Ghost Recon: Wildlands – How to Fly Helicopters (Keyboard)

This guide will hopefully help you learn how to fly helicopters with some basic information. Remember, the best way to improve your flying is through practice!

Introduction

I’ve been hearing that a lot of players are having problems with flying in the game, so I’ve taken it upon myself to write a very basic guide on how to fly. Below are some things that I have learned on my own time that will hopefully help you out on your journey.

This guide was written with the default controls in mind. I can’t really help you otherwise as I’ve had no problem with said default.

Flying Straight

So, you’re having problems flying helicopters, and it keeps diving into the ground no matter what you do. Don’t worry, helicopters aren’t broken, the controls just aren’t explained that well.

Alright, I’m not too sure on how to word this properly, but I’ll try my best.

• First, you need to take off and gain reasonable altitude. Whatever you prefer is best.
• Hold both the W key and the Left Shift key (personally speaking I hold Left Shift first). If you have these remapped then use whatever you have those keys mapped to.
• You’ll notice your helicopter go forward, then suddenly it’ll shift downwards, when it does this, let go of W but DO NOT LET GO OF LEFT SHIFT! 
• Your helicopter should now be flying straight without nose diving into the ground! Congrats! (At least, it should be, if it’s not you managed to mess up).
• Keep holding left shift unless you want to stop. The helicopter will apply a stopping maneuver itself, no input is required unless you choose to do so.

Turning

Turning is rather self explanatory. If you followed the guide above then basic turning is as simple as pressing A or D as necessary. Just keep holding left shift.

However, there are faster ways to turn.

Quick Turning

• Prepare yourself for the turn. Make sure you have reasonable space, rather self explanatory.
• Let go of left shift and immediately hold A or D. Your helicopter should snap into whatever direction your holding. 
• If done correctly, your helicopter should turn much faster than a normal turn. This is useful for avoiding SAMs, though not really necessary if you’re flying low enough. Be aware that you will lose a lot of speed doing this.

Landing

Landing is another one of those self explanatory things, but if you have problems, there are a few tips.

• Let the helicopter stop for you, remember, it automatically applies a stopping maneuver.
• The best way to land is to gently tap the Ctrl key. Keep in mind that this is slow and if you’re looking for a faster method, helicopters are sturdier than they look (apply some common sense, just don’t slam it down). 
• Be aware of the surrounding terrain features. Rocks, trees, slopes or whatever may be around and can cause problems for your ride. It’s fairly obvious that you can destroy your rotors, if you’ve played any other game with helicopters than you’ll understand.

Other Gameplay Tips

• Be aware of passengers deploying drones off the side. They can occasionally destroy the rotors. 
• Missiles aren’t that difficult to dodge. Just apply sharp turning methods and you may potentially avoid it. 
• As mentioned above, if there is a helicopter flying around and you want it taken down, just fly a drone into the rotors from below. 
• Your passengers can jump out with some distance between the ground. Just be reasonable about it. I have dropped squadmates onto cranes and rooftops doing this.

Written by Management!