Google Earth Flight Simulator

[Tim Taylor]

I was thinking we really needed one to test fly flights. Did a search
and found this:

Google Earth's Hidden Surprise: A Flight Simulator
Duncan Riley
http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/08/31/google-earths-easter-egg-a-flight-simulator/

We've always known that Google has wanted to challenge Microsoft's
desktop dominance in a number of areas, but to date we didn't know
that extended to gaming.

Hidden inside Google Earth is a secret Flight Simulator that takes
full advantage of Google's extensive satellite imagery.

To access the hidden feature, open Google Earth and hit Command+Option
+A (note it must be capital A) or Ctrl+Alt+A if you're using a Windows
Machine.

The Google Earth Flight Simulator comes with two aircraft options, a
F16 Viper and the more manageable SR22 4 seater. Players have the
option of commencing the game from their current location in Google
Earth or can pick from a list of pre-determined runways. Control
instructions can be found here.

Overall the game play is fairly simple in terms of control, but the
striking difference is flying over real pictures of locations. I took
a quick flight from San Francisco International, headed North to the
Golden Gate then turn back over the city before heading towards the
Valley. It wasn't perfect, but it was as good visually as the paid
Microsoft Flight Simulator, and in terms of actually presenting real
objects it was better.

[[email protected]]

I agree. I had been using MS Flight Simulator a few years ago but
couldn't bother any more. Google Flight Sim is a fantastic experience.
One regret though: the tags do not appear when you fly. Also I would
like to see the names of the cities.

Marc



n Oct 13, 12:06 am, Tim Taylor > wrote:
> I was thinking we really needed one to test fly flights. Did a search
> and found this:
>
> GoogleEarth'sHidden Surprise: AFlightSimulator
> Duncan Rileyhttp://www.techcrunch.com/2007/08/31/google-earths-easter-egg-a-fligh...
>
> We've always known thatGooglehas wanted to challenge Microsoft's
> desktop dominance in a number of areas, but to date we didn't know
> that extended to gaming.
>
> Hidden insideGoogleEarthis a secretFlightSimulatorthat takes
> full advantage ofGoogle'sextensive satellite imagery.
>
> To access the hidden feature, openGoogleEarthand hit Command+Option
> +A (note it must be capital A) or Ctrl+Alt+A if you're using a Windows
> Machine.
>
> TheGoogleEarthFlightSimulatorcomes with two aircraft options, a
> F16 Viper and the more manageable SR22 4 seater. Players have the
> option of commencing the game from their current location inGoogleEarthor can pick from a list of pre-determined runways. Control
> instructions can be found here.
>
> Overall the game play is fairly simple in terms of control, but the
> striking difference is flying over real pictures of locations. I took
> a quickflightfrom San Francisco International, headed North to the
> Golden Gate then turn back over the city before heading towards the
> Valley. It wasn't perfect, but it was as good visually as the paid
> MicrosoftFlightSimulator, and in terms of actually presenting real
> objects it was better.