Low-flying memories

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-03-17 10:47

A drawing from Sung's cartoon book Chatting to Myself.

Its military use made it a key target for the Japanese who attacked Hong Kong on December 8, 1941, several hours after they bombed Pearl Harbor.

After the war, Kai Tak quickly resumed civil operations and three major expansions occurred during the 1940s, 1950s and 1970s.

Before each development, reviews were undertaken and it was deemed most economical to further develop the existing airport rather than build a new one.

Sung says the staggered and prolonged process of expansion gave Kai Tak its unique identity and also reflects Hong Kong's pragmatic character.

"Unlike airports in Paris, Berlin and other major cities, Kai Tak didn't have a fixed architectural style, be it Art Deco, Bauhaus, or whatever," he says.

"For its successive designers and builders, the paramount issue was not to make a statement that could last, but rather, to come up with solutions for the problems at hand. As a result, they never looked beyond the next 10 years.

"This kind of flexibility and pragmatism is at the core of the success story that is Hong Kong."

In 1958, Runway 13/31 was officially opened. The numbers refer to the orientation of the southeast-northwest runway as 134/313 degrees true, 136/316 degrees magnetic.

The 3,400m runway jutted directly into the Victoria Harbor at one end.

The runway's fame or notoriety, depending on one's interpretation, grew because it gave pilots and passengers one of the most hair-raising landing experience in the world.

Before landing, the plane had to pass over densely populated areas in Kowloon at low altitude.

The pilot first steered directly at a mountain rock face before spotting the "checkerboard", which was an orange and white pattern painted on the slope of the hill.

This pattern served as a visual navigation aid before the pilot made a sharp 47-degree right turn to align with the runway.

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