Flying help

[Shadowlerks]

Soooo I've pretty much avoided vehicles like the plague since I come from a long back ground of counter strike. What's the preferred controls for Jets? Gamepad, joystick, or old school mouse? Any tips for someone starting out?

 

[Simon]

I'm 100% KB/M.... but some people have recommended getting a Joystick/Gamepad and switching to that when you get in a jet.

 

[Bigbird]

It depends entirely on how serious you will take flying.. If you are just going to be the casual pub server gamer then keyboard and mouse is the best thing to do for jets. If you want to dogfight and get into competition, joysticks are necessary to compete with reasonable success. Choppers are what I have done for 6 years over the course of BF2 and BF3. Unquestionably the best thing for choppers is KB/M, nothing else gives you better control and quick responses.

 

[Shadowlerks]

In BF2 I was pretty dialed at the chopper with a joystick(sidewinder) but I never did get into the jets. I'm mostly looking to get revenge on all the jet pilots that knock me out of the sky in my chopper haha. You go up there with a mouse and keyboard against some of these level 100s and it's not even close. Maybe it's my tactics but even with turning at the correct speed I don't stand a chance.

 

[CrossCheck]

i m the same way.....i avoid planes and choppers since i just plain suck at them....no matter what controls i use

 

[SUPERJ569]

Well I am decent at helis.....but I suck at jets, no matter how many "BF3 Jet Tips" youtube videos I watch.

 

[hellfire:)]

try an older xbox controler one with a wire to plug into your pc

 

[dtmt1398]

ive avoided jets ever since the game came out ( 2 easy)

 

[Deflagrate]

A stick is easier to fly with, IMO, but the mouse gives you much better accuracy when aiming. For a while, I would actually use both to fly the Little Birds. I'm much more comfortable with a stick, but it's so much harder to be accurate with the miniguns.

The biggest problem with mouse and keyboard is when you're turning a lot, and have to keep picking up the mouse and moving it back to keep turning. Most people overcome this by binding pitch up to a key like spacebar.

 

[Sennett]

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Extreme-Joystick-Silver-Black/dp/B00009OY9U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361581910&sr=8-1&keywords=logitech+3d+pro[/ame]


-With this I can evade most jets and fly very well in the helicopter. You need to practice a bit as well. Watch YouTube videos of some pros to learn how to evade and attack. Good luck!

 

[loki0609]

i use a old logitech extreme3dpro i bought 15 years ago or so I'm alright in it but i still can't figure out how those jets can turn so much faster than i can...grr

I tried a kb/m and i hated it

 

[Bigbird]

Jets are all about using the pitch and yaw correctly. The most important thing is the speed. 310-320 gives you the fastest turning radius

 

[JackTheWack]

I use KB/M for all choppers, and i use a hardwired xbox controller for all jets(windows detects it, it's literally PnP). I also use the xbox headset for ventrillo, which is detected right in ventrillo which is nice. The controller is better for me because i get 2 joy sticks to manipulate the controls.

Like BigBird said, slower speeds are best for pulling those High-G turns, they dont like speed when turning, think about a car taking a sharp turn, speed pushes you to the outside.

Is there a way to get the mouse to control the plane with out having to drag and pick it up? it's truly the most annoying thing in the world and i never did figure out a way around it.

 

[emery03]

Is there a way to get the mouse to control the plane with out having to drag and pick it up? it's truly the most annoying thing in the world and i never did figure out a way around it.

The only solution I know of is to bind space to be pitch up in jets. Makes it much easier for me to turn, but I suck with jets either way so I never use them.

 

[Jokerle]

The only solution I know of is to bind space to be pitch up in jets. Makes it much easier for me to turn, but I suck with jets either way so I never use them.

space for pitch up is the way to go

 

[AVN_Flu]

Here is my guide to jets:

• First off the most crucial detail you need to know is that to make the tightest possible turn, you need to keep your speed as close to 300 as you can, preferably between 290 and 310. This will allow you to overcome your opponent when engaged in a dogfight, unless he knows to do this too. You can only see your speed while in the first person view.

• In Battlefield 3, you can finally use the arrow keys instead of the mouse to turn while using the space bar to shoot. This is very helpful in circling dogfights where you would normally have to keep pulling your mouse back to keep on your enemy, no pitch can be lost when you just hold the down arrow key.

• Remember to lead the target when gunning down a plane in a circling dogfight.

• Air Radar, NEVER leave home without it. It will show you every plane and helicopter within half the map, unless they are using ECM jammer at the time or have Below Radar. You will be at a huge disadvantage until you get this unlocked and equipped.

• Game Pads. Not even once.

• Use guns on helicopters and planes, rockets/missiles on everything else (unless you have a clear shot at infantry, then use guns).

• Countermeasures:
  • When locked onto, deploy flares AFTER they fired their missile(s). Then run away and let them recharge.
  • When using ECM jammer, deploy BEFORE the fired their missile(s). Then run away and let them recharge. If your ECM jammer is still charging when they've fired missiles at you, then fly away in a straight line, hit the afterburners, and deploy ECM jammer as soon as they recharge. The missiles will swerve off but only if you fly in a straight line.
  • I wouldn't bother with the extinguisher, opposing aircraft will hunt you down until you are dead.
  • If you have none of these at your disposal, your best bet is to try to doge an incoming missile with a minimum radius turn. Remember to keep that speed at 300.

• One missile will not be enough to disable you, two from a helicopter or aa vehicle/turret will.

• The F-35 is OP for kill infantry in VTOL mode.

• When engaged in a dogfight but you are not sure where they are, switch the third person mode briefly, this will give you a better view of your surroundings obviously but you will need to switch back to first person view to make sure you are still flying at 300.

That's everything I have to say. For specializations I recommend using Air Radar, Rocket Pods(for ground targets), and ECM jammer.

 

[Shadowlerks]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate all the input.

 

[Dib19]

Weird, I'm halfway decent at jets with just the keyboard and I use the arrow keys rather than the mouse for turning but everytime I try to use a chopper I go nose up and then fall backwards any tips on that?

 

[Deflagrate]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate all the input.

You could also do what I did, and learn to fly in DCS A-10C. Then flying in any other game is easy.