The game has a default set of key commands. You can alter them by opening the
Options Screen. Click the green aircraft icon in the upper left corner
of the screen, then select Control. The default control list is loaded by
default, but you can click Customize to change the key mappings. If you choose
to customize, a new *.INI file will be saved in the Controls subdirectory under
the main game folder.
| Esc |
End/abort mission and display the Debrief Screen. |
| Alt+Q |
Close the game immediately and return to the desktop. |
| Alt+P |
Pause the game. (You can still perform many functions while the
game is paused.) |
| Alt+T |
Change the rate at which time passes - x2 (twice as fast), x4
(four times as fast), x8 (eight times as fast) and x1 (normal speed). |
| Alt+R |
Reset time compression back to x1. |
| Alt+N |
Jump to the next mission encounter. You can use this option only
when no enemy targets are present. When pressed, this key takes you to the next
action area and eliminates all travel time (including waypoints). |
| Tab |
Display the radio communication menu. You can then press the
number keys (1 through 9 at the top of the keyboard) to select a specific menu
or message. (See In-Flight Communication for specific messages and their
effects.) |
| A |
Toggle autopilot on/off. In Autopilot mode, your aircraft flies
toward the next waypoint. Note that moving the joystick or mouse will cancel
autopilot. Autopilot also does not pause for enemy encounters. |
| Shift+A |
Toggle wing-leveling action. When activated, this feature restores
level flight and keeps the aircraft moving in a straight line. If you move the
joystick or mouse while this function is active, the game will drop out of
wing-leveling mode. |
| W |
Select next waypoint. |
| Shift+W |
Select previous waypoint. |
| Alt+M |
Display the in-flight map, a version of the Planning Map, but with
less information. It basically shows your current position and the position of
known mission-critical objects. |
| PrtScrn |
Take a screen shot. The current scene will be saved as a bitmap
image in the ScreenShots folder. |
Note: In all interior views, you can move the mouse to pan the view up, down,
left and right.
| F1 |
Display the interior, front cockpit view. |
| F2 |
Display the interior, front cockpit wide view. |
| F3 |
Display the interior, front cockpit narrow (gunsight) view. |
| Shift+F1 |
Show a front 45-degrees up view from inside the cockpit. |
| F4 |
Toggle the padlock view, keeping the selected target in your view
as long as it's in range. This option attempts to keep your current foe
centered in your view. Pressing this key a second time switches the view back
to front cockpit view (F1). |
| Numpad keys |
Temporarily pan the view in a given direction. The view returns to
its previous position when you release the key. |
|
Numpad Del (.)
|
Toggle cockpit art on/off, leaving only the HUD targeting circle. |
|
Numpad 0
|
Display a forward view of the dashboard, looking down at the
instruments. |
|
Numpad 8 |
Display the forward view. |
|
Numpad 7 / 4 / 1 |
Display the left front / left / left rear view, respectively. |
|
Numpad 9 / 6 / 3 |
Display the right front / right / right rear view, respectively. |
|
Numpad 5 |
Add 45 degrees of vertical angle to any other view. (Press this
key in conjunction with the other Numpad view keys.) |
| F5 |
Display an external, over-the-shoulder ("chase plane") view. |
| Shift+F5 |
Show an external rear view. Use this view to "Check Six" (look
behind you). |
| F6 |
Cycle through external views of various aircraft in the mission.
