| Keyboard |
| Arrow Keys | Stick — Down pulls back to climb, Up pushes forward to dive, Left/Right bank (flip in Pause if you prefer Up = climb) |
| A / D or Q / E | Rudder left / right |
| W / S or Shift / Ctrl | Throttle |
| Space | Fire machine guns |
| B | Drop a bomb |
| X | Wheel brakes (on the ground) |
| C | Change camera (chase / cockpit / cinema) |
| T / Shift+T | Time acceleration up / back down — ×1 / ×2 / ×4 / ×8 (cancels when hit or low down) |
| M | Map on / off |
| H | These notes |
| Esc or P | Pause |
| Gamepad (standard layout) |
| Left Stick | Pitch & roll — pull back to climb |
| Right Stick | Left/right: rudder · Up/down: throttle (other layouts: Pause menu — press Esc or Start) |
| LB / RB | Rudder left / right (alternative) |
| RT | Fire machine guns |
| LT | Drop a bomb |
| D-pad Up / Down or A / X | Throttle |
| B | Wheel brakes |
| Y | Change camera |
| R3 / L3 (stick clicks) | Time acceleration up / back down |
| Start | Pause |
| Airmanship |
| Taking off | Full throttle, let her roll, ease back gently past 45 mph. |
| Landing | Throttle back, glide in shallow & slow, flare before the wheels touch. Land at your own aerodrome and roll to a stop to refuel & re-arm. |
| Stalling | Too slow and the nose will drop — dive to regain speed. |
| Gunnery | Get in close behind, aim ahead of a crossing target. |
| Bombing | The floating ◇ shows where a bomb would strike. Low & steady does it. |
| Archie | Anti-aircraft fire! Weave and change height to spoil his aim. |