2.
TUESDAY, MAY 28, 1974
+IN THE LONG TERM THIS COULD HAVE AN EFFECT ON THE COST OF CARRIAGE FROM HONG KONG. ARTICULARLY FREIGHT CHARGES BY CHARTERED AIRCRAFT, AND THIS COULD MAKE OUR GOODS THAT MUCH MORE COMPETITIVE. IT IS PERHAPS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT ABOUT 18 PER CENT BY VALUE OF ALL OUR EXPORTS GO BY AIR, AND THEREFORE WE MUST PRESERVE OUR COMPETITIVE POSITION WITH OUR NEIGHBOURS.+
THE EXTENSION OF THE RUNWAY PROMONTORY ALSO PROVIDES FOR A HIGH SPEED TURNOFF TO AN AIRCRAFT MARSHALLING AREA, HE WENT ON.
+AIRCRAFT LANDING TOWARDS THE SOUTH-EAST WILL BE ABLE TO TURN OFF THE RUNWAY AT MUCH HIGHER SPEEDS THAN THEY DO AT PRESENT AND THIS WILL INCREASE THE CAPACITY OF THE RUNWAY AS A WHOLE.
+THE MARSHALLING AREA ITSELF WILL ENABLE CONTROLLERS TO SEQUENCE AIRCRAFT DEPARTING TO THE NORTH-WEST SO THAT A FASTER AIRCRAFT CAN BYPASS A SLOWER ONE ON THE GROUND, RATHER THAN BE FACED WITH THE COMPLICATION OF OVERTAKING IT IN THE AIR.
+THIS ABILITY WILL HELP TO EXPEDITE AND SIMPLIFY THE FLOW OF AIR TRAFFIC FROM HONG KONG,+ HE EXPLAINED.
•
MR. DOWNING SAID THE EXTENDED RUNWAY WILL ALSO PROVIDE A MEASURE OF RELIEF FROM THE AIRCRAFT TAKING OFF TOWARDS THE NORTHWEST, THEY WILL START THEIR TAKE OFF RUN ABOUT HALF A MILE FURTHER AWAY FROM KOWLOON, AND THIS WILL MEAN THAT THEY COULD BE AS MUCH AS 300 FEET HIGHER IN PASSING OVER KOWLOON CITY.
+THIS WOULD GIVE A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN NOISE LEVEL.+
IN THE CASE OF AIRCRAFT LANDING OVER KOWLOON, THE REDUCTION OF THE NOISE LEVEL WILL BE HARDLY NOTICEABLE, AS AIRCRAFT WILL BE ONLY SOME 300 FEET OR SO HIGHER THAN THEY ARE AT PRESENT.
+THE TUNNEL ROAD FEEDING KWUN TONG CUTS ACROSS THE NORTHWEST END OF THE RUNWAY, AND THIS WILL MEAN THAT ABOUT A THOUSAND FEET OF THE TOTAL LENGTH OF RUNWAY WILL BE LOST ALMOST AS SOON AS THE EXTENSION IS FINISHED, + HE ADDED.
+IT SHOULD TAKE ABOUT ONE YEAR FOR THE TUNNEL CUTTING ACROSS THE RUNWAY TO BE COMPLETED AND THE RUNWAY RESTORED TO ITS ORIGINAL CONDITION. DURING THIS PERIOD ABOUT 1,000 FEET OF THE EXTENDED RUNWAY WILL BE LOST.
+NONETHELESS, OPERATING CONDITIONS WILL BE CONSIDERABLY IMPROVED OVER WHAT THEY ARE AT PRESENT,+ MR. DOWNING SAID.
NOTE TO EDITORS:
CONSORTIUM EXPECTED TO SUBMIT
DETAILED DESIGNS ON MTR IN DUE COURSE
XXXX
COMMENTING ON A REPORT IN AN ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER ABOUT SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE MASS TRANSIT RAILWAY, A GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN SAID THAT THE MASS TRANSIT RAILWAY PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY HAD HEARD NOTHING FROM THE CONSORTIUM ABOUT THIS MATTER. THE AUTHORITY HAD NO REASON TO BELIEVE THAT THE REPORT WAS BASED ON THE CORRECT FACTS.
