There’s a Hidden Flight Simulator in Google Earth.
Games like Microsoft Flight Simulator can offer truly stunning graphics, but before you even get to the actual flight, you’ll have to navigate a vast simulation. You’ll need to learn a lot about cockpit controls, takeoffs and landings, and other aspects of the simulator before you’re allowed to soar into the sky and see the planet from a bird’s eye view.
That’s one reason why the flight simulator mode recently launched in the web version of Google Earth is likely to be so popular—with just a couple of clicks, you can zip through canyons or over cities without worrying about what plane you’re in or how the flaps are set.
As Google notes , this isn’t exactly a new feature. In fact, it was ported over from the Google Earth desktop app, but there it’s quite hidden—more of an Easter egg than a full-fledged feature—and offers a much more flight simulator experience. For example, you need to select a plane and figure out how to take off before you get to the stunning graphics.
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Now that this simplified version is available for free as a web app and can be launched instantly without any flight training, it will likely become much more popular. To test it yourself, open the web version of Google Earth in your browser, then click “Explore Earth.” Find the location you want to fly over, then select “Tools” > “Flight Simulator.”
Google has kindly provided instructions for flying the plane. You can use a mouse or keyboard, and you’ll need to master the four basic directions: up, down, left, and right. You can also adjust the throttle.
Everything works through a web browser, so for a smooth experience, you’ll need a reasonably modern computer running Windows or macOS—a large amount of data will be transferred to your system during the flight. “Flying at extreme speeds or with low network bandwidth may cause temporary loading delays,” Google warns.
Take to the skies in Google Earth’s online flight simulator.
The first thing you’ll notice once you’re in the air is that controlling the plane is more difficult than it might seem. It’s worth taking a few seconds to admire the view before taking any action, as there’s a good chance you’ll quickly get into trouble the moment you start typing or clicking.
Use the Up arrow key to lower the plane’s nose (sink), the Down arrow key to raise it (climb), and the Left and Right arrow keys to pitch in those directions. Small movements are key: if nothing happens right away, don’t keep pressing the keys, as you’ll quickly lose control.
Mouse control, which simply requires clicking and dragging the cursor across the screen, proved even more difficult. Within seconds of attempting to change course, I was already flying upside down. Soon after, I began spinning uncontrollably. Every attempt to change course seemed to only make things worse.
Don’t worry too much about hitting the ground—you’ll just see the message “You crashed! Restart!” and immediately take off again. This was actually a huge relief after several minutes of spinning-induced dizziness. I think Google Earth needs to make the flight controls less sensitive or at least add a quick reset option.
Currently, you can only pause or restart a flight by exiting the simulator (using the arrow in the upper left corner) and re-entering. There are also no external views—you’re essentially forced to look straight ahead from the cockpit.
Even with these caveats, and especially now that I’m starting to master the controls, it’s fantastic to be able to soar above any point on the globe in 3D. If you’ve been looking for something similar to Microsoft Flight Simulator, but without having to learn new features beyond the actual flight itself—and you’re not interested in additional features beyond the flight itself—this is the perfect way to escape reality for a few minutes.