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BC Tam

Sandakan, Sabah

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Najib: Federal govt approves Sandakan airport runway extension

 

 

SANDAKAN: The Federal government has approved the extension of the airport runway here to provide for better international connection to Sabah's east coast gateway
Read more at http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/03/03/najib-federal-govt-approves-sandakan-airport-runway-extension/#T3JWdPvWgmbBFD4L.99
He said an extended runway would help larger aircraft to land in Sandakan.

 

Yes it will :)

 

Anyone else get this feeling election fever is gaining steam of late ? :D

 

Edited by BC Tam

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Perhaps good news for future Sandakan Spotter? As widebody can land there next time.

Edited by GeO

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The terminal may also need upgrading as it can barely handle 2 narrowbody flights at the same time currently. Sometimes there were 3 flights departing at around the same time in SDK - one ATR doing the BKI - SDK - TWU vv sector, 1 either AK/MH doing BKI - SDK vv and 1 from KUL, usually AK.

Edited by Waiping

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The terminal may also need upgrading as it can barely handle 2 narrowbody flights at the same time currently. Sometimes there were 3 flights departing at around the same time in SDK - one ATR doing the BKI - SDK - TWU vv sector, 1 either AK/MH doing BKI - SDK vv and 1 from KUL, usually AK.

 

Thought they already had already been upgraded a wee while back....?

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Najib: Federal govt approves Sandakan airport runway extension

 

 

SANDAKAN: The Federal government has approved the extension of the airport runway here to provide for better international connection to Sabah's east coast gateway

Read more at http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/03/03/najib-federal-govt-approves-sandakan-airport-runway-extension/#T3JWdPvWgmbBFD4L.99

Yes it will :)

 

Anyone else get this feeling election fever is gaining steam of late ? :D

 

 

haha it is definitely heating up for sure....... I mean how often you see widebody even at BKI these days? anything up to 5 hrs flying radius are covered by B738 or A320 most of the time.

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haha it is definitely heating up for sure....... I mean how often you see widebody even at BKI these days? anything up to 5 hrs flying radius are covered by B738 or A320 most of the time.

 

Probably for meant for the Sultan's B747-8i and other wide bodies at His Majesty's disposal (A340, B744, B762 came to the mind) so he doesn't have to do touch and go anymore. :p

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Probably for meant for the Sultan's B747-8i and other wide bodies at His Majesty's disposal (A340, B744, B762 came to the mind) so he doesn't have to do touch and go anymore. :p

Brunei's entourage b762, Mytravel A330-200(with over 400 person onboard) did landed in SDK before and recently a b752 Thomson luxury charter.

 

Talking about SDK it is a captains sector for 738 and A320 operators due to runway condition(it aint the smoothest leveled runway in borneo) and length. Malindo's B737-900ER and potential A321s would not be able to take off on that runway with 4-5hour(this may include sectors such as SDK-KUL where diversion and holding fuel load is applied as well) worth of flight time payload unless thrust and flaps modification are done which are not cost conservative to some airlines. Same issue with Melaka's white elephant Batu Berendam when China Southern's A320 had a hard time that they wanted to downgage to A319s on some flights to be extra safe. In fact larger aircrafts like A330/B772 would use less runway with the same 4-5hour payload and passengers carried as the 739 and a321 due to significant more powerful and larger engines equipped. Perhaps this runway extension is to accommodate more stretched narrowbody aircrafts from any 4-6 hour sectors instead of what the press reported as for widebody.

 

The best runway length for b738/a320 to do 6 hour sector would be approx 8000feet+ if it were to be the B737-900ER etc it would need nearly 9800feet based on Maxed take off weight. Not really a good margin on hot day operation. Sandakan runway length is only 7000feet hence a lot of restriction.

Edited by jahur

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Brunei's entourage b762, Mytravel A330-200(with over 400 person onboard) did landed in SDK before and recently a b752 Thomson luxury charter.

