This is an image from the film Powaqqatsi
Where or what is this image?
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CAAC 707 at Kai Tak This is a shot of a Boeing 707 taking off from the now-demolished Kai Tak Airport in Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong.
It's using runway 13 (heading 134 degrees true), as seen from the buildings of Ngau Tau Kok and the barges in Kwun Tong typhoon shelter, on the plane's port side.
You can tell that it's taking off and not landing both because there's a slight but noticeable upward motion, and because the nose wheel is still spinning. Were it landing, the wheel wouldn't spin until touchdown.
The airline is either CAAC (Civil Aviation Administration of China), or possibly one of its successors, Air China.
CAAC was split into several airlines in 1987, the year before Powaqqatsi's release. Most of its 707s and its international routes were inherited by Air China. It's likely that the CAAC livery lasted some time after the airline was officially dissolved, though, and indeed some flights were still operated as CAAC as late as 1988. (To wit: CAAC flight 301, crashed in Hong Kong in late 1988). Hence, it isn't possible to determine the airline with certainty without knowing the filming date.
Nor is it possible to determine which specific aircraft this was, as no registration markings can be seen, and CAAC owned around two dozen aircraft of this specific type. | Michael T. | Knoxville, TN |