Tips for flying jets and helicopters in Battlefield 6

The Battlefield 6 flying controls are a little confusing and can feel very twitchy when you're in the cockpit of an attack jet or helicopter. With the Battlefield 6 beta also having a very limited selection of vehicle-based maps, opportunities to practice with them are quite slim.

To help any prospective pilots out there in Battlefield 6, I've explained exactly how the flying controls work and have laid out some tips for both jets and helicopters so that you can secure aerial superiority and help your team from the skies.

Basic flying tips for Battlefield 6

The default controls for Aircraft (jets) and Helicopters are the same on controller, so here are the main things to bear in mind when trying to fly in Battlefield 6 without crashing:

• Right stick = pitch (tilts the nose of the aircraft up or down relative to you) and roll (rotation)
• Pitch controls are inverted by default too, so pushing the right stick forward pitches your aircraft down, not up.
• Left stick = yaw (left and right turning) and throttle (speed up and slow down)
• R2/RT = Fire weapons. Helicopters and jets have two main weapons each and you can press Triangle/Y to switch between them.
• L2/LT = Zoom in.
• Press right stick = Change camera angle, switching between first-person pilot view and third-person chase camera.
• Press left stick = Turn on/off afterburners (jets only).
• D-pad left = Activate equipment slot 1.
• D-pad right = Activate equipment slot 2.
• Hold d-pad down = Activate freelook mode. This lets you use the right stick to look around, whether you're in first or third-person view.
• Hold Square/X = Exit vehicle.

If you want to alter your controls, open the game's settings menu, navigate to the Controller or Mouse & Keyboard tabs, then look at your "Aircraft" or "Helicopter" controls or keybinds. You can choose from a few presets or completely remap controls to your preference. You can also turn on a Helicopter assist mode which causes you to automatically hover when no movement inputs are being used.

With the basic controls out the way, here are some general tips for staying alive and contributing to your team's efforts when flying in Battlefield 6, whether you're in a jet or a helicopter:

1. There are lots of things that can shoot you down in Battlefield 6: When flying low for an attack run, you've got to look out for the obvious lock-on missile launchers, anti-air tanks, and enemy aircraft, but RPGs and other ground-based vehicles can also easily bring you down without warning.
2. Only use flares when you see the "INCOMING" warning and let them recharge: When an enemy locks onto you with a missile launcher, make sure you only deploy flares after they've fired the missile, marked by the "INCOMING" HUD warning. If you use flares too early, the enemy can just lock on a few seconds later and fire another missile to which will almost certainly hit you since you can't counter it. Once you've used your flares, they need to recharge, so get away from danger as quickly as possible until they’re ready to go again.
3. Use the map's terrain for cover: This is obviously a lot easier for helicopters since they can literally hide behind things by hovering or landing on the ground, but jets can still fly low and fast to make locking on harder for the enemy.
4. Go back to your deployment zone to repair: Fly low and slowly through your deployment zone to start automatically repairing your jet or helicopter. This is especially important for jets as they (currently) don't have a way of self-repairing, but it takes a while. There are obviously a few other ways you can repair vehicles in Battlefield 6.
5. Change your camera view often: You're not locked to a first-person view when flying, and it's actually a good idea to switch to the third-person chase camera when you're not actively attacking. The wider view you get lets you see more of your surroundings and any threats. Combine this with freelook so see directly behind you too.
6. Bailing out is always an option: If you don't have any flares ready to counter a lock-on missile and your jet is quite damaged, the chances of you surviving another hit are slim. Don't be afraid to just jump out and parachute back down to the ground, continuing the match on foot.  

Battlefield 6 jet tips

Unlike in previous Battlefield games, attack jets are not available right from the start of a match, becoming available after the first minute of a match on the deployment map screen or your HQ's vehicle station. Additionally, if you choose to spawn in a jet, you'll appear straight in the air at high speed – no need to take off from a runway – so you'll be ready to fly right away.

Here are some tips for flying jets in Battlefield 6:

1. Target enemy aircraft whenever you spot them: Jets are the air-to-air fighters in Battlefield 6, so that means shooting down enemy jets and helicopters should be your main priority. Your rapid-fire autocannon can't be countered with flares so use it to rip through aircraft armor. When you have air superiority, then you can focus on strafing attacks on ground targets.
2. Adjust your throttle as you fly and use afterburners when necessary: While flying at full speed all the time might sound like a good idea, adjusting your throttle is crucial to staying manoeuvrable – a lower speed means tighter turns but also puts you at risk of stalling, so there's a balance to strike. If you do start stalling, you can whack on the afterburners to boost your speed a bit. In fact, you can check your speed by looking at the cockpit HUD's M number (your mach speed) which is in the lower-left corner of the central readout.
3. Don't fly straight up: This is a great way to rapidly lose speed and manoeuvrability, often leading to a stall, which makes you a sitting duck for enemy aircraft and anti-air fire.

Battlefield 6 helicopter tips

Helicopters are available right from the start of a match, but you need to run up to the cockpit to get inside, and another player can join you in the gunner's seat. After the start of a match, you can also find helicopters on the deployment map screen or vehicle station in your HQ like any other vehicle.

Choppers can be quite hard to handle, so here are some Battlefield 6 helicopter tips to help you get the most out of them:

1. Get a gunner: While you're at the mercy of other players here (or hopefully you have a willing squadmate), having a gunner with you is a massive help as it adds considerable firepower to helicopters in Battlefield 6. They add a powerful autocannon and guided missiles that lock onto ground vehicles to a chopper's arsenal, which are great for targeting enemy ground vehicles.
2. Just because you can hover, doesn't mean you should: Helicopters are a lot more agile than jets thanks to their ability to hover and turn on the spot. However, hovering during an attack is generally a bad idea, leaving you open to all sorts of deadly attacks. Keep moving and retreat to safety after attacking.
3. Roll is a lot less important in a helicopter and yaw is best for turning: For jets, you'll mainly be using pitch and roll with a bit of yaw to turn, but it's sort of flipped for helicopters. Yaw is much more important, letting you turn on the spot as you fly while roll should be used to keep yourself level (though it can also be used for sharp turns like in a jet). If you try to roll a chopper over too much, you'll almost certainly end up crashing into the ground.

Jets and helicopters are only available on larger Battlefield 6 maps and only in certain Battlefield 6 modes.

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