Quake3World

the take off in particular is not very reassuring

reminds me of this:

not sure, but I think these types of configurations are set this way, to compensate for the diminished 'lift' that you experience at higher elevations. Apparently it helps with keeping take of and landing speeds from being to fast...while also allowing for a much shorter runway, where space is limited.

Also, I always found these 'hanging cliff' configurations unsettling.