We will not use the modern Chek Lap Kok airport, but my favorite Kai Tak. Although the Tu-114 is huge, among the modern heavies, its size looks modest

 

 

Originally I planned to fly to Almaty directly, but then I had second thoughts and decided to make a stop-over in Bhutan

 

The Tupolev has an amazing cruising speed of around 400 knots

 

 

Flying over Hong Kong is always a feast

 

 

Deep in Southern China, we pass Laibin

 

Below us is Tezpur in Assam, India, favored for its tea and picturesque landscape

 

The Himalaya comes finally into sight

 

And now the interesting part starts: landing this beast in Paro, Bhutan

 

Paro Airport is 1.5 miles above sea level and surrounded by deep valleys and sharp peaks of up to 18,000ft tall

 

With a runway just 6,500 ft long, Paro is considered one of the world’s most difficult airports for takeoffs and landings. The approach is fairly complicated and can only be flown visually with no sight of the runway until the last moment

 

 

 

 

Planes have to weave through dozens of houses that are scattered across the mountainside - coming within feet of clipping the roofs.

 

 

 

 

As usual, the airstairs are too short for the Tupolev

 

And tomorrow we’ll have another challenge: getting out of Paro again

Great pictures Bernd, and I'm looking very forward to the next leg. With a Tu-114 to Paro - it seems the Tupolev collects a new record to those already broken.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_Tu-114#World_records

Love the spectacular Hong Kong skyline and busy international airport scenes....press on into the Taklimakan Desert!

 

HLJAMES

Great shots and scenery!

Impressive shots of Hong Kong.

Thanks a lot, gents. I am glad that you like them. Hong Kong really is a great place to fly around. I enjoy it every time, as it brings back fond memories.