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Playing Around With Google Earth's 'Hidden' Flight Simulator
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Playing Around With Google Earth's 'Hidden'
Flight Simulator
Version 4.2 of Google Earth (download for free) has a hidden flight simulator in it that you allows you to virtually enjoy a RV flight - not as fun as the real thing but so doable on a rainy day (or like me, re-living some memorable trips I've taken).
I gotta dig that old joystick out of the closet <g>.
Possible uses:
- Re-visit the visual queues going into Johnson Creek (after you've received proper mountain flying instruction, of course)
- Flying to a strange airport in the future? Familiarize yourself with the lay of the land.
- Fly around Mt. St. Helens
- Fly down in the Grand Canyon.
- Drop in from space to simulate the Shuttle approach into Florida.
- Some more using screen shots:
Johnson Creek, ID
Telluride, CO
Sedona, AZ
Visit Van's Aircraft (Aurora, OR)
NW Regional Airport (Roanoke, TX) Home of 'Flash' and VansAirForce.net
Mt. Everest (in the F-16)
Hudson River tour, NYThe controls (and how to launch it) are listed below (text copied from THIS PAGE on the Google Earth website).
First Tips: Pause the simulation with the SPACEBAR. Click left mouse button on/off to enter/exit flight with mouse mode. Thrust is PgUp/PgDn. Flaps are 'F' and 'Shift-F'
This document describes the various
keyboard combinations that you can use with the flight simulator
features of Google Earth. To enter the flight simulator mode, press
Ctrl + Alt + A (
+ Option + A on the Mac). Once you have entered flight simulator mode
for the first time, you can re-enter the mode by choosing Tools
> Enter Flight Simulator. To leave flight simulator mode, click
Exit Flight Simulator in the top right corner or press Ctrl +
Alt + A (+
Option + A on the Mac).
The following keystrokes control navigation and other aspects of the flight simulator. You can also control the aircraft with a mouse or joystick. To disable or enable mouse controls, left click (single click on a Mac). Once mouse controls are active, the pointer shape changes to a cross on your screen.
|
Command |
Windows/Linux Keystroke(s) |
Mac Keystroke(s) |
Result or Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exit flight simulator | Ctrl + Alt + A, Escape |
 +
Option + A, Escape |
Exits flight simulator mode. | |
| Open flight simulator options | Ctrl + Alt + A |
+ Option + A |
Opens the flight simulator dialog box. | |
| Rotate pilot viewpoint | Arrow keys + Alt (slow) or Ctrl (fast) | Arrow keys + Alt (slow) or Ctrl (fast) | Moves the viewpoint in the direction of the arrow. | |
| Display flight simulator help | Ctrl + H | - | Opens this flight simulator keyboard commands page. | |
| Increase thrust | Page Up | Page Up | - | |
| Reduce thrust | Page Down | Page Down | - | |
| Aileron left | Left arrow | Left arrow | - | |
| Aileron right | Right arrow | Right arrow | - | |
| Elevator push | Up arrow | Up arrow | - | |
| Elevator pull | Down arrow | Down arrow down | - | |
| Rudder left | Insert | Shift + left arrow | - | |
| Rudder right | Enter (numeric keypad) | Enter (numeric keypad) | - | |
| Rudder left | Shift + left arrow | Shift + left arrow | - | |
| Rudder right | Shift + right arrow | Shift + right arrow | - | |
| Elevator trim nose down | Home | Home | - | |
| Elevator trim nose up | End | End | - | |
| Elevator trim nose down | Shift + up arrow | Shift + up arrow | - | |
| Elevator trim nose up | Shift + down arrow | Shift + down arrow | - | |
| Reduce flap setting | Left bracket | Left bracket | - | |
| Increase flap setting | Right bracket | Right bracket | - | |
| Reduce flap setting | Shift + F | Shift + F | - | |
| Increase flap setting | F | F | - | |
| Center aileron and rudder | 5 | 5 | - | |
| Center aileron and rudder | C | C | - | |
| Extend/retract landing gear | G | G | Only works if landing gear is retractable on current aircraft | |
| Left wheel brake | , (comma) | , (comma) | - | |
| Right wheel brake | . (period) | . (period) | - | |
| Pause simulation | Space | Space | - | |
| Toggle HUD | H | H | - |
