Taking off is probably the most difficult part of flying when you do not own a joystick, because of this, most people think that it is impossible to do. However there is a certain way to do it that allows for a fluid and easy take off. It is worthy of note that the first couple of times you attempt this, you will fail. Use the 0 key on the numpad and note where the speed gauge is. This might be hard if you are in a French or German craft and don't know their languages.

The first thing you're going to want to do is find out the RPM controls for your plane. By default, they are ; and '

Click the increase RPM button ' twice or until the chatbox says you have gained maximum RPM.

Now you can start your engine, by default this button is "e". You should begin to hear the engine start humming. Now you need to use the scroll wheel until the humming is the loudest, so that you reach maximum throttle. It is very important that you do not move the mouse itself at all at this point.

The aircraft should start to move forward at this point. When it starts gaining speed it will begin turning, try to combat this by using the brake keys, by default they are "z" and "x". Z is left brake, X is right. Do not press them all together unless you plan on the plane flipping and metal and glass shards piercing your skull.

Keep an eye on that speedometer. Once it reaches 10 (100 on some planes) you should slowly push the mouse forward away from you. This part is tricky and is all about timing. If you try to lift off without reaching the proper speed, you will lose control and crash. If you go too late, you'll run out of runway and crash into surrounding objects.

So now you've crashed about 30 times and have finally gotten the hang of lifting off. About thirty seconds into flight, you hear a loud banging, you lose your site for a minute, start seeing again, but everythings green. Why is it green? Oh dear thats a tree.

At about this point you'll be pretty frustrated.

The actual flying is very difficult and I suggest cutting the mouse out entirely, only using it to shoot, or even remapping the firing button to the keyboard.

Use the WASD keys to maneuver the craft, you'll be slower but handling will be that much easier. Don't expect to be able to do all of those sick twists and turns that joystick users can, but you can still function and be as lethal as the next Hans on the street.

Some things you might want to note:

On some fighters, you have multiple crewman. To switch, use the numbers uptop, not the numpad.

If you experience too many Gs you will begin to lose stamina and black out for a second. You can combat this by not flying like an idiot and try to keep straight. Flying upside down will kill you very quickly.

If you use your mouse midflight, it is suggested that you keep sensitivity down. I suggest a mouse that has buttons on it for adjusting sensitivity quickly, so that you can change it at will.