2StgTurbine

Check out the Port-au-Prince airport on Google Earth. Halfway down the runway, there is an MU-2 facing off with a C-17 (that must be an impressive view for the MU-2 crew). And then there is a Global landing behind the MU-2! I know there is enough room for everyone on that large runway, but it would make my heart race knowing that there is a gigantic C-17 taxing toward me, and a jet that I can't see touching down behind me.

haiti - Google Maps

hotshot

Better link

Im suprised how recent that pic is

HSLD

The composites are made from tiled images so I have a hard time believing that that's a single real-time image. If so, I think it's going to be even more exciting for the Gulfstream on short final.

FlyJSH

I think you are correct.

Look closely at the shadows:

The plane over the numbers has a shadow, north and west suggesting the sun is southeast ... mid to late morning.

The MU-2 and the C-17's shadows are more northerly ... nearer to noon.

But the clincher is the Helicopter just south of the 1500 foot markers. Its shadow is almost straight north.


Or maybe the CIA has come up with some sort of light bending machine which could lead to a cloaking device!

hotshot

Couldnt that be because of the position of the phototaking airplane? If it took 2 pictures of the airport and meshed those, the shadows would be different for a plane directly beneath it as compared to a plane towards the outer edge of the shot.

the King

I can't tell if it's one photo or a composite image. However, after flying down to PAP recently, I could certainly believe this happening. No radar, mass confusion due to the earthquake, and tons of extra traffic have created a real heads-up environment there.

Here's how it could happen. The C-17 landed and was requested to go long. It turns around and waits at the UN ramp (far eastern pavement). The MU-2 lands and short intending to get off at the taxiway (see the Follow-Me truck waiting). The C-17 is cleared to main ramp as soon as the MU-2 is on the ground. Meanwhile, the bizjet on final is closer than the controller thought, or the controller forgot about him, etc. Either way, it looks like he might be going around. Totally believable. There are more scenarios like it.

One of the last times we went in, a funny thing happened when we got ready to depart. We were taxiing behind a Navajo, who was following an AA-767. The 767 went all the way down to the end of 28, and the Navajo turned around with about 7000ft for T/O on 28. He seemed a little surprised when he saw a JS-32 right behind him even though we were all on the same freq. After he turned around and started taxiing further back, we cleared at the GA ramp to turn around, and the Navajo got takeoff clearance. All this time, AA is just now ready to go, so we have to wait. As soon as they got clearance, they respond that they have bad numbers and are waiting for something from the mothership to check out so they can leave. They take at least 2 mins still on the runway before they can go. Naturally, no one can take off or land right behind a 767 so more waiting. Finally, we get cleared to depart, expedited because while all this is happening one guy is doing 360 turns on downwind abeam the numbers and another guy just joined downwind. The joys of flying to an airport with no radar, hard-to-understand controllers, and US pilots used to our airspace. Makes me appreciate home.

FlyJSH

wellll, yes and no. These photos are satellite images. The satellites orbit 4-500 miles up. From that range, the angular difference between two objects would be very small.

To get an idea of this, hold one finger up an inch from your nose and focus on a spot on the far side of the room. It will look like you have two fingers. And if you wink your eye, alternating between left and right, your finger seems to jump from side to side.

Now hold your finger at arm's length and wink again. Your finger will still jump back and forth, but the two images will be much closer than before.

If you had an arm that was 400 miles long and the wall was 401 miles away, as you winked, the angle would be so small, your finger would show virtually no movement.

In the same way, the satellite sees very little angular change in such a small field of view. If you zoom in on both of the planes on the ground, we are looking straight down the vertical stabilizer no mater where the plane is in the picture. Also looking at the buildings, we never see any walls, only roofs.

So, while you are correct there is a zillionth of a degree difference, it is so small we probably would not detect it (especially that magnification and resolution of the google photos). And it certainly is not nearly enough to account for the HUGE differences in the shadows of the Gulfstream and the helicopter only 1500 feet apart.


Sorry to be so long winded. Hope this makes sense.


Here is a photo taken from a U2 during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The it is early to mid morning, the plane is flying northwest, and the sun is at our 6 o'clock. All those vertical, dark lines are palm tree shadows. Notice how the are all pointing the same way.
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/14.jpg

((this is the sight that has many of the photos the were declassified to prove the Soviets were installing the missles in Cuba. Pretty neat. http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/cub...cri/photos.htm))

hotshot

It made sense

I was under the impression that low level pictures were taken by aircraft, but looking at Google Earth it looks like Haiti was done by satelliete.

FlyJSH

Good. I know I can get a bit wordy, and I have had too much caffeine today.

Here is a photo that shows exactly what you thought was happening in the map. It was taken at low level (maybe a couple hundred feet).

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/41.jpg
It was taken by an RF-101 (notice the shadow of the plane in the lower right corner). Notice the masts on the ship look farther apart at the top than at the deck.

N9373M

2 Encounters with C-17s

first i was doing touch and goes at a an airport 7 miles from where the C17 was departing. Getting his wake turb (solid thump) scared the cr*p out of a low time stud.

Second, flying over North airbase in SC at 3000 feet I came head to head with a 17 while we were both VFR. PUCKER. Great view, but a little scary. I definitely gave him the right of way.