Global Mapping
by ICSGM
Entry created by Andreas Jung. | Praiseworthy attempt to create a unified dataset of the world. The dataset is more or less derived from existing datasets of various participating countries. Only a few number of countries is not participating. Free for *non commercial* use; commercial use is up to each country. Requires registration to download the data. Specifications available. Resolution seems to be *similar* to VMAP-0. [IMO] It's a good thing to have such an organization that is not bound to a specific government. OTOH I think the selection of the VPF format is not really optimal, as this is the same mess as with VMAP. |
OpenStreetMap
by OpenStreetMap contributors
Entry created by Andreas Jung. | OSM coverage now made substantial progress and [IMO] can now be considered as a suitable street data source in flight simulators looking for free vector data (at least Europe and America). OSM is expected to grow steadily in the future. |
VMAP
by NIMA
Entry created by Andreas Jung. | I have selected MapAbility as representative website, because it features the best "portal" to the VMAP dataset. [IMO] Despite VMAP is more or the less the only vector dataset available which is more or less "free", it is questionable, wether it is a good choice. The quality of information itself is sufficient for a global scenery, but there are some caveats: the legal situation is not 100% clear and the file format is a nightmare. |
