Google Sightseeing takes you on tour of the world as seen from satellite, using the free Google Earth program, or Google Maps in your web browser. Each weekday your guides James and Alex present new weird and wonderful sights as suggested by readers.
Here is a $2.1 billion B-2 stealth bomber at Edward’s Air Force Base, and here is its sister the $122 million F-117 stealth fighter.
Thanks: Lurch, Ryan Ferster, Frank, Mark, Emil, Rob & Robert
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The weirdest and best of Google Earth is now available in the…
Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth
If you look here, you just make out the new stealth air craft. the F-22 Raptor. Cool…
Stealth, my ass!
Why is it blurry to the right of the B-2? I noticed it in a few images.
It’s the stealth cloaking of course
*groan*
Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth
Appears to be a pair of SR-71 Blackbirds here, perhaps on a display of some sort.
I don’t think the planes aren’t at Edwards AFB, which is to the NW. It looks like they’re parked at the manufacturer’s (Northrop Grumman ) facility in Palmdale.
Oh! so is that why there are what appears to be two different air bases just a few miles away from each other?
And here are three B-1s…
Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth
If you look at the runway you can see a plane + shadow flying arround
Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth
Here’s another pair of Blackbirds. Do they always travel in pairs?
Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth
Look at the giant compass to the east of the picture of the two blackbirds - Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth
what’s with that?
The B2 is on the tarmac next to Building 1 at Plant 42 in Palmdale. It is Northrop Grumman’s part of the facility. I worked on this plane for 9 years. The Plant looks like several airbases actually. Just west of the B2 is where the Space Shuttles would come in for reapirs. Just south west is the Lockheed Skunk Works. The blurry section of the map is where Google doesn’t have a high res image. Hope that helps. Oh yeah, the F117 in the other picture is NOT the sister of the B2. It’s a pride thing for those of us that built them. ; )
Also, the 2 Blackbirds are at a place called Blackbird Park on the other side (South) of Plant 42. And this is all just South West of Edwards Air Force Base.
I actually saw a Stealth Bomber flying over my house right after The Blue Angels Air Show. For some reason I just happened to look up into the sky and saw this huge black “shadow” going by. It was an eerie feeling because the plane did not make a sound. Quite impressive I must say.
home of the blue angels, but it doesn’t look like they’re visible here:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=390++San+Carlos+Rd.,+Pensacola,+Florida&spn=0.0071239471435546875,0.008164644241333008&t=k&hl=en
Try looking at NAS El Centro for the Blues. These pics might have been taken in the winter/fall timeframe.
one more Lockheed SR-71 at Beale AFB
Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth
There is what might be a U2 a little to the east of the B-2
Fat Albert, the Blue Angels C-130 cargo plane responsible fro the impressive JATO takeoffs at Blues shows, is visable on the tarmac.
THis appears to be a U2 in flight
Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth
In answer to Andrea, given that the large compass etched in to the ground is in the middle of an airbase, I’d guess that it’s something to do with pilot training, or compass checking/calibration for pilots.
i.e. if your aircraft’s compass is NOT saying that North aligns with the 360º mark on the ground, then you know it’s no good and you should land again before you get lost.
here is a sr-71 at march air reserve base in california! always look over as i pass it on the freeway..
Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth
If you look around Palmdale on Google Maps/Earth, you can spot the X-32 (Boeing’s unsiccessful Joint Strike Fighter prototype) and the YC-15 (a hyperlifting heavy cargo prototype that led to the C-17) and another F-117:
http://www.fencecheck.com/forums/index.php/topic,3156.msg49853.html#msg49853
And here’s a site with all the Blackbirds (locations shown on Google Maps) and info about them:
http://gmaps.tommangan.us/blackbirds.html
I thought I had seen most cool/rare airplanes visible on Google Maps, but I had not noticed that F-22! Very cool! Thanks, howiepea.
I wuz just wondering why only 2 pics and not more????
B2 removed?
On my version the B2 and F117a seem to be missing. In fact its a slightly different picture of the same spot
I have the latest version of google earth.
Same here. Can’t see the B2 either. Maybe it’s google earth stealth now as well ?
Am I blind or planes has disapeared after the last imaginery update.
Chris: “Please note that some or all of the objects mentioned in this post are no longer present in the linked Google Map.”
Your Steath plane is stealthy indeed. Looks like the imagery was updated, no more plane.
ALIENS ARE REAL! RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!
In Reply to #22 (Paul)
The compass in the ground probably isn’t for calibration. I’m an avionics technician and we’re the ones who actually calibrate the whiskey compasses.
Also, it isn’t very likey that the pilots are navigating using the whiskey compass unless there’s a serious power loss on the airplane. Modern aircraft have multiple GPS and intertial navigation systems.
Not only are the planes missing, but if you are a careful oberserver you will notice that MUCH of the facilities are merely “painted” to look like something other than what they actually are. Some items/features are painted to look like they actually do to purposely throw off where reality and the govt’s illusion begins. Truthfully, there’s not much point in masking out 20-30+ year old airplane designs other than to mask the research/devlpmnt being conducted there. If there’s a B-2 there than it could hint at what the current crop of engineers are looking at and learning from… past lessons, things gone wrong, things gone right…
Trust me, the US Govt could hide an aircraft carrier (or a star ship) in plane sight in the middle of Kansas City if needed to.
One day the secrecy must end.
What about the Global Hawk that’s at Edwards?