Pressing this key multiple times in succession switches to the next aircraft. |
| Shift+F6 |
As above, but in reverse order. Pressing this key multiple times
switches to the previous aircraft. |
| F7 |
Display an external view of the next ground object. Pressing this
key multiple times switches to the next ground object. |
| Shift+F7 |
As above, but in reverse order. Pressing this key multiple times
switches to the previous ground object. |
| F8 |
Display an enlarged view of your current visual target. |
| Shift+F8 |
Show a line-of-sight view to your target. This perspective puts
your current target in the center of the screen and lines it up with an
external view of your aircraft in the foreground. |
| Ctrl+F8 |
As above, but reversed. Your aircraft appears in the middle of the
screen, and the target appears in the foreground. |
| F9 |
Switch to the weapon camera view. You view everything from the
weapon's perspective, corresponding to the last weapon you fired. |
| Shift+F9 |
Show a line-of-sight view from your weapon to your aircraft. This
perspective puts your weapon in the center of the screen and lines it up with
an external view of your aircraft in the foreground. |
| Ctrl+F9 |
As above, but reversed. Your aircraft appears in the center of the
screen, and your weapon appears in the foreground. |
| F10 |
Display an external, fly-by view. You see your aircraft make an
approach, fly past, and then exit your view. |
| F11 |
Display the view from the nearest tower to your aircraft. |
| Numpad + / - |
Zoom the camera view in (+) or out (-). You can also use the wheel
on your mouse if it's equipped with one. |
| Alt+Arrow keys |
Pan the view in the desired direction. You can also move the mouse
in any direction to pan. |
| Left / right mouse buttons |
Zoom the view in or out. This can be very useful for examining
your aircraft from an external camera view, or for reading dashboard
instruments. |
You can control your aircraft by using a joystick or the keyboard. If you have a
programmable joystick, many of the following functions can be assigned to your
joystick buttons and/or wheels.
Note that the aircraft takes a few seconds to respond to your flight commands.
Be careful not to over steer, or you may quickly get into trouble.
| Left / right arrow keys |
Roll the aircraft (dips the wings) left or right. |
| Up / down arrow keys |
Pitch the nose of the aircraft up or down. |
| , / . (comma / period) |
Turn the rudder left and right. Alternatively, you can also use a
rudder pedal. |
| = / - (not Numpad) |
Increase or decrease throttle. Note that you can also use an
external throttle to control speed. |
| F |
Extend flaps down by one notch. Most aircraft flaps have three
settings.
Up (Retracted) - no extra lift (good for normal flight)
1/3 (Partially extended) - some extra lift (good for taking off and avoiding
stalls during tight or vertical maneuvers)
Down (Fully extended) - lots of extra lift and drag (good for landing)
|
| V |
Retract flaps by one notch. Flaps are automatically raised after
you reach a certain speed in order to prevent damage. |
| S |
Toggle speedbrakes (extend/retract). Use your airbrakes in the air
to quickly bleed off speed. |
| B |
Toggle wheel brakes (engage/disengage). Use this command when
landing to reduce speed, but make sure you wait until you've touched down. |
| G |
Raise/lower landing gear. |
| Ctrl+L |
Cycle through external navigation light settings - off / flashing
/ steady. |
| Ctrl+I |
Engine Toggle. Turn engine on/off. |
| Shift+ESC |
Eject from the aircraft, ending the mission. |
| Backspace |
Switch to next Air-to-Air (A/A) weapon. |
| Shift+Backspace |
Switch to previous Air-to-Air weapon. |
| \ (backslash) |
Switch to next Air-to-Ground (A/G) weapons. |
| Shift+\ (backslash) |
Switch to previous Air-to-Ground weapon. |
| Spacebar |
Fire primary gun or cannon. You can also use joystick button 1 to
fire. |
| Enter |
Fire/release currently selected missile, bomb, or rocket. You can
also use joystick button #2. |
| Ctrl+D |
Jettison (drop) external fuel tanks. You can do this to gain
maneuverability, as long as you have enough fuel to return to base. |
| Ctrl+J |
Jettison all external weapons except for A/A missiles. |
| ' (apostrophe) |
Switch to next gunsight mode - CAGE / Air-to-Air (A/A) /
Air-to-Ground (A/G). Whenever you select a new weapon, the proper gunsight mode
auto-activates. |
| Shift+' (apostrophe) |
Switch to previous gunsight mode. |
| ] |
Cycle to next ripple setting. For bombs, this key determines the
ripple setting, or how many bombs are released at once when you press Enter.
