OrthoStreamXP – Free Satellite Ortho Streaming for X-Plane 12

OrthoStreamXP streams satellite and aerial imagery into X-Plane 12 as you fly, without preparing whole regions of photo textures beforehand. FlySimDev’s free, open-source Windows utility fetches scenery around and ahead of your aircraft, then caches it locally for repeat flights. You still need terrain mesh for each region you intend to fly.

Photo textures on demand

The imagery comes from Bing Maps, Esri World Imagery and Geoportal Poland. OrthoStreamXP follows your aircraft through X-Plane’s UDP data output and prioritizes downloads along your flight path. Previously visited areas stay in the cache for immediate reuse, subject to the space limit you choose.

FlySimDev positions it as a Windows alternative to AutoOrtho and a way to avoid Ortho4XP texture-building work. There are no configuration files to edit. Choose a quality preset and start the utility; it prepares the scenery before launching X-Plane.

The distinction to check before downloading is texture versus mesh. OrthoStreamXP streams the photographs but does not generate the terrain beneath them. It accepts existing mesh packages from Ortho4XP, AutoOrtho, OrthoStudio XP and X-Plane Map Enhancement (XPME). Its built-in downloader also offers regional mesh packages, including Europe and North America, at 6 to 33 GB per region.

Quality, seasons and night flying

• Four quality presets. Balanced, Sharp, Ultra and Extra reach up to zoom level 19. A connection test recommends a preset before your first flight. Afterward, the utility suggests adjustments based on PC and connection performance, but applies nothing without your approval.
• Color correction and preview. The utility softens differences between neighboring photographs taken on different days. Exposure controls let you darken overly bright imagery, and a live preview shows color changes before you fly.
• Seasonal coloring. Summer imagery receives spring, autumn or winter colors according to X-Plane’s date and your location. Water, roads, buildings and rock retain their original colors.
• Night lighting. Street lamps and house lights follow X-Plane’s roads. An optional setting skips detailed photo downloads at night to reduce bandwidth use.
• Ground detail control. X-Plane’s procedural grass and dirt speckles can be suppressed over the photographs or faded to your preferred strength.

The cache manager allows limits from 25 GB to 1 TB, displays cached areas on a map and lets you delete individual areas. It automatically removes old areas, so disk use follows where you fly. Each flight produces a report covering download performance, scenery loading and your route.

Automatic updates show release notes first. You choose when to install them.

Windows setup and first launch

You’ll need Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit), X-Plane 12, an internet connection and about 25 GB of free disk space for the initial cache. Allow additional room for the regional mesh packages. WinFsp is also required and is free; setup checks for it and provides a download link.

1. Install WinFsp.
2. Run OrthoStreamXP-Setup.msi from the download.
3. Restart Windows. The WinFsp driver needs the restart before it will work.
4. In the first-run setup, select your X-Plane folder, scenery packages, quality preset and cache location.
5. Press Start, then Fly. Always start OrthoStreamXP before X-Plane.

The installer is not yet code-signed, so Windows SmartScreen may display a warning. FlySimDev’s instructions are to choose More info, then Run anyway.

Beta status and support

OrthoStreamXP is in beta. FlySimDev reports daily flight use, but rough edges remain possible and feedback is welcome. The project provides its latest release and source code on GitHub, along with an online user guide. Send bug reports and ideas through GitHub Issues and attach the session log from %LOCALAPPDATA%\OrthoStreamXP\logs.

Restrictions and usage notes

It is free software under the GPL-3.0 licence, with no accounts, subscriptions or ads.

The imagery comes from external providers (Bing Maps, Esri World Imagery, Geoportal Poland). It is not part of the software and remains subject to each provider's terms. It is for personal flight simulation use only, so please don't redistribute downloaded imagery.