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I remember reading about this application some time ago, but then I forgot all about it. During some random browsing through my bookmarks, I stumbled across it again and had a bit more of a detailed look at it.
If you’ve not heard of it before, TileProxy for Flight Simulator X and Flight Simulator 9/2004 downloads data “on the fly” (excuse the pun) from Google Earth’s servers and displays them as the scenery in the simulator. Yep, you read that right. Photo scenery for nearly the entire planet for free. Have a look at some of the screenshots and prepare to be amazed!
I haven’t actually had a chance to try it out yet, but I certainly will do as soon as I can. I found a good thread about the application over on Com-Central, which has lots of screenshots. There’s also a new forum over on Avsim.
Has anyone tried it out yet? I’d be very interested to hear your thoughts on the project.
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
PieEater 06.28.07 at 3:04 pm
I’m happy to be corrected but I think if you use this you end up with no terrain mesh and it overwrites the airports which is why it’s not so popular. Also I think you get a tool in Google Earth that allows you to ‘fly’ around which is basicly the same thing only without the requirements / drawbacks of monitoring your flight guages / controls.
Ken S. Campbell 06.28.07 at 3:12 pm
WOW! WOW! WOW! Yes Mark I AM Amazed!! This certainly looks like a great application. I am patiently waiting for you to try it out and report back! I am surprised that with all my browsing I have never run across this. The screenshots say it all. Simply wonderful! I have been wondering for some time now if anyone had ever considered using Google Earth for Flight sim scenery, well, surprise!! Mark, a great find, this app has lots of potential. Note to self; Bookmark this and prepare to try it. ( Waiting for Mark to report on it first).
mark.avey 06.28.07 at 3:32 pm
Hi PieEater. From the screenshots, it looks like the mesh remains intact, although you are correct about the airports etc. Still, for general site-seeing, I think I could live with that, especially as it’s free
Ken, I’ll report back as soon as I’ve had a chance to try it.
Mark - FlightSimX
Ken S. Campbell 06.28.07 at 3:51 pm
I’ve been looking at more pics on the forums and reading what some of the users have to say. One writer said it is only good for “low and slow aircraft,not jets”. Apparently because of the time it takes to load the images. Definately need a lot of bandwidth. That said, I still believe that this is the future of flight sim scenery. I think it only a matter of time before someone comes up with an application that combines the sattelite images with ‘hand drawn’ images into one neat package. And an app that does not rely on downloading the images ‘on the fly’. All in all though, some real stunning images,and, something to look forward to.
mark.avey 06.28.07 at 5:08 pm
Yes, I tend to agree, Ken. All it really needs is the ability to pre-cache some of the scenery (for instance along your proposed flight plan) and correct alignment of the runways etc and it’d be awesome!
Plus, it’s auto-updating, which is a big plus, as you’ll always get the most up-to-date scenery.
Mark - FlightSimX