Tremendous respect for these pilots. They do on a daily basis what is probably one the most dangerous airline job, without the glory and the pay of the big jet boys. Loved your comments too. Not annoying for one bit which is pretty rare these days. Thanks for uploading.
I had the opportunity to fly successfully in and out of Lukla in 2009 when I did the Everest Base Camp trekk. It is truly a dangerous airport with landings and take offs best described as being as dangerous as landing/taking off of an actual carrier. The terrain and location make any attempt at a "go around" should the pilot have to abort near impossible. Hats off to the pilots who brave this flight every day. When we did the trip, the pilots left the cockpit door open so we could get a glimpse of what they saw. I thought they needed to serve drinks to the passengers before they boarded.
These videos of Lukla are just as fascinating as the ones of big airliners landing in various airports. You got to have real guts to both be a pilot and passenger in those planes flying in/out of Lukla.
I have met several Nepalise and every Tuesday there is a market at Aldershot with many there. The elderly ladies wear the clothes they do in Nepal, they are reseved but sometimes a smile gets returned. What I have seen in another video was that the pilots were quite young Nepalise. They make excellent soldiers (one got 3 VC medals) and pilots. A lovely country with lovely people. Thank you for the video, very well done.
Great vid Nicholas! Great vid. Your commentary was excellent. I can feel your love of flight through your words and as you describe the go/no-go points only a pilot could express that as you do. Great stuff!
This airport is so high up that performance is affected. The downhill takeoff actually helps with getting the extra speed through gravity. If the runway was flat, it would have to be twice as long.
Interesting how all the aircraft, though of different makes, are highwing turbine twins, a case of convergent evolution. Thanks for the wonderful vid. I have flown into Katmandu, and within Nepal to visit Tiger Tops, in the late 1970s. I was 13 ... But I remember that we got to travel in a DC-3! It was a gracious, comfortable airliner. Imagine! A radial piston twin! A tail dragger! I wish I could do it again. Kudos to you, to have the stones to fly into Lukla as a passenger.
thanks for your comments. Nepal in the 70s would have been fun. I've never flown in a DC-3 - I must make an effort. Today several airlines using small twins regularly fly into Lukla. Lukla is the starting point of course for the trekkers onwards to Namche & base camp etc. cheers...
It was a grass slope when I was there 1977. Flew in in a Pilatus Porter (single engine) and out eith a Twin Otter. My memory is that the Twin Otter didn’t need all the strip to take off.
Flew that very flight on 9N-AKE a few days back .... the only disconcerting thing was watching them fix it for 3 hours while we waited in the departure "lounge"!
I just subscribed to your channel because it was a great video, well narrated and straight to the point. No rubbish about what you had for breakfast or anything like that. Great job.
In winter1980 I hiked in from Lamasungu about 80 miles away from Lukla. After viewing Everest from Kala Patur I hiked back down to Lukla for the flight back to Kathmandu. The landing area was just a grass field with grazing Yaks.
Hmm...they're really good...even amazing. But unless they're routinely landing on a rolling, pitching deck at night that's moving away around 30 knots and only a few aircraft lengths long, I wouldn't say "best."
