World's 18 Strangest Airports

NetSpeaker

NetSpeaker

Pre-Flight
Joined
Jun 20, 2008
Messages
40
Location
Pawleys Island, SC
Display Name
Display name:
Randy
Interesting article in Popular Mechanics profiling 18 unusual airport configurations around the world, like this one in Gibralter, where traffic signals and railroad-crossing-style bars halt traffic on a busy highway for departing/landing jets:

airports-2-470-0210.jpg


Article at http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/transportation/4346192.html
 
Hope this place isn't prone to tsunamis.

airports-1-470-0210.jpg


I was also surprised they included Denver International. Is is really that strange?
 
Neat Article thanks for posting it. I'm surprised they didn't have the Alton Bay Ice Runway on the list.
 
Greg Bockelman said:
I miss Osaka. It is actually kind of cool flying in there.
Click to expand...

Greg, here's a couple pics from Sep 2006, 777 into Osaka (from my AA777 captain friend). Osaka is truly an engineering marvel.


attachment.php


attachment.php
 

Attachments

  • 090706.jpg
    090706.jpg
    141.5 KB · Views: 186
  • KIX 090906 04711.jpg
    KIX 090906 04711.jpg
    140.3 KB · Views: 187
Greg Bockelman said:
Given the fact that they built that whole new parallel runway, I wonder if that isn't an OWT. And if not, it must not be the issue it is made out to be.
Click to expand...
Not an OWT at all. Actuall fact.

http://www.kiac.co.jp/en/tech/sink/sink3/index.html



But the settlement is slowing down and getting under control, it was just not quite as fast as they would have hoped. It is still being monitored. The 2nd island had been planned for a while. There has been some changes to the design to help factor in what was learned from the first island settlement. But even though the first island is sinking a tad faster than hoped the original design plans had counted upon unequal settlment in the designs of buildings.
 
Last edited:
TangoWhiskey said:
Fascinating site. Thanks for the link.
Click to expand...
It was or rather is quite the engineering feat. There are TV shows that document the building of this and they are very cool. Probably you could find one on Hulu.com.

The earthquake proofing of the building is interesting too. Special challenges because the soil is changing as settlement occurs.
 
smigaldi said:
It was or rather is quite the engineering feat. There are TV shows that document the building of this and they are very cool. Probably you could find one on Hulu.com.

The earthquake proofing of the building is interesting too. Special challenges because the soil is changing as settlement occurs.
Click to expand...

They certainly "thought of a lot"; what you always wonder (as do they, I imagine) in extreme engineering challenges -- space travel, underwater biodomes, man-made islands -- is "what did we NOT think of".
 
Easily the longest terminal I've been in. Not much in the way of amenities though (food, shops, etc...). Maybe I was just to tired to notice...

Brian
 
TangoWhiskey said:
I thought #17 was interesting. Can you imagine taxiing in or out over that water bridge to the main terminal on the island?

In low visibility, that'd be interesting. Gotta hope somebody doesn't take the wrong side and you come nose-to-nose with another aircraft. No room to turn around!

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/transportation/4346192.html?page=9

airports-17-470-0210.jpg
Click to expand...

That is a pretty cool place too.

My last trip to Macau was via Hong Kong and a ferry but my hotel room over looked the airport. That was the trip where we hit by typhoon. There were actually a couple of the big jets on the ramp during that storm. I could not see them when the worst of it hit, but in the morning they were still there.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top