Flying
Take off, fly, land
The same keys mean the same thing in a plane and a helicopter: W and S for speed, A and D to turn, the arrows to climb and dive. The flight dash shows them while you fly.
- Keyboard and mouse
- No arrow keys? I J K L
The keys
Plane and helicopter, side by side
- Throttle up, downWS
- Bank left, right (steer on the ground)AD
- Nose down, up (see invert pitch)โโ
- Rudderโโ
- Afterburner (the fighter)Shift
- Brakes on the ground, airbrake aloftSpace
- Gear up or downG
- Fly forward, back: the nose dips to speed upWS
- Turn: at speed it banks into the turnAD
- Climb, descend: it slows near the groundโโ
- Strafe sidewaysโโ
- Hover: stop hard and hold stillSpace
- Smoke trailF
- Camera: chase, far, noseC
- Hold to look backQ
- Hold the right mouse button to look aroundRight drag
- Hold for a second to bail outB
- Get out (stopped on the ground)E
Invert pitch
Pull back to climb
A plane's pitch is inverted out of the box, as in most flight games: like a pilot's stick, pulling back (โ) lifts the nose and pushing forward (โ) drops it.
| Question | Invert pitch on (the default) | Invert pitch off |
|---|---|---|
| โ | Nose up: climb | Nose down: dive |
| โ | Nose down: dive | Nose up: climb |
Your first flight
Off the runway in a Cub
01Line up
Taxi to the runway's end with a little throttle and A or D. A stopped plane backs up if you hold S.02Full throttle
Hold W. The throttle bar fills and the plane rolls faster down the runway.03Rotate
At flying speed pull back (โ with invert on) and it lifts off. The gear comes up by itself.04Bank to turn
Bank with A or D and the nose follows. Let go and the wings level out.
Landing
Gently does it
Line up with the runway: near either end the dash shows the glide slope (HIGH, ON SLOPE, LOW). Ease the throttle, keep the wings level, and touch down softly with the gear down.
| Question | Plane | Helicopter |
|---|---|---|
| Where | The airfield: runway, taxiway, apron | Any flat, open ground |
| Coming down | Gently: no hard thump | Slowly: hold โ and it eases off for you |
| Moving | Not too fast for its wheels | Almost still |
| Attitude | Wings level, nose a touch up | Level |
| Also | The gear down (it drops by itself low and slow) | โ |
The flight dash
What the dash tells you
- SPEED, HEIGHT, CLIMB: km/h, metres over the ground (and over the sea), and how fast you're going up or down.
- The warning slot: STALL (too slow: the nose drops; speed up), PULL UP (the ground or a building ahead), TURN BACK (the edge of the sky), TRAFFIC (an airliner on the approach while you're on the runway).
- The lamps: gear, brake, burner, smoke, and whether you're on the ground or airborne; on a rental, its clock.
Looking around
Three cameras, and a free look
Behind a plane the chase camera keeps the horizon level so you see the plane bank; behind a helicopter it leans a little with you in a turn. The far chase pulls back (the Jumbo starts there). The nose view puts you in the cockpit with its instruments, and rolls with you.
Hold the right mouse button and drag to look anywhere round the aircraft while you fly on; let go and the view swings back.
- Chase, far chase, noseC
- Hold: look behindQ
- Look round; let go to come backRight drag
From the air
Find your friends from up high
Players on the ground keep their name tags while you fly, so you can spot someone and land beside them.