Flying Archives

January 05, 2009

U-2 Spyplane Caught in Flight in Google Earth

Sometimes the satellite images Google acquires happen to capture some really unique sight. This one is really awesome for those of us who try to find planes captured in flight in Google Earth: A U-2 Spyplane flying over Kuwait! This one was found by plane aficionado 'Delta102' of the Google Earth Community. He's found many other planes in Google Earth, but this is one of the best. NOTE: the orange colored 'shadow' to the upper left is actually an artifact of the satellite cameras which is caused by the plane's motion. You see this in GE with planes and cars (the further away, the faster the object).

Other unique planes captured in flight:

• KC-135 Refueling C-5 Galaxy in Mid-Air
• Lancaster Bomber in Flight
• Two old planes close up
• Identifying planes in flight
• All planes in flight in Google Earth database

Posted by FrankTaylor at 08:31 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

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December 24, 2008

Watch Santa Claus Make his Deliveries

It's Christmas Eve! Thanks to NORAD and Google you can watch Santa make his deliveries around the world. The best place to watch Santa is with Google Earth. If you haven't already, download Google Earth, then simply download the official santa tracker .

You can get more information about the santa tracker from the Norad Santa site, and there you will also find a Google Maps version of the tracker, or a version for your phone. Also, that site provides information in several different languages. Last night Google provided some information on the history of the Google Earth santa tracker in this post.

Read about other Santa Google Earth content here. And, have a Merry Christmas!

Don't forget that Google Earth Blog is the best place to learn about the amazing things you can do with Google Earth. Save Google Earth Blog in your bookmarks, or better yet, use the RSS feed.

Posted by FrankTaylor at 07:54 AM | Comments (12) | TrackBack

December 12, 2008

Planes on Poles in Google Earth (plus an extra feature)

It has been a while since I highlighted a large user-developed collection. The collection today is of places where you can see planes on "poles" (or stands). You see these in front of airports, museums, hotels, and places you would never expect (like in the middle of a grocery store parking lot). The plane on poles collection is maintained by someone called 'sasroodkapje' and has any and all planes found by people and posted to the thread at the Google Earth Community. If you know of a plane on a pole not in the collection already, post it at the thread. It's best if you also share a photo by putting the photo on a server somewhere and including a link in your post. Then 'sasroodkapje' will add it to the collection. Definitely check out the thread to see other cool photos people have posted.

And, here is the "plus" part: make sure you check the locations for Street View - you can see many of these planes in Google's fast growing database of Street View imagery. Although, there are no Street Views on military bases :-). Just turn on the Street View layer in Google Earth and zoom in to one of the "planes on a pole" placemarks. Then, see if a Street View camera icon is nearby and check it out to see if you can see the plane. Here are some examples of planes on poles you can both see in Google Earth and through Street View:

Fiat G-91T-1 in surplus yard in Rome, Italy:

View Larger Map

P-51 Mustang in Pigeon Forge, TN:

View Larger Map

F-104D Starfighter in Burbank, CA:

View Larger Map

Posted by FrankTaylor at 07:55 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

October 31, 2008

Location of Steve Fossett Remains Reportedly Found

[UPDATE 3-November: The bones found at the location shown below have been DNA tested and confirmed to be those of Steve Fossett. See CNN story.]

Following up on the story of the location of Steve Fossett's plane wreck, today Sheriff's in California have reported they believe they have found Steve Fossett's remains. The adventurer Steve Fossett was reported missing after leaving in a small plane on Labor Day in 2007, but no sign was found of him until over a year later. Today they reported they found his driver's license, another 100 dollar bill, shoes, and some bones. The shoes had signs of animal bites which leads them to suspect the body was dragged to the new location about 1/2 mile from the crash site. The sheriff showed the location on a topographical map which I saw at CNN here. I had already overlayed a similar topo map when first locating the crash site a month ago. Here is a view in Google Earth of all the reported finds including the new items and remains. You will see the location of the plane crash site, other items found a month ago, topo map overlays showing the terrain (which you can also see by tilting your view in Google Earth), and the location of the new items and remains found.

Posted by FrankTaylor at 08:58 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

October 29, 2008

WikiSailing - Flying/Sailing Sightseeing Tours in Google Earth

Google Maps Mania pointed me to WikiSailing - the english/french wiki has lots of interesting sailing information. They have information about anchorages, dive sites, windsurfing locations, parks, and more. They also have a section to be devoted to showing sailing trips. But, what is really interesting is that they have started developing a Google Earth Plugin application to give tours of sailing destinations. These tours simulate an airplane or sailboat moving along a track around the destination you select. There are a few sightseeing examples with the simulated tours on their main page. Check out the Sydney Tour for example. You start out with an airplane, select the "Run/Pause" button in the lower left and you will immediately start flying around Sydney (assuming you have the GE plugin installed). You can adjust the speed, zoom level (how close to the plane your view is), and which direction relative to the plane you view.