 

Talking about SDK it is a captains sector for 738 and A320 operators due to runway condition(it aint the smoothest leveled runway in borneo) and length. Malindo's B737-900ER and potential A321s would not be able to take off on that runway with 4-5hour(this may include sectors such as SDK-KUL where diversion and holding fuel load is applied as well) worth of flight time payload unless thrust and flaps modification are done which are not cost conservative to some airlines. Same issue with Melaka's white elephant Batu Berendam when China Southern's A320 had a hard time that they wanted to downgage to A319s on some flights to be extra safe. In fact larger aircrafts like A330/B772 would use less runway with the same 4-5hour payload and passengers carried as the 739 and a321 due to significant more powerful and larger engines equipped. Perhaps this runway extension is to accommodate more stretched narrowbody aircrafts from any 4-6 hour sectors instead of what the press reported as for widebody.

 

The best runway length for b738/a320 to do 6 hour sector would be approx 8000feet+ if it were to be the B737-900ER etc it would need nearly 9800feet based on Maxed take off weight. Not really a good margin on hot day operation. Sandakan runway length is only 7000feet hence a lot of restriction.

 

fantastic analysis...

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Brunei's entourage b762, Mytravel A330-200(with over 400 person onboard) did landed in SDK before and recently a b752 Thomson luxury charter.

 

Talking about SDK it is a captains sector for 738 and A320 operators due to runway condition(it aint the smoothest leveled runway in borneo) and length. Malindo's B737-900ER and potential A321s would not be able to take off on that runway with 4-5hour(this may include sectors such as SDK-KUL where diversion and holding fuel load is applied as well) worth of flight time payload unless thrust and flaps modification are done which are not cost conservative to some airlines. Same issue with Melaka's white elephant Batu Berendam when China Southern's A320 had a hard time that they wanted to downgage to A319s on some flights to be extra safe. In fact larger aircrafts like A330/B772 would use less runway with the same 4-5hour payload and passengers carried as the 739 and a321 due to significant more powerful and larger engines equipped. Perhaps this runway extension is to accommodate more stretched narrowbody aircrafts from any 4-6 hour sectors instead of what the press reported as for widebody.

 

The best runway length for b738/a320 to do 6 hour sector would be approx 8000feet+ if it were to be the B737-900ER etc it would need nearly 9800feet based on Maxed take off weight. Not really a good margin on hot day operation. Sandakan runway length is only 7000feet hence a lot of restriction.

 

Thanks Jahur. Was only joking about the Brunei's entourage.

 

By the way, fantastic analysis. I would imagine TWU's airport at the current stage is not long enough too. I remembered our 737-800 from KUL took nearly the entire length of the runway to come to a stop (8,809 ft).

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Thanks Jahur. Was only joking about the Brunei's entourage.

 

By the way, fantastic analysis. I would imagine TWU's airport at the current stage is not long enough too. I remembered our 737-800 from KUL took nearly the entire length of the runway to come to a stop (8,809 ft).

Twu runway is actually pretty okay, ur flight probably used more runway as the pilots used lower brakes and reverse thrust to prolong gear and engine life and no immediate traffic bugging at the back. I used to be scared of landings taking up runway. but now from what i discovered it is the take off that should be worried. Payload and wind to air dampness conditions will affect required runway usage for take off and mtow usually takes more runway than landing.

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Brunei's entourage b762, Mytravel A330-200(with over 400 person onboard) did landed in SDK before and recently a b752 Thomson luxury charter.

 

Talking about SDK it is a captains sector for 738 and A320 operators due to runway condition(it aint the smoothest leveled runway in borneo) and length. Malindo's B737-900ER and potential A321s would not be able to take off on that runway with 4-5hour(this may include sectors such as SDK-KUL where diversion and holding fuel load is applied as well) worth of flight time payload unless thrust and flaps modification are done which are not cost conservative to some airlines. Same issue with Melaka's white elephant Batu Berendam when China Southern's A320 had a hard time that they wanted to downgage to A319s on some flights to be extra safe. In fact larger aircrafts like A330/B772 would use less runway with the same 4-5hour payload and passengers carried as the 739 and a321 due to significant more powerful and larger engines equipped. Perhaps this runway extension is to accommodate more stretched narrowbody aircrafts from any 4-6 hour sectors instead of what the press reported as for widebody.

 

The best runway length for b738/a320 to do 6 hour sector would be approx 8000feet+ if it were to be the B737-900ER etc it would need nearly 9800feet based on Maxed take off weight. Not really a good margin on hot day operation. Sandakan runway length is only 7000feet hence a lot of restriction.

