Google barred from Sydney flyover for Australia Day festivities

By Paul Miller | January 29, 2007

It looks like Microsoft is teh win in this little arms race down under. Both companies planned elaborate flyovers on January 26th, Australia Day, which encouraged people to get creative and get noticed by aerial photographs being snapped, which would later be integrated into the respective companies’ mapping software. However, while Google managed to take in a good bit of Australia’s scenery, their Aero Commander wasn’t allowed to fly over Sydney due to some no-fly zone restrictions. Microsoft’s higher-flying plane was able to scan the city and scoop up the festivities, including grabbing some shots of an official event at Centennial Park where Aussies formed themselves into a map of Australia. Some of the disappointed include a company that had spent more than AU$10,000 on a hugemongous sign, and an environmental group that trotted out 200 supporters to form a slogan on a local beach. The change of plans was due to winds which required planes to take off from Sydney Airport in a direction that would’ve messed with Google’s flight path.

[Via El Reg]

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