Helicopter Flying Guide

1:56 To fly a helicopter in Wardogs, climb in, unlock it with L, raise the collective to lift off, then steer with W and S for pitch, A and D for roll and Q and E for yaw, as GamesRadar+ and GameSpot explain. The collective is where guides disagree: GamesRadar+ and Shacknews list Left Shift to raise and Ctrl to lower, while Dexerto lists Space to raise. GameSpot warns these are not "typical arcade-style helicopter controls," so every guide starts in the same place: the Firing Range, where any vehicle spawns free. This page covers the keys, the settings guides recommend, taking off and landing, controllers and flight sticks, and earning as a pilot. The helicopters themselves are on Helicopters. The clip is Bulkhead on the aerospace engineer it brought in for its helicopter flight model.

Quick facts

Sources: GamesRadar+, GameSpot, Shacknews, Dexerto.

Helicopter keybinds

Sources: GamesRadar+ (Sep 16, 2026), Shacknews (Sep 10, 2026), Dexerto, GameSpot (Sep 11, 2026).

Conflicts. The lift key differs by guide: GamesRadar+ and Shacknews give Left Shift, Dexerto gives Space as Collective (Raise), and GameSpot rebinds raise to Space and lower to Left Shift under the rotary vehicle keybinds. The defaults may have changed between builds, so check Settings before your first flight. On a controller, GamesRadar+ puts yaw on the bumpers while Shacknews puts it on the right stick. Shacknews names the stick axes "Cyclic X" and "Cyclic Y," which are pitch and roll. All keys can be rebound; the infantry and ground vehicle keys are on Controls and Keybinds.

Settings to change first

2:56 GameSpot recommends turning on Rotary vehicle mouse control (it is at the bottom of the controls settings), so moving the mouse left and right yaws and up and down pitches. Its other values: pitch and yaw sensitivity about 80%, mouse axis isolation 70%, and invert Y for air off. Dexerto suggests leaving Helicopter Flight Assists on while you learn and turning them off once you are comfortable. Bulkhead's Season 1 changelog (Sep 9, 2026) applied helicopter input damping to every input device and fixed the Z20 Lakota's sluggish pitch, so advice written for the betas may feel different now. Graphics settings that help you spot targets are on Best Settings. In the clip jackfrags puts roll on the mouse instead, Battlefield style.

Practice in the Firing Range

22:24 The Firing Range, reached from the bottom left of the main menu, has a Vehicle Vendor on the left that spawns any vehicle in the game for free, per GameSpot. That makes it the place to learn the Havoc and the Z20 Lakota before you have unlocked them or can afford to lose them, and GamesRadar+ recommends practicing there before you carry players. Every pilot starts in the MH-6 Little Bird; the others need Pilot levels.

Taking off and landing

10:38 Helicopters start locked, so press L first (GameSpot). Hold the collective to lift straight up, clear of trees and buildings, before you tip the nose forward with W; GamesRadar+ singles out avoiding trees. In GameSpot's setup, with lift on Space, letting go of the key leaves the helicopter hovering, and it advises watching the bars on screen as you descend. To land, slow down first, then lower the collective gently over flat ground. The clip is GhostGaming's slow approach and landing, with lift rebound to W.

Your passengers want to land close to the fight. A purple M18 Landing Zone signal grenade ($50, per Dexerto) marks a landing spot on the map. PC Gamer notes that pilots often drop players at the nearest friendly FOB rather than in the zone, and Bulkhead's own Season 2 advice to passengers is: "Make sure you trust a pilot before getting into their aircraft."

7:19 J-hooks. A J-hook is the creators' favorite fast landing: fly past the landing zone on a straight line beside it, then roll toward it, yaw the nose round and pull up to burn off the speed, so the path is the shape of a J and the passengers land safely. Bulkhead has published no guide to it as of Oct 26, 2026, so this is creators' advice. The clip is the pilot Silk planning a left hook down a road to an LZ near a tower and flying it.

4:19 OnMapleWings, who flies helicopters for real, breaks the same maneuver into steps: pick the spot, remember that the faster you go the wider you turn and the longer the speed takes to bleed off, go past and circle back, and trade airspeed and height with a nose-up, banked turn until you can cushion into a hover with collective. He adds that a drop inside the Hot Zone pays double, which is why pilots bother. Learn the slow approach first, then practice in the Firing Range, where a crash costs nothing.

Controllers, HOTAS and flight sticks

GamesRadar+ finds helicopters far easier to fly with a controller than with mouse and keyboard. Controllers work on PC: Bulkhead's patch notes add gamepad binds and, since Season 2, an Aim Assist strength slider under Settings, Controller, Advanced (Season 2 notes), although Steam's store data lists no controller support.

25:28 HOTAS and joystick support is not documented by Bulkhead: no patch note through Season 2 mentions flight sticks. The one official line on input devices is the launch changelog's helicopter input damping on "every input device". Creators fly with them anyway: IceManIsaac, an Air Force pilot, maps each axis and button himself and notes there is no free-look binding for a stick, so he remapped a stick button to Left Alt with the Joystick Gremlin tool. If you try a stick, check the controls menu for axis bindings and test it in the Firing Range first.

