Google Earth Flight Sim!!

This may be on the forum somewhere… however i have not seen it and thought this would be the best section to post..

Google Earth Flight Sim –

Its pretty basic… but a nice little “hidden” extra…

See below..

Google earth flight sim as featured on the gadget show

http://gadgetshow.five.tv/jsp/5gsmai…ht%20Simulator

Download the latest version of Google Earth if you don’t already have it – that’s “version 4.2”. You can get it free for PC and Mac at http://earth.google.com/.

Load up Google Earth as usual, click on the globe, and hold down CTL + ALT + A. This will bring up a dialog box allowing you to choose a plane, and a runway … and get flying! If you have a Mac, press Apple + Option + A.

It’s been discovered that some PCs require you to hold down CTL + WINDOWS + A instead of what we have above – so if it doesn’t work first time, try the alternative keys.

The plane can be controlled by the keyboard. The full controls can be found at http://earth.google.com/intl/en/
userguide/v4/flightsim/index.html. It also works with mouse, joystick or plug-in joypad, like the one we used on the show.

Once you’ve activated it, the Flight Sim can be entered and exited through the Flight Simulator option in the TOOLS menu, allowing you to change plane and airport.

Happy flying!

these are the keys you need to fly

Flight Simulator Keyboard Controls
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.

Note – Note that until you enter flight simulator mode, the following commands do not work.

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 –

Rick