🌍 Google Earth · Flight Simulator · Easter Eggs
Google Earth Easter Eggs: Flight Simulator and More
For almost twenty years, the best thing hidden in Google Earth was a flight simulator that you could only find if someone told you the secret keys. In June 2026 Google stopped hiding it. The simulator now runs in a web browser, and anyone can open it from a menu. That makes it the headline of this guide, but the story behind it, and a few smaller Earth surprises, are worth knowing too.
How do you use the Google Earth flight simulator?
Open Google Earth in a web browser at earth.google.com, click Explore Earth, search for the place where you want to start, open the Tools menu, and choose Flight simulator at the bottom. Your plane appears in the air. Steer with the arrow keys or mouse, and change speed with Page Up and Page Down.
🚀 Quick Start
Go to earth.google.com, click Explore Earth, search for a city, then choose Tools → Flight simulator. No download, no subscription.
Google announced the web version on June 12, 2026, saying it's designed for casual exploration rather than serious flight training. It also labeled the feature experimental, so expect rough edges and possible changes.
Interactive guide: your first flight
| Step | Action | What Happens | Pro Tip |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Open Google Earth on the web | The globe loads | Use a laptop with a keyboard and mouse |
| 2 | Click Explore Earth | The full map view opens | Wait for the 3D buildings to load |
| 3 | Search for your starting point | The view jumps there | Pick somewhere with tall buildings or mountains |
| 4 | Tools → Flight simulator | Your plane starts flying | Read the on-screen controls first |
| 5 | Steer gently | The plane turns | Small movements beat big ones |
| 6 | Pause or restart | Flight pauses on a crash and lets you restart | Press the key shown on screen |
Controls vary by device and version, and reports disagree on the exact keys: one source lists arrow keys or mouse to turn and Page Up and Page Down for throttle, while another describes Up and Down for thrust. Trust the on-screen prompt.
⚠️ Common Mistake: Over-steering. The controls are sensitive, and a big mouse movement sends the plane into a roll or a spin. Make small corrections and let the plane settle.
The original secret: Ctrl+Alt+A
The flight simulator first appeared in Google Earth version 4.2 in 2007 as a genuine hidden feature. To open it on the desktop application, you pressed Ctrl+Alt+A on Windows or Command+Option+A on a Mac. A menu then let you pick one of two aircraft, an F-16 and a four-seat SR22, and start from the user's location or from a list of airports.
Google's own Maps blog confirmed it in September 2007, describing why it had been hidden and adding a second way in. If the menu item wasn't there, you could type the word "Lilienthal" into the Fly To box, which did the same thing as the key combination.
Two ways unlocked the flight simulator in the 2007 desktop app. Press the keys on the virtual keyboard below to trigger the unlock animation, or type the secret word into the search box.
| 2007 Desktop Easter Egg | 2026 Web Version | |
|---|---|---|
| How to open it | Ctrl+Alt+A, or type "Lilienthal" | Tools → Flight simulator |
| Where | Google Earth desktop app | Any browser |
| Aircraft | F-16 and SR22 | Check the on-screen options |
| Status | Hidden feature | Official, labeled experimental |
| Install needed | Yes | No |
🎓 Rare graduation: This is the rare Easter egg that graduated into an official feature. Most hidden Google features stay hidden, or disappear.
The two aircraft
History timeline
Google Earth 4.2 includes a flight simulator accessible only via Ctrl+Alt+A (Windows) or Command+Option+A (Mac). The secret word "Lilienthal" works in the Fly To box as an alternative entry.
In September 2007, Google's own Maps blog writes about the simulator and explains why it was hidden, turning a secret into an official announcement.
On June 12, 2026, Google launches the flight simulator in the browser version of Google Earth, available to all users without a download. The feature is labeled "experimental."
Other things hiding in Google Earth and Street View
Smaller surprises have come and gone around the Earth family of products. Pegman, the orange figure you drag onto a map to open Street View, has dressed up for holidays: a heart on Valentine's Day, a snowman before Christmas and a witch on a broomstick for Halloween, according to a PC-Welt report. Those are occasional, so don't count on seeing them on any given day. The Google Maps easter eggs guide covers the Pegman costume changes and the Area 51 UFO in more detail.
Google Earth has also added playful features outside of hidden menus, such as historical views of select places in 2024, according to Engadget. Those aren't easter eggs, but they reward the same kind of curiosity.
What the flight simulator can't do
Set your expectations. It's a casual simulator. It doesn't model realistic aerodynamics, there are no missions or scores, and bad bandwidth can make buildings pop in slowly. Treat it as a way to see the planet from above, not as a replacement for a dedicated flight game.
Build your own: scenic flight routes
The simulator is more fun with a plan. Paste this prompt into Claude or any AI chat to get a set of routes to fly.
You are a travel guide who also loves flight simulators. Plan 5 scenic flights for Google Earth's browser flight simulator. For each flight give me: 1. A starting place I can type into the Google Earth search box. 2. A heading (compass direction) and a rough cruising altitude. 3. Three landmarks I should see on the way. 4. A difficulty rating from 1 to 5, where 5 is mountains or tall cities. 5. One sentence on why it is worth flying. Mix: one coastline, one mountain range, one big city, one desert, and one place near [my hometown]. Keep each flight under 10 minutes. Present the plan as a table.
Fly each route, then ask the AI to adjust the difficulty up or down depending on how you did.
More easter egg hunting
If you enjoy finding hidden things, try the Gmail easter eggs guide, which separates real hidden features from April Fools jokes. For a wider view, the Google easter eggs list for 2026 collects the Search tricks that still work, and cool things to type in Google covers the ones you can trigger from the search box.
How this guide was checked
I confirmed the June 12, 2026 web launch against Google Earth's own announcement as quoted by several outlets, then compared the steps and controls across reports from Engadget, PCWorld and Tom's Guide. The 2007 details come from Google's Maps blog and contemporary coverage. Controls and menu positions can change in an experimental feature, so rely on what you see on screen.
✅ Bottom line: The Google Earth flight simulator, hidden for 19 years behind Ctrl+Alt+A and the secret word "Lilienthal," launched on the web in June 2026. Open earth.google.com, go to Tools → Flight simulator, pick an aircraft, and steer gently with arrow keys and Page Up/Down. It's a casual toy, not a training tool, and controls may still change. Try both the F-16 and the SR22, start from a city with tall buildings or a mountain range, and watch for holiday Pegman costumes in Street View.
Frequently asked questions
Further reading
- Google Earth – open the web version and find the flight simulator under Tools.