RealityEquation

Google Earth and Tribhuvan Intl. Airport

The default starting position in the hidden flight simulator in version 4.2 of Google Earth is, of all places, runway 02 of Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA/VNKT). The ’simulator’ is really just an interface that lets you fly around satellite imagery and 3D terrain with controls similar to what you’d find in a plane - ailerons, rudder, elevator, flaps, landing gear, with information presented on-screen.

But the words Google, ‘flight simulator’ …

Boeing 787 roll out today, 7-series tribute

I love it when big corporations do nice little things to show they love what they do. You know, like Steve’s ‘One More Thing’ for Apple? Add Boeing to the party.

Boeing yesterday (or today, if you’re in that part of the world) lined up all its 7-series aircraft — the 707 through 777 — and flew them from Paine Field (Everett) to the Boeing Field in Seattle in a …

Austrian Air (OS) & Kathmandu (VNKT)

Austrian Airlines (OS) ended their weekly flights here to Kathmandu Tribhuvan International Airport (VNKT/KTM) on May 17 before I ever got to fly in any of their A340s, or take a decent photograph of the only wide-body Airbus that serviced this airport. No more looking forward to late Thursday nights (Friday, technically), when you could see (but barely) in the dark a huge airliner circling the city, climbing to go over the mountains, …

April Trip: Kathmandu to Bangkok

The coffee in “Coffee’s World” isn’t all that great, but the overwhelming explosion of lights and colours that is the international terminal of Suvarnabhumi International Airport (BKK) means that you really don’t mind. Something else you learn to really not mind is delays in Tribhuvan International (VNKT/KTM). “Delay” is really not the right word, I explained to some Israeli travellers wondering exactly why exactly nobody seemed bothered that they weren’t on board their scheduled Royal …