Hong Kong, SAR - Once, one of the busiest and most acclaimed airports in aviation, Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong (VHHX), has reopened its doors once again to passenger and cargo service... at least in the virtual world of flight simulation.
9Dragons, originally began by Marcus Thompson (aka 'Clutch' on most forums), as just a way to improve the look of the passenger terminal for his own personal flying pleasure, grew into a three year journey to recreate the entire Hong Kong area. With fellow modelers, Frabrizio 'Simbiosi' Pascucci and Eddie Chan, they developed the airport, Kowloon, Hong Kong and approximately 800 square miles of hi-resolution and lo-resolution photoreal textures for both day time and night time operation.
Quoting 9Dragons project manager "Clutch Cargo", "This year will mark the 10th anniversary of the closure of Kai Tak, yet the airport remains just as popular as when it was the 3rd busiest passenger airport and 2nd busiest cargo terminal in the world. We felt we had an obligation to our fellow simmers to try and create a rendition of this icon in its heyday, good enough where pilots could test their flying skills in surroundings which would heighten their experience when trying to land on infamous runway 13. However, this being our very first attempt at creating scenery, we weren't sure if we could pull this off."
Interesting features include custom Gmax buildings of the terminal, HACTL cargo and HAECO maintenance facilities, Chek Lap Kok airport shown under construction, over 5,500 custom hand-created and placed autogen and a fully working curved IGS 'Checkerboard' Approach system. Designed for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004, it is a free download available here at FlightSim.Com. Additional information, screen shots and promotional videos may be seen at: http://www.milehighproductions.com/
