I just downloaded the latest version of Google Earth. I hadn't used the program in a while, and I've just been blown away by the quality of the satellite images they're now using. For instance, do any of you recognise the following?

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Yes, number 1 is Hughes WWII Airstrip, 2 is Hidden Valley, and 3 is Clubhouse Corner & the Hairpin at Hidden Valley. Note in pictures 1 and 3 that you can now angle the image. It's AMAZING! You could pretty much do a lap of Hidden Valley (at a reasonable distance) via satellite imagery.

EDIT: The images are still a few years old, for instance when I checked Lambrick Ave in Palmerston, it still has the bad old intersection with Chung Wah Tce, and that changed about three years ago, and works on it began at least four years ago.

Any cars on the track???

i fixed the hughes one

For a slightly more pertinent reference, here's Hi Tech Tuning in Berrimah. It looks like HTT is inhabiting the premises at the time of this image (see all the cars out front), so the images aren't ridiculously old (eg HTT isn't still near Kormilda).

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One issue with your edit Adam - shouldn't the smoke be coming from the front of the car, not the tyres???

And the Hidden Valley image was taken when I was doing practice laps - you can tell because my car's moving too fast for the camera to actually take a picture of it.

yes, if it was a corolla. but, alas, it is a holden with a 202. they don't break. the diff does.

with the pictures being out of date, i read somewhere about when the images were collected. some parts are relatively new, while others are old. depends when the sattelite was over it last.

LOL. You are right though, those Holden's & 202's never break - but they never seem to run right either. And we'll compare reliability at the next motorkhana - VK with 202 vs KE55 with 4A-GZE - if you're ready in time that is.

Obviously no one's interested in passing satellites over Palmerston much then. I wonder why...

as long as it isn't a sunday



because darwin>palmerston



i just downloaded the latest one too. the wikipedia links are pretty cool.

Definitely love the Wikipedia links. You can also insert images, so someone's put in a sunset shot at the location where they took it. Great idea. Not sure about one feature though. People can create 3D diagrams with another program available from Google, then place them in Google Earth.

All the NAMSC motorkhana's are on Sundays from the info I've got. Unless we convince Laurie to switch the next one from Sunday 10 June to Monday 11 June (Queen's Birthday Holiday).

I cant imagine anyone would recognise these random darwin areas?

Is that TDZ Raceway?

*resists urge to edit in pictures of alleged hoon members cars*

it has been possible to angle the pictures for a very long time adam


but the quality has improved a lot

Yeah, I haven't used it in about 18 months, maybe as much as two years. Love it even more now though. Previously Hughes wasn't available to view, so now making maps to motorkhanas and cruises will be easy. I'll just have to get my act together and organise one again as there hasn't been a RollaClub event in six months due to a near complete lack of member interest.

so is this another way u can stalk ppl from the air widout bein see ay!!
ill keep an eye on ya lolz

yeah u'll just have to wait out 3 years and then u might spot them!!

try this one for maps...

http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=d&hl=...p;z=11&om=1

lol i actually looked at the first pic and was thats the train station, whats wrong with that, then it clicked, it is connected to hoon heaven, i mean tdz

New York to London
I have seen Google Maps before, just recently. Check out line 24 in the directions. With these directions New York to London is a breeze!

wow im amazed how good these shots are. its come along way from when it first came out.

Have the sattelite's got nightvision??

If they do I don't think Google use any of those images. Remember it's not a live satellite feed or anything, so Google will just pick the best quality images of a particular area and place it in Google Earth for us to view.

Interestingly I just tried to look at the former home of one of my relatives on Google Earth, and unfortunately it happened to be where about four images joined up, so it was very hard to work out where it was meant to be. The image overlap and duplication is obviously still causing some issues.

Nah, no ability yet . . . relies on daylight
However, satellite imagery has become so advanced that the American government can zoom in on your car with extreme detail. It is used for high surveillance operations etc and especially handy in wars etc to get very accurate detail of targets etc. Its not just a movie trick.

As you can see with the images from Google maps there is cloud etc, in the "paid" version there are fewer obstructions and the detail is a bit better. Mind you, the images are still a couple of years old. Takes more time and effort to have the right pics but is easily done with the right amount of $

Imagine taking the right shot with a camera when you have cloud, rain, mist, fog, smoke etc to worry about when moving across the sky taking pics of the land below, not to mention when the satellite is travelling at thousands of km/second

the imagery in the professional version is the same as the free-to-air version. you just get a few extra functions and a limited licensing agreement.

most of the images in populated areas are aerial photography, not satellite. you can pick the sat images by their lack of resolution

a note on the age of the pictures. im sure having detail like this available to the public is wonderful. but my guess is that they are three years old due to public safety and privacy.... u cant do much with three year old pictures in most cases.

When was Google Earth first released to the public? I bet if it was before September 11 they would have changed the image of New York pretty quickly. Otherwise you'd get conspiracy nuts saying that the whole event was a hoax or something.

anyone see the USS Arizona sunk in in Pearl Harbour, Hawaii? you can still see the ships oil still leaking out of it into the ocean.

Pic 2, whats that up in the left hand corner????

what is it...?

Yeah wot is it??

100 square metres of dirt skids!

It's crazy, some of you might allready know this but look over in america or any where and type in your home adress ex. the number, street and suburb only and it will find it

i reckon it is that area they oil down (or what ever the stuff is these days) for the carparking for v8s

some of the katherine locals will recognise these places.

if you zoom in more on the hiddenvalley one, you can see donuts around the track from the demos.

wow.. i didnt know it was that acurate zooms straight in on your house.... this is how hidden valley should look notice the burnout pad

Thats the shizzle

Nope, where! I cant find it

Ha ha This is Mount Cotton, South of Brisbane. it's the Police driver training track. Check out the top left hand corner. No photo chop there. Thats as it came off Google.

Fark, nice track, when do we get one of those?

It would be awesome to have a multiple course race track like that. Each race meet could use a different design, so you never need to go to a different location.

Ha ha I'll give you some feed back when I'm there

Rub it in why don't you? Bastard.

Actually, can't the Mount Cotton facilities be rented by anyone? I'm sure I've seen video from a private skidpan day there. And I'm going to Brisbane in January...

i think i read somewhere that they don't do "drifting" at mt cotton anymore.

indeed i did read it

http://www.boostcruising.com/forums/index....7&hl=cotton

No but they still do Police driver training. woo hoo

That's ridiculous. Why ban drifting in a safe and appropriately designed facility like Mt. Cotton??? Allowing it means people are less likely to do it on the streets, and they are more likely to be better drivers due to the experience they'd gain. Oh well, at least you can still go there for driver training, and you just know that there's going to be some sideways action involved.