Default Key Commands

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.

In-flight Keyboard Commands

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.
View Commands

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.
Flight Control Commands

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.
Weapons Commands

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.
Radar Commands

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.
Visual Targeting Commands

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.
Misc. Commands

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).