The number of weapons per launch varies by aircraft. |
| Shift+] |
Cycle to previous ripple or salvo setting. |
| [ |
Cycle to next ripple interval setting. This determines the time
between each bomb release when more than one bombs are rippled. |
| Shift+[ |
Cycle to previous ripple interval setting. |
| ; (semicolon) |
Cycle to next gun group - usually 2 upper guns / 2 lower guns /
all 4 guns. Some aircraft have multiple gun groups or gun pods. Pressing this
key activates a different set of guns. When you press Spacebar, only the
selected guns will fire rounds. |
| Shift+; (semicolon) |
Cycle to previous gun group setting. |
| Z |
Toggle electronic counter measures (ECM) on/off. For aircraft
equipped with an ECM, this can jam the enemy radar. However, it gives away your
location to the enemy. |
| X |
Drop Flare. For aircraft equipped with an decoy dispenser, flares
can be deployed to spoof incoming heat-seeking missiles. |
| C |
Drop Chaff. For aircraft equipped with an decoy dispenser, chaff
can be deployed to spoof incoming radar-guided missiles and break enemy radar
lock-ons. |
| Ctrl+PgUp |
Turn radar off. If the radar is off, pressing PgUp will turn it
on. |
| PgUp |
Switch to next radar mode - Search / Boresight / Ground Map /
Terrain Avoidance. Note that not all modes are available on all aircraft.
Additionally, the Gameplay option settings can affect what you see on the
radar. When the radar is in Acquisition or Tracking mode, this key instead
causes the radar to revert back to its pre-acquisition setting (either Search
or Boresight mode). |
| Shift+PgUp |
Cycle to previous radar mode. |
| PgDn |
Cycle to next radar range setting. Note that different aircraft
have different radar ranges. |
| Shift+PgDn |
Cycle to previous radar range setting. |
| Home |
Select the next radar target on the radar display. Depending on
your Gameplay option settings, the radar target may only appear as a momentary
blip during each sweep. A target must be visible in order for the radar to
enter Acquisition mode. |
| Shift+Home |
Cycle to previous radar target on the radar display. |
| Insert |
Acquire and lock on the currently selected target. Acquisition
mode is a transitional mode between Search mode and Track mode. Once you
initiate acquisition, you lose all other radar contacts. When the radar is able
to acquire a full system lock, it enters Tracking mode. You can then fire your
radar-guided missile at the selected target. |
| Shift+Insert |
Attempt to acquire the current visual target. This slews the radar
azimuth and elevation in order to point at the visual target. If the target
falls within the radar constraints, the radar tries to enter Acquisition mode
and acquire that target. |
| Delete |
Deselect the current radar target. This key causes the radar to go
back into Search or Boresight mode. Note that you can also deselect a target by
cycling through radar modes. |
| T |
Designate the next enemy or unidentified aircraft as your visual
target. This places square brackets on the head-up display (HUD). If the target
moves out of view, the brackets turn into a cone that points in the direction
of the target. Additional target information may also appear in the lower right
corner of your viewscreen, depending on your HUD settings. |
| Shift+T |
Select previous enemy or unidentified aircraft as your visual
target. |
| Ctrl+T |
Select closest enemy or unidentified aircraft as your visual
target. |
| Y |
Select next friendly or neutral aircraft as your visual target. |
| Shift+Y |
Select previous friendly or neutral aircraft as your visual
target. |
| Ctrl+Y |
Select closest friendly or neutral aircraft as your visual target. |
| E |
Select next enemy ground object as your visual target. |
| Shift+E |
Select previous enemy ground object as your visual target. |
| Ctrl+E |
Select closest enemy ground object as your visual target. |
| Numpad * (asterisk) |
Target the object closest to the center of view. |
| R |
Target the last object mentioned in the radio call - an enemy
aircraft (bandit), incoming missile, friendly bomber, airport, etc. For radio
calls that do not involve targetable objects, the caller of the object, if
appropriate, may be targeted. Some objects might not be visible or targetable. |
| Shift+R |
Target the caller of the last radio call, if appropriate. |
| Ctrl+R |
Select the current radar target as your visual target. You must
have the target selected on your radar, but you don't need a full lock to
select this as a visual target. |
| Shift+1 |
Animation key 1 (for third-party add-ons). |
| Shift+2 |
Animation key 2 (for third-party add-ons). |
| Shift+3 |
Animation key 3 (for third-party add-ons). |
| Shift+4 |
Animation key 4 (for third-party add-ons). |
| Shift+5 |
Animation key 5 (for third-party add-ons). |
| Shift+6 |
Animation key 6 (for third-party add-ons). |
| Shift+7 |
Animation key 7 (for third-party add-ons). |
| Shift+8 |
Animation key 8 (for third-party add-ons). |
| Shift+9 |
Animation key 9 (for third-party add-ons). |
|