Unlike many other flight simulation games of its day, altitude and aircraft characteristics have a big influence on the behaviour of the game's simulated aircraft. Many missions take place at the limits of the aircraft's performance, challenging the player to keep the plane within its flight envelope. For instance, the opening Historical mission as a Luftwaffe pilot pits their Focke-Wulf Fw 190 against the group of unescorted B-17s, but at an altitude that makes even basic flying difficult. Realism has been sacrificed to some degree to enhance gameplay, however, e.g., a real fighter plane expends all of its ammunition after a few short bursts, while in Chuck Yeager's Air Combat the rate of fire has been reduced considerably, making dog fights longer. To assist a newcomer to the game several help features can be activated, such as unlimited ammunition or easier aiming. A virtual Chuck Yeager can be activated, who gives advice.
Each game uses different controls, most DOS games use the keyboard arrows. Some will use the mouse , "Alt" ,"Enter" and "Space bar".