can you use google earth to look at anything cool? area 51, gitmo?

[trekkor]

Grand Canyon is cool.


KT

[Embraer]

when im on office duty, i usually put it in flight simulator mode (did you know that's part of google earth?......CTRL + ALT + A) and then fly around wherever i want to look at.

[imcarthur]

I love Google Earth. My father was a geographer & I wish he could have seen it. I obviously absorbed some of his passion & I will readily admit that I am addicted to GE. I have my vacation planned next year - hotels marked, major sites marked, potential restaurants plotted.

It is a stunning tool.

Here is St Peter's Cathedral in Rome. It must have been taken during an outdoor mass.



Here is the condo in Handan, China where we stayed during the Room Monkey's wedding. If you are curious, plunk the co'ords in: 36°36'59.66"N 114°31'10.71"E



I love it.

Ian

[chapo]

Monthon AFB base is amazing.How much do you think we paid retail for all those worn out planes? Surprised to see a few delta wings still there. Seems to be quite a few Broncos and Skymasters too. What are the small trainer type planes, look like single engine? Lots of Phatoms and skyhawks too.

[ikarcuaso]

Stonehenge
Mount Rushmore
Niagra Falls
Naked people sunbathing on rooftops in The Hague

[azasadny]

I like to look at Camp Pendleton in north county San Diego... I'm surprised that the Fallbrook Naval Weapons Station is visible considering what they store there...

[masraum]

Any idea what this is in the Mojave desert.

http://googlesightseeing.com/maps?p=&c=&t=k&hl=en&ll=35.055505,-118.033676&z=14

[onewhippedpuppy]

Monthon AFB is absolutely incredible, I'd never looked at that one.

[Heel n Toe]

Originally Posted by masraum

Any idea what this is in the Mojave desert.

http://googlesightseeing.com/maps?p=&c=&t=k&hl=en&ll=35.055505,-118.033676&z=14

I zoomed in for a closer look... and IMO, it looks like a combination race track/test track and airport. Very cool find.

[Heel n Toe]

It's a Hyundai test track.



I got curious and zoomed out a bit, and noticed how huge it is compared to that airport to the West... also noticed the scale in the lower right... compare that 1 mile measurement to the track and you'll get some idea how large it is: 6.4 miles.


Then I decided to Google "mohave test track" and found this:
___________________________
Hyundai to Build Test Center in Mojave
By John O'Dell
January 28, 2003

Hyundai Motor Co. said Monday that it would begin construction this year on a $50-million center in the Mojave Desert near California City to test vehicles being designed for North America.

The facility, to be operated by the South Korean automaker’s Hyundai American Test Center Inc., will be used by Hyundai and its Kia subsidiary and is expected to employ 40 people. Construction is expected to be completed late next year.

Hyundai and Kia – which sold 612,464 vehicles in the United States last year, for a 3.6% market share – recently began a campaign to boost its presence here. Hyundai is building a $1-billion manufacturing plant in Montgomery, Ala., and early next month will open a $24-million design center in Irvine that will be used by both companies.

The U.S. import and distribution units of both Hyundai and Kia are in Orange County, and the group operates a California emissions test center in Chino.

The 4,300-acre Mojave proving ground will include a 6.4-mile oval test track; a vehicle- handling course; several special roads to test vehicle performance on rough, slick, bumpy, wet and hilly surfaces; and a 30,000-square-foot office and indoor testing complex.

Hyundai Motor America spokesman Chris Hosford said tests would include “heat soak,” in which vehicles are left in the sun for weeks to gauge the effect on plastics and other materials.

http://articles.latimes.com/2003/jan/28/business/fi-hyundai28

[masraum]

oops, beat me to it.

[vash]

damn guys. i just accessed GE on my home computer last week. did it to peek at that mountiantop without any water. yup we need to pack it in.

stonehenge would be cool. what about easter island? field of pots in laos,...damn. there is lots.

camp david?

[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by chapo

Monthon AFB base is amazing.How much do you think we paid retail for all those worn out planes? Surprised to see a few delta wings still there. Seems to be quite a few Broncos and Skymasters too. What are the small trainer type planes, look like single engine? Lots of Phatoms and skyhawks too.

70% of those planes can be recommissioned and in the air in 48 hours. The rest are used as parts to keep other planes alive.

The facility is actually http://www.dm.af.mil/units/AMARC.asp and is absolutely spectacular to drive around

When they decommissioned that last of the F-14s, I enjoyed sitting out there on the road watching each one fly in.

[svandamme]

Originally Posted by Pazuzu

70% of those planes can be recommissioned and in the air in 48 hours. The rest are used as parts to keep other planes alive.

i serously doubt that.. probably the other way around, maybe 30%, tops
And definately very little of the ones sitting outside in the sun, even if they covered up the intakes and what not...

[bell]

i've been playing with http://maps.live.com/
there's a cool "birds eye view" feature where you can literally look at a close up from 4 different directions......cool stuff
i'll post some images of my personal points of interest

[bell]

birds eye rocks.........

the beach michelle and i got married on, just down the boardwalk coming from the hotel.......different angles




nelson's ledges......spent ALOT of time there over the years......


oak tree


spaceship earth

[bell]

the shifter cart track 10 minutes from my house......yes they do 9hp rentals