28 Not that Aeroflot Airbus a310 that was crashed by a child, right???

[@KahanuErmeyas-Tulu]

Nope, different registration.

[@Benjamin-ib4to]

I was there. 3000 years ago 😢

[@Jim-nt7xy]

I miss flying into Kai Tak.

[@CaliPlanesFan]

42:58 Cathay Pacific a340-300 with the 2000s livery?

[@tommcglone2867]

11:38 Bet the kids wanted to have a go

[@anthonyatuhaire]

41:15 south african lugdiens

[@joeg5414]

17:45 just a little short😬

[@lutfhieazwar1668]

A lot of accidents involving that airline back then, because of that kind of piloting ...