 

Thanks for the analysis. Wonder what's the length they are looking at for the SDK runway extension. Emirates A380 has even landed in Glasgow with the runway length of 8720ft, but the turning pan at SDK currently is definitely too tight for many bigger aircraft :)

 

Anyway here are some collections of the widebodies at SDK as mentioned:

 

 

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/48208213@N00/32871579050/in/dateposted-public/

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/48208213@N00/32871579050/in/dateposted-public/

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/48208213@N00/32439979203/in/dateposted-public/

 

 

cheers

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Thanks for the analysis. Wonder what's the length they are looking at for the SDK runway extension. Emirates A380 has even landed in Glasgow with the runway length of 8720ft, but the turning pan at SDK currently is definitely too tight for many bigger aircraft :)

 

Anyway here are some collections of the widebodies at SDK as mentioned:

 

 

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/48208213@N00/32871579050/in/dateposted-public/

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/48208213@N00/32871579050/in/dateposted-public/

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/48208213@N00/32439979203/in/dateposted-public/

 

 

cheer

 

 

I believe the 757-200 landed in SDK is not a surprise. The 757 has a pair of powerful engines which is prefect for short runways. The 757 has indeed landed at the previous TWU airport which I believe the runway was 5500 ft, it was the Boeing 757-200 demonstrator (N757A).

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Thanks for the analysis. Wonder what's the length they are looking at for the SDK runway extension. Emirates A380 has even landed in Glasgow with the runway length of 8720ft, but the turning pan at SDK currently is definitely too tight for many bigger aircraft :)

 

I think most UK airports has runway shorter than normal. I travel to ABZ a lot, and the runway is only 6407ft. A320/321s need to use the full runway upon landing.

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Today's local media reported that according to MAHB, the SDK runway will be extended to 2500m (8200ft). Wonder how big the difference does it make for mere 1200ft extension?

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I could see a reason for upgrading the apron area or the taxiways. But I think the 2.1km runway is adequate enough for Sandakan's needs. That's good enough for the occasional regional widebody flight.

 

MAHB and MOT, if you're serious about airports, please fix up KLIA1 and Penang.

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Today's local media reported that according to MAHB, the SDK runway will be extended to 2500m (8200ft). Wonder how big the difference does it make for mere 1200ft extension?

mtow and range ops on a320/738 shouldnt will be very comforatable with that length. 739 will still be a bit dodgy. Widebody on regional 8 hour range will be easy now. Edited by jahur

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I could see a reason for upgrading the apron area or the taxiways. But I think the 2.1km runway is adequate enough for Sandakan's needs. That's good enough for the occasional regional widebody flight.

 

MAHB and MOT, if you're serious about airports, please fix up KLIA1 and Penang.

What's wrong with PEN?

 

Agree with MTB though. Really needs sprucing up.

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And get a new aerotrain for klia1. Forever having technical issues. I dont know whether MAHB management is just dumb and blind given the reliability issues of the old aerotrain that has been a constant feature.

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Just heard that PM Najib will be back in Sandakan this weekend to officiate the ground breaking ceremony for the SDK runway extension project..... talking about election efficiency ya..... haha....

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Here are some photos of the airport taken recently.

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/48208213@N00/33743235664/in/dateposted-public/

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/48208213@N00/34455381651/in/dateposted-public/

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/48208213@N00/34544721736/in/dateposted-public/

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/48208213@N00/34586099765/in/dateposted-public/

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/48208213@N00/34424040232/in/dateposted-public/

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/48208213@N00/34199777210/in/dateposted-public/

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/48208213@N00/34544602406/in/dateposted-public/

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/48208213@N00/34544711036/in/dateposted-public/

Here's the plan for the proposed runway extension, taken by a friend who was present at the ceremony last week. Alas, this is the best pic he has got of the plan.....

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/48208213@N00/33749057384/in/dateposted-public/

 

 

cheers

Thanks for sharing bro. The terminal building does looks new. The aerobridge still looks old though. From the expansion project photo, it seems that they're extending the runway little bit and add one more taxiway. A"L' shape taxiway.

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Thanks for sharing bro. The terminal building does looks new. The aerobridge still looks old though. From the expansion project photo, it seems that they're extending the runway little bit and add one more taxiway. A"L' shape taxiway.

yeah... 1200ft to be exact.

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