id: 4.1-satellite title: 4.1 Satellite meta: How to use satellite imagery within the Scenery Editor of Infinite Flight. order: 1 #
4.1 Satellite #
Overview #
4.1.1 #
Satellite imagery is used to assist Editors in creating accurate airports. SASPlanet is the recommended program as it is capable of exporting orthophotos from various sources such as Google, Bing or Yandex maps in varying quality. Files downloaded will be zipped which can be extracted using Windows Explorer. A link to download this program is below:
SASPlanet is only available on Windows and Linux. MacOS users will need to request orthophotos from other Editors
| Program | Purpose |
|---|---|
| SASPlanet | Satellite imagery |
Tip
: You can check different satellite image sources to find the most recent images or images of best quality, however construction sites, outdated imagery and low image quality can make editing quite hard, especially for a new Editor. If your desired airport has low quality imagery and/or significant construction sites impeding editing in SAS, consider postponing the airport to a later date until more recent or higher quality imagery is available
Installing SASPlanet #
4.1.2 #
The following steps should{.red} be followed to extract the file:
Step 1
: Right click the .zip folder and extract files
Step 2
: Select the location to extract the SAS to
Step 3
: SAS is ready for use and no further installations are required
Zoom Levels #
4.1.3 #
Different zoom levels are available:
| Zoom Level (z) | Quality | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| z22 | Commercial | For commercial use - not available |
| z21 | High | Maximum quality that can be found from public sources |
| z20 | Good | z20 or higher should{.red} always be used when available |
| z19 | Marginal | If higher quality not available, can be sufficient |
| z18 or lower | Poor | z18 or lower should not{.red} be used |
4.1.4 #
To work out if the zoom level required is available:
Step 1
: Click the “Cached tiles map” icon (this is 5 icons in from the left of the screen and represented by a silver/black circle) and then tick the relevant zoom
Step 2
: If the tiles are clear then the zoom level is available, otherwise they will be shown in grey
Tip
: Construction sites, outdated imagery and low image quality can make editing quite hard, especially for a new Editor. If your desired airport has low quality imagery and/or significant construction sites impeding editing in SAS, consider postponing the airport to a later date until more recent or higher quality imagery is available