In the past we’ve featured some incredible feats of engineering in service of canals and their traffic, but perhaps none as elegant as the Barton Swing Aqueduct, England.

Designed by Edward Leader Williams¹ and first used in 1893, the aqueduct carries the Bridgewater Canal over the Manchester Ship Canal. If a tall vessel needs to pass underneath on the MSC, the 71m-long iron trough swings through 90° to allow them clear passage.

Gates at either end of the bridge hold around 800 tonnes of water in place while it swings, and another set of gates on either bank hold back the rest of the canal.

Furthermore, this is actually a double swing bridge, as the Barton Swing Bridge pivots on the same purpose-built island simultaneously. How cool is that?

More about the Barton Swing Aqueduct, the Manchester Ship Canal and Edward Leader Williams at Wikipedia.

See our other posts on European Barge Lifting, A Canal Across Germany, the Corinth Canal, the Caen Hill Flight and the Saint Lawrence Seaway for more impressive canal engineering.

Continuing the thread of unique plane finds is this sighting of a Northrop YF-23 .

Specifically, this aircraft is YF-23 model PAV-2, which was nicknamed “Gray Ghost”. We know for a fact that it’s this model as only two were built, and the other one was painted black.

What’s interesting about the YF-23, apart for its brilliantly bizarre wing-shape, is that it came very close to being a staple fighter of the American Air Force.

Looking for an upgrade to the aging F-15 Eagle model, the US Air Force awarded contracts to two potential replacements: the YF-23 and the now-common F-22 raptor. It’s not been revealed why, but the F-22 won the competition and the YF-23 model was scrapped.

After the engine was removed PAV-2 was placed on display here, in a car-park outside Northrop Grumman’s factory in El Segundo.

Further information on the plane is, of course, available on Wikipedia.

Thanks: McMaster_de.

There are hundreds of different aircraft “in flight” to be seen on Google Earth, waaaaay too many to post them all here on Google Sightseeing¹. But every now and then there’s a rare sighting that we feel the need to share.

A field in North Carolina features two antique WWII warplanes flying overhead: a Grumman TBF Avenger and a yellow North American T-6 Texan, which you can clearly see has “USAF” written on the right wing.

Of the 9,836 Avengers built, just 42 are still considered air-worthy (including the one we see here!). What’s even more amazing though is that the nearby Hickory Regional airport has two of the same rare aircraft parked on the tarmac!

OK, it’s not really a coincidence, this second image is a different aerial photograph so it’s almost certain that these are the same planes.

Thanks to morgantongis, Delta102 & jtouran at GE, via GEarth Blog

If you’re lucky enough to own an iPhone or an iPod Touch then you’ll be delighted to hear that Google Sightseeing is now fully optimized for handheld sightseeing!

Just dig out your iPhone on Touch and point Safari to http://googlesightseeing.com/¹ to get the optimized site.

We’ve simplified the site layout to make it much easier to read on the small screen and reduce the download size for when you’re using the EDGE network.

The newly optimized GSS also integrates with your device’s built in Google Maps application, so you can now pinch zoom your way around the latest Google Sightseeing sights!

Lastly, we’ve also created a “Web Clip” icon, so you can add Google Sightseeing to the home screen for one-touch access!

We’d like to hear your feedback on the new site, so please either comment here or send us an email.

Although it appears to be one of the scariest sports in the modern world, land sailing (or land yachting) has apparently caught on in a big way on this beach in Malo Les Bains, near Dunkirk, France.

The premise is essentially the same as water sailing – except there are wheels, speeds of up to 70mph, and a harder surface to fall on! Participants sit or lie in a kayak shaped hull, and use pedals or levers to control the sail. Ironically, right next to the water appears to be the best place to do this!

There are multiple size classes, with the most powerful being Class 2 (which boast 8 metre sails), progressively getting smaller and less powerful.

Also hoping to take advantage of the favourable wind conditions are some kite buggies. These are similar to land yachts, but using a power-kite to propel you along the ground, instead of a sail, and can also reach speeds of 70mph.

For more on parasailing, check out Wikipedia, as well as the Dunkirk landsailing club’s website, where there are plenty of photos!

Thanks: James