10 Key Commands Every Virtual Pilot Should Know
This is just the tip of the iceberg - there are hundreds of ways to
customize Flight Simulator to your preferences and flying style. Make sure
to visit the Learning Centre that is built into Flight Simulator 2004: A
Century of Flight for many tutorials and guides and more aviation fun.
Like most Flight Simulator pilots, you've probably memorized the basic key
commands required to fly. You know that pressing the G key raises and
lowers the landing gear, and pressing F7 lowers the flaps. But you might
not know about some other commands, so we asked some experienced Flight
Simulator pilots to let us in on their favourites:
1. Panel on/off W
Want to focus on your view out the window instead of the instruments? To
replace the instrument panel with just the six basic instruments, press
the W key once. To get rid of the instruments entirely, press W again. To
display the full panel again, press W a third time.
To display just the six basic instruments, press the W key
2. ATC window display/hide ` (ACCENT)
Want to fly in a world filled with other pilots and air traffic
controllers? Press ` to display and hide the Air Traffic Control window.
You can learn more about the new Air Traffic Control feature in the Air
Traffic Control articles.
3. Switch to Top-Down view CTRL+S
Cleared to taxi to runway 27R, but not sure where it is? To switch to
Top-down view and see the scene from above, press CTRL+S. To zoom in and
out, press = (EQUAL SIGN) and - (MINUS SIGN).
4. Zoom in/out = (EQUAL SIGN) and - (MINUS SIGN)
Is that an airport out there on the horizon? To zoom in for a closer look
in any view, press = (EQUAL SIGN). To zoom out, press - (MINUS SIGN). To
reset the view back to the default zoom, press BACKSPACE.
5. Move eye point up SHIFT+ENTER
Want to raise your seat and see more of the ground? To raise your "eye
point," press SHIFT+ENTER. To reset the eye point, press SPACEBAR. You can
also move your eye point left and right- for the complete list of eye
point commands see the Kneeboard (press F10).
6. Kneeboard display/hide F10
Need to know the approach speed for the Boeing 737-400? To display or hide
the Kneeboard, press F10. You'll find complete checklists and reference
information for the aircraft you're flying, a complete list of the Flight
Simulator key commands, a flight briefings, as well as a Navigation and
Communications logs.
7. Select sim rate R
Flying from Hong Kong to San Francisco and getting bored of the Pacific?
Increase the simulation rate. Press R to select Sim Rate, then press =
(EQUAL SIGN) to increase it. To slow back down to a sim rate of 1, press R
then - (MINUS SIGN).
To switch to Top-down view, press CTRL+S
8. Cycle views S
Want a new perspective on your flight? The default view in Flight
Simulator is Cockpit view. To cycle to Virtual Cockpit, Tower, and Spot
Plane views, press S. (To cycle through the views in reverse order, press
SHIFT+S.) To look around, use the hat switch on the joystick or the Num
Pad keys.
9. Autopilot master switch on/off Z
Overwhelmed with cockpit tasks? Reduce your workload by pressing Z to turn
on the autopilot master switch. In addition to enabling all of the other
autopilot functions, the master switch engages pitch hold and the wing
leveller. The aircraft maintains its current pitch attitude and the wings
stay level.
10. Select engine E
Flying an aircraft with more than one engine? You can adjust each engine's
controls individually. Select an engine by pressing E + the engine number
(1-4). Then, manipulate the control using the mouse or key commands. To
revert back to controlling all engines, press E + all the engine numbers
in quick succession (E, 1, 2, and so on). |
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