Use keyboard shortcuts to explore the world in a flight simulator.
Flight simulator requirements
While the flight simulator is designed to provide an immersive flying experience, the following limitations apply:
- Web only:The flight simulator is only available on Google Earth on web.
- Simplified flight physics:The flight simulator is designed for casual exploration rather than high-fidelity aerodynamic training.
- Dynamic loading:As you fly, 3D buildings and high-resolution imagery stream in dynamically. Flying at extreme speeds or over low-bandwidth connections may result in temporary loading delays.
Start a flight
To launch the flight simulator, do the following:
- On your computer, open Google Earth .
- At the top of the home screen, click
Explore Earth. - Open the Toolsmenu in the top menu bar.
- Select Flight simulatorfrom the menu.
Flight controls and navigation
Use the following keyboard shortcuts to control your aircraft.
| Action | Keyboard control | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
Increase thrust
|
Page up or click on-screen indicator | Accelerates the aircraft's engine speed |
|
Decrease thrust
|
Page down or click on-screen indicator | Decelerates the aircraft's engine speed |
|
Pitch down (dive)
|
Up arrow | Directs the nose of the plane downward to decrease altitude |
|
Pitch up (climb)
|
Up arrow | Directs the nose of the plane upward to gain altitude |
|
Roll left (bank)
|
Left arrow | Banks the aircraft to the left |
|
Roll right (bank)
|
Right arrow | Banks the aircraft to the right |
|
Toggle mouse controls
|
Click inside simulation | Alternates between mouse-guided flight controls and keyboard controls |
Crash recovery
If your aircraft makes direct impact with the ground terrain, the simulation will pause. Click You crashed! Restartto instantly restore your aircraft at a safe, playable altitude and coordinates.
Exit simulator
Click the back arrow in the upper-left corner of the flight simulator to safely exit the simulation and return to the standard Google Earth map view.
Known issues
- Terrain anomalies:When flying near ground level in regions below sea level (for example, Badwater Basin in California), you may experience occasional flashing or clipping.
- Overlapping controls:Standard map shortcut keys (such as historical imagery toggles) are deactivated during flight to avoid conflicting with flight controls.
