The Sport of Kings

Some time in the next hour, somewhere in the world, a large jet aircraft is going to land in a crosswind.  It will probably go fine - these are well-designed airplanes, and the pilots are highly skilled.  It sure is fun to watch, though (my favorite starts at 1:31):



Pleasant enough, but we were deprived of significant entertainment when they closed Hong Kong's Kai Tak Airport.  Kai Tak had nice, steady crosswinds and a famously hairy approach.  Best familiarize yourself with the pattern before we begin - mistakes lead into hills or apartment buildings.  Here is an in-cockpit view of the correct procedure.  Remember:  when you see the checkerboard - TURN RIGHT!  When you exit the turn you'll be 140 feet or so off the ground.  Then you can land.

Here's how it looked from the checkerboard:



Easy-peasy.  Ok, now try it in a big crosswind.  A JAL pilot demonstrates:



And here's a 777 making some last-minute adjustments:



In 1998 they built a shiny new airport, making Hong Kong a lot safer, but also (*sniff*) a little poorer, too.