You Can Now Fly Around Google Earth in an Airplane

Google Earth has introduced a flight simulator mode, enabling users to fly through the vast amount of aerial photography data the company has amassed.

Google rolled out the new feature on Friday to all global users, and the best part is that anyone can use it in a web browser — no app required.

“We’ve recently added many of our most powerful professional desktop features to web,” Google writes on X. “Elevation profiles, new import types, but there’s always been one other feature you’ve been asking us to add to the web version of Google Earth, just for fun…”

Flying around the world has always been a fun thing to do virtually. Microsoft Flight Simulator is one of the longest-running video game series of all time and has a loyal following. Some people have even built plane cockpits in their homes to play the game in.

The flight simulator mode on Google Earth was previously available as a hidden feature on the app. But it required downloading the software to the user’s computer. This new, experimental version is free to play using just a web browser, mouse, and keyboard.

How to Use Google Earth’s Flight Simulator Mode

Head on over to the Google Earth webpage, and select “Explore Earth.” Then find “Tools” on the toolbar, scroll down, and select “Flight Simulator.”

From there, you can fly anywhere on planet Earth. The aircraft can be controlled by using the up, down, left, and right arrow keys on your keyboard. The speed of the plane can be controlled by using the Page Up and Page Down keys — if they’re on your keyboard. Alternatively, you can just click on the power gauge on the right-hand side of the screen.

Users have complained that it is a little tricky to control. Ff the plane crashes, then you can simply restart. PetaPixel had a quick go on the flight simulator and can confirm it isn’t easy to maneuver. There’s a bit of trial and error involved and newbies might find themselves in a permanent barrel roll on their first try.