How to play Airplane

What is on the screen

Before launch you see the plane held at a window with a faint arc showing the throw direction. During the glide the camera sits behind and slightly above the plane, so you are looking down a receding landscape: rooftops, then fields, then open country. A distance counter runs along the top, and a small altitude bar sits on the left edge showing how much height you have left to spend.

Thermals appear as pale rising columns, easy to miss on a bright screen. Flying into one lifts the plane and refills a portion of the altitude bar. There are also gusts, drawn as thin horizontal streaks, which push the plane sideways and cost a little height if you cross them at a bad angle.

Gliding a round from scratch

Seven steps, in the order the game presents them.

1. 1

   Set the launch angle with the swipe, not the speed

   The swipe does two things: its direction sets the launch angle and its length sets the initial speed. Angle matters far more. A flat, fast throw covers ground quickly and then runs out of height; a throw at roughly forty-five degrees buys you time to find the first thermal.

2. 2

   Hold the phone still for the first second

   Tilt steering calibrates to however you were holding the device at the moment of launch. If you swipe while the phone is angled towards you, level flight afterwards will feel like a constant dive. Settle your grip, then swipe.

3. 3

   Steer with small tilts

   Tilting forward drops the nose and trades height for speed; tilting back lifts the nose and trades speed for height. Push it too far back and the plane stalls, flutters and loses most of its altitude at once. Ten or fifteen degrees is the whole useful range.

4. 4

   Trade height for speed, then speed for height

   The efficient glide is a shallow wave: dive slightly to build speed, then ease back to convert that speed into height. Flying dead level is slower than both. Once this rhythm is automatic your distances roughly double.

5. 5

   Aim for thermals early, not late

   A thermal is worth much more when you enter it with height to spare, because you leave it higher. Chasing one from near ground level usually means arriving too low to benefit. Look for the pale columns while you are still above the rooftops.

6. 6

   Spend the boost on flat air

   The boost charges slowly and gives a short burst of forward thrust. Its value is highest when there is no thermal in reach and the altitude bar is draining — it stretches the glide to the next column. Using it inside a thermal wastes most of the effect.

7. 7

   Let the landing happen

   When the altitude bar empties the plane settles and the distance locks in. There is no crash and no penalty; the summary screen shows distance, thermals used and your best glide of the session, and the next launch is one tap away.

Controls

What a session feels like

Because the launch is a single committed action, a bad throw is obvious within three seconds. Most players restart immediately rather than nurse a hopeless glide, and the game does not object — the retry is instant.

Pointers for a first hour

• Throw high, not hard. Angle beats power. A long swipe at a flat angle looks impressive and lands early.
• Calibrate your grip before swiping. Half of all mysterious diving is a tilt reference set while leaning back on a sofa.
• Learn the stall once, on purpose. Tilt back hard on a throwaway launch so you recognise the flutter before it costs you a good glide.
• Fly the shallow wave. Dive, ease back, repeat. Level flight is the slowest way down.
• Use the touch-steer toggle indoors. Tilt controls are poor when you are lying flat and there is no penalty for switching.
• Restart bad launches early. Three seconds of a doomed glide tells you everything; the remaining twenty tell you nothing.