Take to the skies

Posted on 7 Dec 2007 at 11:26

Google Earth has always been a spectacular application - ever since its 2005 launch, the rapid, almost seamless descent from the global view to your back garden has always had the power to amaze. However, thanks to one of the finest "Easter eggs" of recent years, Google Earth also offers another way to enjoy its virtual world: a built-in flight simulator.

To launch it, load Google Earth and then - before you touch anything else - hit the key combination (or if that doesn't work). You should be met by a pop-up dialog of flight-simulator options, offering you a choice of two planes and whether to start flying from your current Google Earth viewpoint or choose a runway from a selection of airports.
Flight Sim is at its best in areas with lots of 3D buildings or spectacular terrain.
Choose the latter and you'll find yourself with a view from the front of a plane on the tarmac. Pressing Page Up or Page Down will add or decrease thrust, the Left and Right arrow keys will control the corresponding ailerons, the Up and Down arrow keys work the elevators, and the Insert and Enter keys (or Shift + Left/Right) will work the rudder. Alternatively, you can use either a joystick or a mouse. The former gives the best control, but not every controller works. The mouse is a sensible choice; clicking on the centre of the screen gives you a little cross, which can be used to control the elevators and the ailerons with more finesse than you'll ever achieve with the keyboard.

The onscreen instrument panel takes a little getting used to, so we've annotated it. On the left, you'll see a speed gauge, indicators for the flaps and the gears and a display that shows the current status of the throttle, yoke, ailerons and rudder. In the centre of the screen is a heading indicator, from which you can read your current direction, plus a heads-up display for wing tilt and elevation. On the right, there are gauges covering vertical speed and altitude. Note that on a widescreen format display, the heading and vertical speed gauges may be hidden. Rather than run Google Earth maximised, you might want to run it in a window and set that window to a conventional 4:3 format.

To get flying, start by adding thrust until the gauge hits maximum. Once your plane is going fast enough and the nose (or the viewpoint) is beginning to rise, press the Down key or move the mouse back slightly to take off. Once you're in the air, you can use the rudders or the ailerons to turn.

The key is subtlety. To turn using the keyboard, press the Left or Right arrow key lightly, then press the Down arrow to speed up the rate of turn. Once you've turned, press the Up key to flatten the elevators, then press the opposite key (either Right or Left) to level off. It's easier to do this and maintain a steady course if you use the mouse. Take things slowly, don't make extreme movements and you'll soon get used to the feel of flight. Go wild and you'll spend more time pummelling into the ground than in the air.
Use Google Earth's built-in flight sim to buzz London's most famous landmarks.
Now, nobody is going to pretend that Google Earth's flight simulator is a serious rival to Microsoft's Flight Simulator X. It can't compete with the ultra-realistic scenery, cockpit views and lighting of the Microsoft sim - particularly when that app gets its long-awaited DirectX 10 update next year - and it certainly can't compete on features. Flight Simulator X has a range of gorgeous external views, a far more detailed physics and handling model, a vast hangar full of planes, gliders, helicopters and microlight aircraft, plus a fine selection of enjoyable missions to boot. However, the Google Earth sim is free, a lot less CPU intensive and offers the ability to fly anywhere you like. Sure, you can fly over your home town in Flight Sim X, but unless your home town is New York, San Francisco or one of 36 other major international cities you're not going to see a realistic version. Your home town may look a little flatter in Google Earth, without Flight Sim's 3D trees and buildings, but at least the detailed satellite photography will show you every street, rooftop and alley.