This weekend, I was lucky enough to see the only flying Avro Vulcan in existence, yet Murphy’s Law dictated that my camera should under no circumstances work. So, whilst this post was to be interjected with marvelous self-made photography, it will instead attempt to use the imagery that Google provides.

Thankfully, you have been gamely notifying us of all the Vulcans you could find, and we have built up quite a collection. There are currently less than 20 survivors, mostly in the UK.

Firstly, at Southend Airport, the Avro XL426 was the 44th of the 88 delta-wing bombers that were built, and this one entered service in August, 1962.

Since 1986, this model has been taken under the wing of the Vulcan Restoration Trust, who dutifully care for the old bird, and occasionally taxi her up and down the runway to stretch her legs. According to submitter Mark, the best view is to be had from the train line that runs right beside the airport.

The XM603 sits rather forlorn at Woodford Airfield, near Manchester, the once gleaming paint tinting to a lifeless green hune.

Information on this one seems difficult to come by, but message board chatter from 2006 suggested that the relic was to be broken down to parts. In fact, her death only served to make others stronger, including the XH558! This photograph shows her final resting place.

Once the United Kingdom’s main deterrant against Cold War threat, armed with nuclear and, presumably, nerve pinch weaponry, the XL391 stands guard at Blackpool airport¹.

It was bought in 2004 on eBay for £15,102, but when the buyer realised he would have to pay another £20,000 to move it anywhere, they abandoned it where it was, sniff, scrapped in 2006.

If you live in the United States, there is one at Castle Air Museum in California, a roofed one at the Air and Space Museum in Nebraska² and finally one snuggled up next to a B-52 at Barksdale AFB, which also shows just how deceptively huge they are:

If you want to see the Vulcan flying, and happen to live near an airshow, there’s still a chance this year!

Thanks: Eddy Rhead, Adam Sadler, Steve Wrona, Tim and Mark

Just outside Lisbon Airport we can see an old jet airliner. Nothing unusual about that, clearly – however you’d have to go a very long way to find another aircraft that has ever been converted into a strip bar, complete with DJ booth in the cockpit!¹

The aircraft is a relatively rare Convair 880 – there were originally 65 built, but today there are just 8 left in the world. Only one of these has been fully preserved: The Lisa Marie, which used to belong to Elvis Presley.

Unfortunately, you won’t be able to pay this historical location a visit, as just a few weeks ago the strip bar was closed down and the plane destroyed.

So there’s only 7 now.

Thanks to Frank.

As any bond villain will attest, a true megalomaniacal dictator should have a number of underground lairs from which to hatch evil plots.

As we can see, North Korea’s Kim Jong-Il and his associates have plans to go one better than the average Bond villain, and are imitating the Thunderbirds with this runway being constructed underneath a mountain.

The runway, in the region of Wonsan, sticks out a bit at either end so we can measure it at 1800m long and 30m wide. A close up of the entrance shows it’s still being constructed.

The idea here seems to be that foreign military satellites (and Google Earth enthusiasts) would be unable to see what aircraft North Korea have under the mountain, so if a war broke out Thunderbird 2 could use the runway for launch.

The North Korean military are apparently so convinced that the “runway mountain” is the future of modern warfare that they’ve actually built three separate runways across the country. This second example is in the area of Onchon.

I’ve never claimed to be a military expert, but this all seems a bit mad to me – surely the benefits of hidden aircraft are outweighed by the fact that it would be very easy for an attacker to completely ruin the airbase with one strategically placed bomb at the entrance?

Thanks to danescombe.

At Beijing’s huge Capital International Airport, it looks as if disaster is about to strike. As one unsuspecting propeller plane begins its take-off, it seems completely unaware that a large jumbo jet is hurtling towards it, also ready to leave the ground.

Thankfully, the images were taken at different times, and, with some relief, we can report an incident was avoided – nevertheless, a rather disconcerting sight!

In time for the controversial Olympics this summer, the new – Norman Foster designed – Terminal 3-E has also just been completed, and holds the long winded title of the largest airport terminal building complex built in a single phase, with a floor space of almost one million m².

This image was collected when the terminal was nearing completion and, as you can see, the two main parts and the gates are not yet complete. However, Foster & Partners have lots of images showing the completed design in all its glory.

Thanks to Al Cohole.

Over at the Google Earth Community they’ve found a fantastic sight – not one, but two planes about to be refuelled mid-flight over the California desert.

From their measurements, these appear to be F-16 fighter jets, moving in (or perhaps moving out) from a KC-10 “Extender” – a tanker which is derived from the commercial DC-10.

This sight is also unique on Google Earth in that it is perhaps the largest collection of planes found in mid-air at the same time, with 7 aircraft captured in a single image! Waiting behind the re-fueler are two further F-16s, and another pair are ahead – presumably they’ve already had their fill.

There’s a fantastic photograph of a DC-10 refuelling an F-16 at Wikipedia, and see our previous post showing another mid-flight refuelling.

Thanks to tsb60robert at the Google Earth Community.