Why would planes be visible? It’s not a satellite app.
I think he means the "satellite" layer, not the "terrain" layer.
Yes sorry!! :)
Ask HN: No planes visible at LHR on Google Maps (terrain)?
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Re: Ask HN: No planes visible at LHR on Google Maps (terrain)?
#12I assume you mean satellite and not terrain mode. Terrain mode doesn't have images so there are no planes visible at any airports. As for satellite mode I looked briefly and noticed 2 planes.
Yes I meant satellite. Still strange as it's one of the busiest airports in the world and images appear to be taken during the day so... no way there were only 2 planes at any given point... For example Gatwick (LGW) does show quite a few planes just parked.
Depends on when the images were taken. They might have been taken during the pandemic when passengers planes were grounded.
Re: Ask HN: No planes visible at LHR on Google Maps (terrain)?
#13Very few parked cars too. I see the same phenomenon at London Gatwick Airport as well. Perhaps an internet sleuth can find out what time the image was captured (e.g. the control tower has a distinct shadow that can be measured) and see if it lines up with any specific event.
Re: Ask HN: No planes visible at LHR on Google Maps (terrain)?
#14in Google Earth it says it was taken 10/04/2020
1. That was during the first corona lockdown. In that case, the airport would mostly be closed. However news reports say that the airports were kind of open with some flights flying during lockdown (massively reduced - 60 vs 600)
2. Looking at the date gives another clue. April 10 is Good Friday, the Friday before Easter weekend. Good Friday is a big national "bank holiday" when most things are shut in the UK. Therefore even less flights that day.
Re: Ask HN: No planes visible at LHR on Google Maps (terrain)?
#15in Google Earth it says it was taken 10/04/2020 1. That was during the first corona lockdown. In that case, the airport would mostly be closed. However news reports say that the airports were kind of open with some flights flying during lockdown (massively reduced - 60 vs 600) 2. Looking at the date gives another clue. April 10 is Good Friday, the Friday before Easter weekend. Good Friday is a big national "bank holi…
But if the airplanes weren't flying, they would be parked on the ground somewhere. So where are all the airplanes in your theory? There are zero in parking.
Re: Ask HN: No planes visible at LHR on Google Maps (terrain)?
#16Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes I meant satellite. Still strange as it's one of the busiest airports in the world and images appear to be taken during the day so... no way there were only 2 planes at any given point... For example Gatwick (LGW) does show quite a few planes just parked.
Depends on when the images were taken. They might have been taken during the pandemic when passengers planes were grounded.
Grounded where? The point is that they aren't on the ground in this imagery.
Re: Ask HN: No planes visible at LHR on Google Maps (terrain)?
#17Earlier quoted context omitted.
Depends on when the images were taken. They might have been taken during the pandemic when passengers planes were grounded.
Grounded where? The point is that they aren't on the ground in this imagery.
Airplanes grounded for extended periods are not kept at airports but flown to airplane storage facilities.
Re: Ask HN: No planes visible at LHR on Google Maps (terrain)?
#18in Google Earth it says it was taken 10/04/2020 1. That was during the first corona lockdown. In that case, the airport would mostly be closed. However news reports say that the airports were kind of open with some flights flying during lockdown (massively reduced - 60 vs 600) 2. Looking at the date gives another clue. April 10 is Good Friday, the Friday before Easter weekend. Good Friday is a big national "bank holi…
But if the airplanes weren't flying, they would be parked on the ground somewhere. So where are all the airplanes in your theory? There are zero in parking.
I have heard that the parking charges at Heathrow and the major hub airports are very expensive. Companies do not park their planes for longer than necessary (e.g. getting passengers on and off) during normal times.
Given this, one would imagine the planes going any place cheaper during that time.
I agree, not seeing any planes at all on the ground looks strange and exceptional. It was an exceptional time. Maybe they made a composite image?
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A very quick search about this fact showed the following (I'm sure someone would be able to fully investigate and find better and more accurate data with more time)
"However, with aircraft parking charges at major European airports often exceeding £200 per hour for the largest airframes, less expensive storage sites were required"
Grounded aircraft: An airfield operations perspective of the challenges of resuming flights post COVID
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096969972...
Note that this article says that Heathrow did have some planes on the ground in May of 2020 (only a month later but outside of peak lockdown).
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"Aircraft on ground" which might just refer to broken planes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_on_ground
"$10,000 to $20,000 and possibly even as high as $150,000 per hour"