Help
Everything you need to get from the first click to your first ramp-to-ramp flight.
Getting started
- Explore: drag to pan, right-drag (or two fingers) to rotate and tilt, scroll to zoom. Click any shelf to see its floor, ceiling and class.
- Probe: click a point and an altitude to ask "what airspace am I in here?"
- Route: click waypoints to see every airspace a route crosses, or build a cross-country with a nav log.
- Missions: guided lessons and checkrides. Open the briefing, press Start mission, and follow the Next step card.
- Fly: free flight from any airport, on the runway or at the ramp.
- Ground school: FAA private pilot knowledge test practice, micro exams, full exams and 3D spot questions.
Flight keyboard controls
| ← → / A D | Bank left / right |
| ↑ / W | Push: nose down |
| ↓ / S | Pull: nose up |
| Q / E | Rudder left / right |
| R / F | Throttle up / down |
| V | Cycle flaps |
| J | Flaps up one notch |
| G | Go around (in the pattern) |
| H | Heading hold |
| L | Altitude hold |
| X | Brakes (hold) |
| C | Cycle camera views |
| M | Click the mic (pilot-controlled lighting) |
| I | Instrument panel |
| P | Aircraft systems view |
| B | Altimeter to local setting |
| K | Sync heading indicator |
| - / = | Heading bug |
| Space | Pause |
| [ ] | Sim speed |
Tablets and touch
On a tablet, press Cockpit during a flight for a full-screen panel with a touch yoke, throttle, rudder and brake pads, flaps and radio call buttons. On a desktop the on-screen yoke and throttle work with the mouse.
Scoring
Missions start at 100. Each airspace or cloud-clearance violation costs 25 points, each stall 5, and weather mistakes (flying below VFR minimums, or special VFR where it is not allowed) cost more. Checkrides grade each task Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory like the ACS.
Common questions
- The map is blank or the airplane never appears.
- AirspaceLab needs WebGL. Use a current Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox with hardware acceleration turned on, and close other heavy 3D tabs. Airspace loads at zoom 6.3 and closer, so zoom in if the status bar says "Zoom in to load airspace".
- I cannot hear ATC.
- Voice uses your browser’s built-in speech. Check the Voice box in the radio panel, unmute the tab, and click anywhere in the page once (browsers block sound until you interact).
- How do I turn the click sounds off?
- Use the speaker button in the top bar. Your choice is remembered on this device.
- I keep crashing on takeoff.
- Rotate gently at about 55 KIAS: hold S (pull) briefly, then ease off to climb at 74 KIAS (Vy). Holding the key builds to full deflection over about a second, so short taps work best.
- Where is my progress saved?
- In your browser on this device only (practice exam history, checkride bests, setup). There are no accounts yet, so clearing site data or switching devices starts fresh.
- Is the live traffic real?
- Yes, from community ADS-B feeds, delayed by a few seconds and with gaps. The airplanes in the traffic pattern during missions are simulated.
- Can I use this to plan a real flight?
- No. It is a training aid only. Use current FAA charts, the Chart Supplement, NOTAMs and an official weather briefing.
Still stuck? Contact us and tell us your browser and what you saw.