# Google Earth users: Check this out! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 10, 2006, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-users-check-this-out/339320 "2006-01-10T16:00:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-users-check-this-out/339320/1 "2006-01-10T16:00:04Z")
Go to these coordinates: 52 20 10.87N 0 11 43.34W 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-users-check-this-out/339320/2 "2006-01-10T16:02:14Z")
That’s an odd place to park that. ---
**Author:** ![BadBadger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@BadBadger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BadBadger)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-users-check-this-out/339320/3 "2006-01-10T17:02:09Z")
I don’t know what I was expecting, but not in a million years… How…I…is that… OK for starters. How did you find that? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5ac83/32.png) [@The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mad_Hermit)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-users-check-this-out/339320/4 "2006-01-10T17:02:59Z")
Is it on the ground or in the air? I see no shadows under the wing, and the overlap into the roadway suggests that it’s in the air. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-users-check-this-out/339320/5 "2006-01-10T17:09:15Z")
Him: “Hi honey, I’m home!” Her: “Yeah, I heard you pull up.” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5ac83/32.png) [@The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mad_Hermit)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-users-check-this-out/339320/6 "2006-01-10T17:09:36Z")
There is an airfield just left of dead ahead (of the plane,) but it has cars parked on the runway. It looks like an old WW2 airfield. It’s maybe a mile or two off. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-users-check-this-out/339320/7 "2006-01-10T18:01:58Z")
Hey, that’s pretty cool. Where’s **Johnny LA**? He’ll like this one. The weird thing is that from a certain height, the roadways look like a running man. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-users-check-this-out/339320/8 "2006-01-10T19:04:33Z")
> [@BadBadger](#): > > I don’t know what I was expecting, but not in a million years… > How…I…is that… > > OK for starters. How did you find that? I can’t claim credit for it, i’m afraid. I found it on the UK tech site, [The Register](http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01/09/google_lancaster/). According to that article, it’s one of the world’s two remaining Lancasters, PA474. Apparently, [this](http://www.raf.mod.uk/bbmf/bomber.html) is the plane, which was built in 1945. > [@The Mad Hermit](#): > > Is it on the ground or in the air? > > I see no shadows under the wing, and the overlap into the roadway suggests that it’s in the air. Well, if it’s on the ground then it’s sitting right on top of a few houses. According to the first article linked above, the image was found by a guy who lives in one of those houses. I guess he was looking for his house on Google Earth, and discovered that the plane had been flying right overhead when the picture was snapped. By the way, for people interested in this sort of stuff, The Register had a “black helicopters” competition, in which it asked readers to find black helicopters and other military aircraft using Google Earth. You can see some of the results [here](http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/10/14/google_earth_competition_results/). If you go to the [Google Earth bulletin boards](http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/search.php?Cat=) and do a search for “plane,” you’ll find that there are literally dozens of airborne planes for viewing on Google Earth. Also, you can sometimes find them yourself by checking out the airspace around major airports. For example, i found one that had apparently just taken off from Vancouver Airport ( 49 11 32.69 N 123 15 20.75 W). ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-users-check-this-out/339320/9 "2006-01-10T19:16:37Z")
It’s probably from the Imperial War Museum Duxford - enter CB2 4QR and you’ll see it’s close by. ---
**Author:** ![St\_Ides](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@St\_Ides](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St_Ides)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-users-check-this-out/339320/10 "2006-01-10T19:18:08Z")
[QUOTE=mhendo] I can’t claim credit for it, i’m afraid. I found it on the UK tech site, [The Register](http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01/09/google_lancaster/). According to that article, it’s one of the world’s two remaining Lancasters, PA474. Apparently, [this](http://www.raf.mod.uk/bbmf/bomber.html) is the plane, which was built in 1945.Well, if it’s on the ground then it’s sitting right on top of a few houses. According to the first article linked above, the image was found by a guy who lives in one of those houses. I guess he was looking for his house on Google Earth, and discovered that the plane had been flying right overhead when the picture was snapped. Bah, you beat me. I just hit preview and you were there… Except you had links. The only other flying Lancaster is in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum. If you go to the [Google Earth bulletin boards](http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/search.php?Cat=) and do a search for “plane,” you’ll find that there are literally dozens of airborne planes for viewing on Google Earth. Dozens? Hundreds, if not thousands is more accurate. And most of them don’t have a mark. Most of the “small plane” ones that are around an airport, take a look around the rest of the airport (in the circuit, or “pattern” for you yanks) and you’ll easily find more. Usually 2 or 3 if you know what to look for.