Tips for staying alive

• Repair and refuel at HQ. Helicopters repair and refuel automatically at HQ, paid from your cash, and you buy ammo and flares there by holding B (GamesRadar+).
• Carry flares. Flares are $750 for three bursts and go off with V; the 9K333 Verba and Talon 9K-SAM are heat-seeking missiles (Helicopters lists every anti-air threat).
• Respect the CIWS. Since Bulkhead's Oct 2 hotfix the Vanguard CIWS kills a Havoc in about 6 seconds, so do not hover near an enemy FOB.
• Do not shoot through your own glass. Since Season 2, firing out through the cockpit glass damages the helicopter the same as incoming fire (Season 2 notes).
• No grenades from inside. Since update 0.1.2, throwables cannot be used from enclosed vehicle seats (0.1.2 notes).

Making money flying

21:27 Flying players to the zone is a pilot's income. A beta pilot PC Gamer described had made over $35,000 in about 40 minutes with zero kills. Season 2 pays a base $100 for each player delivered by air, plus $25 for each player in a streak, up to 25, with more for crates and pallets, and pilots earn assist cash when passengers score kills and tips (PC Gamer). Pilot XP comes from passengers who jump out, more if they land alive (GamesRadar+). Bulkhead's launch-weekend figures gave the Pilot track only 8.70% of all XP earned, the smallest share of the six roles, so good pilots are always wanted. See Money Making Guide and Economy and Cash.

Frequently asked questions

How do you fly a helicopter in Wardogs? In Wardogs, press L to unlock the helicopter, raise the collective to lift off (Left Shift in GamesRadar+'s list, Space in Dexerto's), then use W and S to pitch, A and D to roll and Q and E to yaw; lower the collective with Ctrl to descend.

What are the helicopter controls in Wardogs? GamesRadar+ lists Shift to lift, Ctrl to descend, W/S pitch, A/D roll, Q/E yaw, V for flares, C for the camera, left mouse or Space to fire and hold F to exit; on a controller RT lifts and LT descends.

Can you fly helicopters with a mouse in Wardogs? Yes. Turn on Rotary vehicle mouse control in Wardogs' controls settings and the mouse yaws and pitches the helicopter; GameSpot suggests about 80% pitch and yaw sensitivity and 70% axis isolation.

Does Wardogs support HOTAS? Bulkhead has not documented HOTAS or joystick support for Wardogs as of Oct 26, 2026, and no patch note mentions flight sticks, but creators such as IceManIsaac fly Wardogs with a HOTAS by mapping each axis themselves.

Where can I practice flying in Wardogs? Practice in Wardogs' Firing Range, reached from the bottom left of the main menu, where the Vehicle Vendor spawns any helicopter for free.

Is it easier to fly with a controller in Wardogs? GamesRadar+ says Wardogs' helicopters are much easier to fly with a controller than with mouse and keyboard.

Sources

• The ULTIMATE WARDOGS Helicopter Guide (From #1 PILOT!), Silk, Sep 13, 2026 (video)
• WARDOGS Pilot Guide: J-Hooks & Double Your Profit From A Real Pilot, OnMapleWings, Sep 3, 2026 (video)
• Air Force Pilot's ULTIMATE WARDOGS Helicopter Guide (HOTAS, Mouse, Controller, Settings, & More), IceManIsaac, Sep 3, 2026 (video)
• How to fly a helicopter in Wardogs, GamesRadar+, Sep 16, 2026
• How To Fly In Wardogs, GameSpot, Sep 11, 2026
• Wardogs PC keybindings & controls, Shacknews, Sep 10, 2026
• Best mouse & keyboard settings, Dexerto, Sep 4, 2026
• M18 Signal Grenade: Landing Zone, Dexerto, Sep 4, 2026
• Flares, Dexerto, Sep 4, 2026
• Pre-Load Live & Season 1 Changelog, Bulkhead, Sep 9, 2026
• WARDOGS | Update 0.1.2 (Minor Patch), Bulkhead, Sep 30, 2026
• IR Goggles & CIWS Balance Hotfix, Bulkhead, Oct 2, 2026
• WARDOGS | Season 02 Patch Notes, Bulkhead, Oct 14, 2026
• WARDOGS on Steam, Steam, read Oct 26, 2026
• 10 beginner tips to not suck at Wardogs, PC Gamer, Sep 10, 2026
• Believe the hype for Wardogs, possibly the next great multiplayer FPS, PC Gamer, Aug 11, 2026
• How to make money fast in Wardogs, PC Gamer, Sep 9, 2026
• WARDOGS passes two million copies sold less than five days after launch, Bulkhead and Team17 via Games Press, Sep 16, 2026
• WARDOGS | Tactical Depth & Teamplay, Bulkhead, May 21, 2026 (video)
• WARDOGS Pro Tips and Tricks..., jackfrags, Sep 10, 2026 (video)
• The Only WARDOGS Guide You Actually Need, Fallout Plays, Sep 15, 2026 (video)
• WARDOGS ► A Quick Start Guide To Flying Helicopters - Controls, Settings, Sensitivities, GhostGaming, Sep 3, 2026 (video)