MOUNTS
Free flight plane select: 1 F/A-18 Hornet (carrier-capable) · 3 F-14 Tomcat (carrier-capable, free after 5 campaign missions or by squadron purchase) · 2 F-16 Falcon — the Falcon is a runway start only: no tailhook, no catapult bridle, no boat
MOUSE / ↑↓←→
Pitch & roll — stick sense: ↓ / pull back = nose up. Y toggles the mouse-stick; then click the screen to capture the cursor and fly with relative movement (trackpad-friendly), ESC releases
TOUCH
Phones & tablets get a thumb stick + button deck automatically: left thumb flies, FIRE / AB / WPN / TGT under the right thumb, a drag-to-set throttle lever on the left, GEAR / HOOK / BRK / VIEW / MAP / pause along the top
W / S
Throttle up / down · SHIFT (hold) = afterburner
, / .
Rudder left / right
SPACE
Fire selected weapon (hold for the gun) · MOUSE BTN = gun trigger
ENTER / TAB / 1 2 3
Select weapon (AMRAAM / Sidewinder / Gun — the Tomcat carries PHOENIX / SPARROW / Sidewinder / Gun, the Falcon and Hornet carry AMRAAM, Sidewinder and the gun) — a console beep confirms every toggle, just like the '88 original: the cockpit stores panel lights the live weapon's stations white-hot over an inverse-video label, and the HUD names it outright. 1/2/3 jump straight to one (the Tomcat adds 4 for the gun); strike sorties rack Mk 83 bombs on 5. The Sparrow is semi-active: FOX 1, then hold the radar lock until it hits — break the lock and the round goes ballistic. Reticles on civilians and friendlies show green with a DO NOT FIRE advisory; hostile contacts lock up red
5 — CCIP
Dumb bombs against ships & ground targets (strike sorties and T-8 school): select the Mk 83 and the HUD swaps to the CCIP pipper — it computes the impact point live. Dive 20–30° on the run-in, track the pipper onto the hull, SPACE to pickle, and pull out by 800 ft: the blast does not care who dropped it. Bombs are ballistic — no lock, no warning for the target, the range does the coaching
T
Cycle radar target
R
Radar range (Hornet/Falcon: 40 / 10 / 2 NM · Tomcat AWG-9: 100 / 40 / 10 / 2 NM)
S
F-14 only: swing the wings — SPREAD 20° for lift, SWEPT 68° for speed. Watch the stall margin swept slow
`
Wingman orders (missions): 1 attack my target · 2 cover me · 3 form up · 4 send him home. VIPER TWO launches with you, holds your wing, and hollers when he's in trouble
RTB
A sortie only counts when you bring her home: finish the objective, then return to the point of origin — the deck or the field you launched from. Any other airfield, and the carrier, will re-arm and refuel you on the way, but the mission completes only when you're down and stopped back where she began
B
Wheel brakes / airbrake
G
Landing gear
H
Arrestor hook (F/A-18 only — the F-16 has none)
C / F
Chaff / Flares
M
ECM jammer toggle
D
Smoke trail toggle
KEYPAD
Point of view: 4/6 yaw · 8/2 pitch · +/− distance
SHIFT+P
Drop rescue pod (Mission 4)
V / X
Camera: cockpit / cockpit-off / chase / orbit / tower · X jumps straight back to the cockpit from any view
Z
Time acceleration: 2x / 4x / 8x / 16x / back to normal — the whole world runs faster · SHIFT+Z steps back down: 16x > 8x > 4x > 2x
J / O
J spectate: ride along with each aircraft in the area in turn (SHIFT+J rides back to the previous one) — airliners, MiGs, everyone, each with its own engine note: jets share the Hornet's recorded loops, airliners and the S-3 a turbofan whine, the E-2/C-2/P-3 and the helicopters a prop whirr. While spectating: SHIFT+ARROWS, RIGHT-DRAG or the NUMPAD (4/6 pan, 8/2 tilt) move around the aircraft, WHEEL / [ ] / KP +− zoom, 0 / KP0 reframes · O missile view: ride the newest round in flight with the same camera controls, O again cycles the rounds in the air
U / N / I
U HUD on/off (clean screenshots) · N live map toggle — every aircraft in the area with its callsign, helicopters included, plus carrier, airfields and waypoint. Fully opaque chart: DRAG pans, WHEEL zooms in/out, BKSP reframes the whole bay · I mission objectives card — the typed brief, recallable in the cockpit any time
+ / −
Magnify view in / out (XMAG) — every view
SHIFT+E
Eject · P / ESC pause · ? this screen · Q quit to menu