•
THE REQUIRED PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATIONS OF THE RAILWAY WITHIN THE CEILING PRICE OF $5,000 MILLION HAVE BEEN SENT TO THE CONSORTIUM OVER THE PAST MONTHS. THE CONSORTIUM IS KNOWN TO BE WORKING ON THESE SPECIFICATIONS AND WILL PROVIDE THE PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY WITH DETAILED DESIGNS AND PROPOSALS IN DUE COURSE.
+
RECEIVED. REGISTRY No. el
.9 APR 1974
HKK 216
12
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 1974
GROOVING OF RUNWAY TO START NEXT MONTH
******
WORK ON GROOVING KAI TAK RUNWAY IS EXPECTED TO START SHORTLY TO ENSURE GREATER SAFETY FOR AIRCRAFT LANDING, THE HON. JAMES ROBSON, SECRETARY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, SAID TODAY.
REPLYING TO A QUESTION BY THE HON. SZETO WAI IN LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL MR. ROBSON SAID THAT TENDERS FOR THE GROOVING PROJECT HAD BEEN RECEIVED ON MARCH 29 AND HE HOPED THAT A CONTRACT WOULD BE AWARDED TODAY SO THAT WORK COULD START NEXT MONTH.
+IN THIS EVENT THE ENTIRE RUNWAY SHOULD BE GROOVED BY THE END OF AUGUST,+ HE SAID.
MR. ROBSON EXPLAINED THAT DANGER TO AIRCRAFT LANDING DURING HEAVY RAIN WAS NOT ONLY POSED BY SLIPPERINESS, BUT ALSO BY +AQUA PLANING+ THAT IS, A FILM OF WATER BUILDING UP BETWEEN THE TYRES OF THE AEROPLANE AND THE SURFACE OF THE RUNWAY SO THAT THERE IS NO DIRECT CONTACT BETWEEN THEM, WITH A SUBSEQUENT LOSS OF FRICTION AND BRAKING POWER.
J
THE CUTTING OF SHALLOW GROOVES ON THE RUNWAY SURFACE CAN HELP TU PREVENT AQUA PLANING BY BREAKING UP THE FILM OF WATER, AND PROVIDING A RUUGH SURFACE FOR BETTER BRAKING PERFORMANCE, HE SAID.
GROOVING HAD BEEN CARRIED OUT ON THE RUNWAY IN 1971, BUT THESE GROOVES WERE OVERLAYED LAST YEAR BY A STRENGTHENING LAYER OF BITUMINOUS MATERIAL, WHICH MUST BE ALLOWED TO SETTLE BEFORE IT COULD BE GROOVED. GRIT BLASTING AND OTHER METHODS HAD BEEN TRIED OUT ON A SMALL SCALE TO IMPROVE THE SITUATION, BUT THEY PRODUCED LITTLE EFFECT.
+TRIAL GROOVES WERE ALSO CUT AT PERIODIC INTERVALS AND KEPT UNDER ÜBSERVATION TO CHECK WHEN IT WOULD BE POSSIBLE TO START GROOVING, + MR. ROBSON ADDED.
DANGER OF SLIPPERINESS COULD BE REDUCED IF RAIN WATER WAS SHED FROM THE RUNWAY AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. +THIS COULD BE ACHIEVED BY INCREASING THE CROSS FALL OF THE SURFACE OF THE RUNWAY WHICH IN FACT WAS DONE LAST YEAR WHEN THE KAI TAK RUNWAY WAS STRENGTHENED BY LAYING AN ADDITIONAL THICKNESS OF BITUMINOUS MATERIAL OVER THE OLD SURFACE.+
MR. ROBSON SAID THAT AQUA PLANING COULD ALSO BE AVOIDED BY PROVIDING A LONGER LENGTH OF RUNWAY.
TWO EXTENSIONS WERE COMPLETED AT THE KAI TAK RUNWAY LAST YEAR, GIVING AN EXTRA 500 FEET OF EFFECTIVE RUNWAY SURFACE, AND PROVIDING A SIGNIFICANT MARGIN OF SAFETY AGAINST OVERRUN TYPE ACCIDENTS.
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