Photographic texture has been a feature of Computer Image Generators for several years. When applied to models such as aircraft, trees, and buildings, photographic texture has produced extremely realistic results. Current methods of applying texture to the terrain surface of a simulator data base use either synthetic or self-repeating photographic texture patterns, neither of which produce the same degree of realism as that achieved with photo-textured models.

This paper describes techniques which have been developed to apply real imagery, either from aerial photographs or satellite data, to the terrain surface of a simulator data base. A data base, with extensive photo-texturing, has been built to demonstrate the results.