Adelaide's airport really isn't too close to the city.

[monotonehell]

No seriously...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PCOcyt7BPI

Hong Kong's Kai Tak Airport, one of the World's busiest passenger airports was finally retired in 1998. But not before over 29 million passengers a year passed through its gates. Nestled in a cauldron formed by high rise and mountains. The high rise was so close passengers could regularly see into the apartments at the same level and make eye contact with the residents.

The approach involved a 47 degree turn at about 100m above the runway and then align with the strip. You can see in the video that crosswinds meant they also had to regularly come in "sideways" and turn just at touchdown. Let's see a computer do that! (maybe they did?)

[AG]

That piece of land has an amazing history, and hopefully also a big future ahead of it. There were a lot of accidents which involved planes overshooting the runway, or crashing into the hills on landing or take off. It was built in the mid-1920s and extended during Japanese occupation in WWII using stone from the old demolished Kowloon Walled City (which itself also has an amazing history). The land on which Kai Tak Airport currently sits has been valued at between US$25 billion and US$40 billion, making it the most valued piece of unused land in the world. It's currently being converted into a new district with a cruise terminal, stadium as well as for housing and commercial uses. One of the new train lines currently in planning in Hong Kong is also expected to pass the northern part of the district when it is built.

[SRW]

That's amazing! It's fascinating to see the pilots really having to pilot these huge planes and just how much air traffic was part of the urban environment. I wonder if there's anywhere left like that it the world?

[Wayno]

I wonder if there's anywhere left like that it the world?

Wellington airport is/was another tricky one - unsure if it's been redesigned in recent years...