Google Earth Secret: Flight Simulator Mode…05.23.10

Thanks to Techerator:

“Google Earth is a revolutionary application that allows you to explore the entire planet in 3D using Google’s satellite imagery data.  Users are not just limited to terrestrial earth anymore either – you can journey under the oceans, gaze at the night sky, travel to the moon, and visit Mars.

Sure, there are plenty of practical uses for Google Earth, but a fantastic hidden feature allows you to turn Google Earth into a global (and interplanetary) flight simulator.

Activating Flight Simulator

To activate Flight Simulator mode, press CTRL + ALT + A  in Google Earth. You will be able to select either an F16 fighter jet or the propeller-powered SR22…

Google Earth’s flight simulator is surprisingly complex but can be controlled (fairly) easily with the mouse.  A few keys you’ll want to know to get started are:

Increase Thrust: Page Up

Decrease Thrust: Page Down

Toggle Landing Gear: g

Aileron Left: Left Arrow

Aileron Right: Right Arrow

Rudder Left: Shift + Left Arrow

Rudder Right: Shift + Right Arrow

Increase Flaps: ]

Decrease Flaps: [

Exit Flight Simulator – Esc

You might want to consider getting a joystick if you plan to do some serious flying.  Check out this guide for the complete list of flight simulator controls…

Enabling 3D Buildings

3D buildings are automatically disabled by default when you enter flight simulator mode due to performance concerns, but it’s very easy to re-enable them (and it makes it much more fun to fly near cities with a lot of 3D buildings like San Fransisco or Chicago).

Here’s how to enable 3D buildings in flight simulator mode:

1. Enter flight simulator mode with CTRL + ALT + A and start the flight.
2. Press CTRL + ALT + B to bring up the sidebar and enable 3D Buildings under the Layers tab.
3. Press CTRL + ALT + B again to close the sidebar…”