GTA V: How to Fly a Plane

The city of Los Santos is massive and it’ll take some serious time to drive across the whole thing, let alone getting about by foot. There is a faster way of getting around, though, and that’s by simply flying a plane in GTA V. In this guide, we’ll be talking you through not only how to get a plane, but also how to fly it for significantly faster travel.

Getting a Plane

The first thing you’ll need to do is actually get yourself an aircraft. The easiest way to do this is to open up your phone and going to ‘elitastravel.com’ from the main menu.

Here, you’ll find a number of different aircraft you can buy. As long as you’ve completed the main story, you should have enough to buy one.

Keep in mind that you’re only able to buy a plane or helicopter in GTA V if you’ve got a helicopter pad or hangar to store them. You can get one of these easily after you’ve completed Trevor’s mission ‘Nervous Ron’ which sees him visiting the McKenzie Field Hangar. Completing the mission allows you to then buy the hangar for $150,000.

Flying a Plane in GTA V

To fly a plane, you’ll first need to get the engine/ rotors up to speed. Press the accelerate button (R2/ RT) to build this up and you should eventually begin rising into the air. Once you’re high enough, you can hide the undercarriage by pressing L3.

You can then use the left analog stick to fly the plane up, down, or to turn it left and right.

Landing the Plane

When it comes to landing a plane, you want to keep it as level as possible as you bring it down towards the ground. It’s also worth making sure that you find a long, straight stretch of land to bring the plane down onto. Any bumps and it increases the chances of crashing, as does not having enough space to slow the plan down before the end of your landing strip.

Press L3 to release the undercarriage again and let go of the accelerator/ gas altogether. Begin braking heavily as you continue to bring it towards the floor.

If the plane bounces as you hit the ground, you’ll need to fly back up and begin the landing process again. It’s all about getting your speed down as much as possible so once you touch the floor, you stay on the floor.

Plane & Aircraft Controls for GTA V PC

If you’re playing on PC, flying a plane in GTA V can be a little trickier. We’ve got a full table of the aircraft controls for PC players below.

Keep in mind that taking off on PC requires players to press ‘5’ when the plane is up to speed. This will cause the nose of the plane to lift into the air, allowing you to then start gaining altitude.

Similarly, when you come to land, you’ll need to press ‘G’ to first toggle your landing gear (wheels) and then press 8 to point the nose of the plane down towards the ground. Make sure this isn’t too steep, though, or you’ll end up crashing.

With all of this information in that noggin of yours, you should now be all set to fly a plane in GTA V. If you’re looking for more on GTA V, you can check out our coverage below. For all your other video game guide needs, be sure to search for Twinfinite.

Related: How to Get Maximum Possible Share For Each Heist in GTA V on Gamepur