The application still has some rough edges. The sailboat mode is a little jerky even if you speed up the simulation speed. And, the sailboat follows the same path as the plane - including going over the ground - oops. Also, you can view from behind, left, or right. But, the view from the front doesn't seem to work. But, I think this is an excellent idea which makes viewing locations more dynamic without requiring someone to take control of the flight/tour themselves. Although, it would be nice if you could also fly yourself! A GEB reader pointed out to me you can select "Manual" instead of "Teleport" and then you can fly it yourself using the cursor keys!

Posted by FrankTaylor at 08:10 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

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More entries for this category:

6. Paragliding Simulator with Google Earth Plugin - October 23, 2008
7. Links: Planet Search, Interactive KML, FlightSim, iPhone GPS - October 21, 2008
8. Links: Panoramio Heat Maps, See Russia?, 1m LiDAR, Airship - October 13, 2008
9. Location of Plane Wreck of Steve Fossett - October 02, 2008
10. Steve Fossett Items Found Near Mammoth Lakes - October 01, 2008
11. New Virtual Earth with 3D Clouds - September 25, 2008
12. Links: Hurricane Ike, GeoEye Launched, Aviation Maps, McClendon in Kansas - September 08, 2008
13. Follow a Book, Check Aeronautical Charts in Google Earth Plugin - July 31, 2008
14. More Add-ons for Google Earth Flight Simulator - July 28, 2008
15. Notes from the Bahamas: GE in Education, AGE More KML, Disney 3D - June 26, 2008
16. Links: Big Dog, Plugins, Smoke, Stonehenge, SketchUp Camp, Kenya - June 13, 2008
17. PictEarth Flies UAV with N95 Over WhereCamp - May 20, 2008
18. Mike's Flying Bike for Google Earth - May 16, 2008
19. Google Earth for Pilots - April 29, 2008
20. How to Get 3D Buildings in Google Earth 4.3 Flight Simulator - April 24, 2008
21. Links: SR22 Cockpit, Jane Austen, Magnetic Pole, Taiwan GE Bonanza, Tutorial, VE3D on Mac - March 17, 2008
22. YouTube API on Swiss Fighter Video - March 14, 2008
23. F-16 Cockpit Add-on For Google Earth Flight Sim - February 08, 2008
24. Cool US Flights Visualization in Google Earth - February 07, 2008
25. Guys Fly Balloon to 30 km Altitude - See it in Google Earth - January 25, 2008
26. Major Geek Cred - January 17, 2008
27. Tracking Flights in Google Earth - January 11, 2008
28. Missed Opportunity - It's a Sign - January 09, 2008
29. Top 25 Stories of Google Earth 2007 - December 27, 2007
30. Astronaut Mode For Google Earth - December 18, 2007
31. Two Old Planes Caught Close Up in Google Earth - December 09, 2007
32. Google Earth and Santa Claus - December 07, 2007
33. Links: Tracking Santa, Netherland Statistics, Boat Parades, OpenAerialMap - December 03, 2007
34. News and Links - Out of Beta, Crysis, Our Dumb World, Visual ILS - November 30, 2007
35. X PRIZE Cup Photos Mapped - November 01, 2007
36. Trip Status, Links: PhotoOverlay tool, CIA World Factbook, Another BMNG - October 29, 2007
37. Links: Glider Towing, 3D Bonanza, John Hanke Presentation, Google Maps Profiles, Virtual Earth 3D Modeling - October 19, 2007
38. 2007 Wirefly X PRIZE Cup - October 08, 2007
39. 3D Red Bull Flights in Google Earth - September 21, 2007
40. Burning Man 2007 in Google Earth - September 18, 2007
41. New DigitalGlobe Imagery for Steve Fossett Search - September 13, 2007
42. Back to School - Educational Uses with Google Earth - September 11, 2007
43. News Roundup: Flight Sim Tips, Clouds and Weather, KML 2.2, Google Solar Panels, Pollution - September 10, 2007
44. Help Find Steve Fossett with Google Earth - September 09, 2007
45. Flight Simulator HUD Display Guide, and an Advanced Tip - September 06, 2007
46. Get Inside a Helicopter in Google Earth - September 05, 2007
47. News Roundup: Flight Simulator Goodies, PhotoViewer Stuff, Video tourism - September 04, 2007
48. Video for Flying with Google Earth Flight Simulator - September 03, 2007
49. Flight Simulator Mode in Google Earth 4.2 - August 31, 2007
50. Google Earth 4.2 Roundup - August 27, 2007
51. R/C Planes and Camera Fun with Google Earth - August 12, 2007
52. Biography of Neil Armstrong in Google Earth - August 06, 2007
53. News Roundup: Panoramio 2 Million, Geographic Web, Loop the Loop, Starbucks, Bug in GE - June 28, 2007
54. Pict'Earth - UAV Aerial Photography Solutions - June 19, 2007
55. ChartGeek - Sectional Maps for Pilots in Google Earth - May 28, 2007
56. Plane-shaped Pools in Google Earth - April 28, 2007
57. Stephen Hawking Flies in Zero G - April 27, 2007
58. News Roundup - Fixes for Windows Vista, Airshows, FBOWeb update, Photos with Search - March 19, 2007
59. Meigs Field - Preserved in Google Earth - March 15, 2007
60. Nine Planes in Formation - Faked in the Google Earth Database! - March 13, 2007
61. NOT a Cruise Missile in Flight Over Utah - March 04, 2007
62. Swiss Alps "Fighter" Tour in Google Earth - March 01, 2007
63. SpaceNavigator News: Fly Inside Demo, Security Checkpoints - February 22, 2007
64. Planes in Flight Hobby - February 13, 2007
65. Sydney Aerial Photo Shoot - January 26, 2007
66. Play Tour Mode in Google Earth - January 10, 2007
67. New Imagery Update for the Holidays - Awesome! - December 17, 2006
68. Santa's Toy Hunt and Santa Tracker in Google Earth - December 13, 2006
69. News Roundup - Animated 3D, EmerGeo, Altered Oceans, Virtual Airlines - October 29, 2006
70. Geotagged Photos from X PRIZE Cup, GPS Track too - October 25, 2006
71. Flight Back from Las Cruces in Google Earth - October 23, 2006
72. Same Day Aerial Photo in Google Earth - October 21, 2006
73. Trip Report and News Roundup: Flight to Las Cruces, Sensors, BBC on Maps, New blog - October 18, 2006
74. Flight of Space Ship One Depicted in Google Earth - October 12, 2006
75. Plane Crashed into Building in New York - See Location in Google Earth - October 11, 2006
76. Burning Man 2006 in Google Earth - October 03, 2006
77. Take Flight Sim Scenery and Port it to Google Earth - September 28, 2006
78. Google Earth as a "Flight Simulator" - September 15, 2006
79. 3D 747 Airliner on Approach at Maho Beach in Google Earth - August 25, 2006
80. Salute to the An-2 in Google Earth - August 10, 2006
81. Goggles - Google Maps Flight Simulator, Also: Google Earth Flying - August 08, 2006
82. FSEarth 3.0 - MS Flight Simulator and Google Earth - July 08, 2006
83. Aeronautical Information System - June 26, 2006
84. KC-135 Caught Refueling C-5 Galaxy in Mid-Air in Google Earth! - June 25, 2006
85. Sightseeing Roundup for Google Earth - May 02, 2006
86. Go Flying - Flight Tracklogs for Google Earth - April 30, 2006
87. Tribute to 'Connie' in Google Earth - April 09, 2006
88. FSEarth - MS Flight Simulator 2004 and Google Earth - April 06, 2006
89. Maldives Island Group in High Res - March 24, 2006
90. Flyagogo - A Pilot Google Maps Mashup (with GE tie-in) - March 23, 2006
91. GlobalFlyer Attempting Third World Record - March 15, 2006
92. Identifying Planes in Google Earth - March 01, 2006
93. FSPilot Connects FS2004 to Google Earth - February 26, 2006
94. Touch and Gos - February 22, 2006
95. Follow Steve Fossett/Global Flyer in Google Earth - February 09, 2006
96. Pilot World-wide Weather in Google Earth - February 08, 2006
97. Gliders "Crashing" in Google Earth - February 03, 2006
98. Flying Car? Not Really - January 23, 2006
99. 3D Planes for Flight Tracking in Google Earth - January 19, 2006
100. FBOWeb Flight Tracking Revisited - January 11, 2006
101. Lancaster Bomber Caught Flying in Google Earth - January 10, 2006
102. Slick Airfare Tool for Google Earth - December 16, 2005
103. Planes in Flight in Google Earth (revisited) - December 06, 2005
104. Near Real-time Flight Tracking in Google Earth - December 02, 2005
105. The Ubiquitous DC-3 Found in Google Earth - November 23, 2005
106. UFO Sighting Locations in Google Earth - November 04, 2005
107. Magnalox - GPS Story Telling for Google Earth - October 19, 2005
108. Huge Resource of 3D Glider Tracks for Google Earth - October 12, 2005
109. Categorized African Animals in Google Earth - October 11, 2005
110. Documenting a Recent Flying Trip - October 09, 2005
111. Garmin Buys MotionBased - October 04, 2005
112. Update to Planes in Flight Story - September 23, 2005
113. Planes in Flight Captured in Google Earth - September 21, 2005
114. MS Flight Simulator Interface - September 01, 2005
115. Flying - Keeping a Flight Log - August 05, 2005

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