Quick answer

If you need the controls for a live flight, open Controls → Pilot in your current client first. That menu is the authority for your platform, preset and any custom bindings. The public PC catalogues reviewed for this page record W/S for pitch, A/D for roll, the left/right mouse buttons for yaw, Space/Left Ctrl for collective, Left Shift for Auto-Level and E for a helicopter supply drop. Treat those rows as a launch-era starting point, not a universal current map.

The quickest safe setup is: read the labels in Controls → Pilot, test one axis at a time in a low-pressure context, then confirm whether the aircraft job is transport, supply, reconnaissance or fire support. Patch notes document control and prompt fixes, but the reviewed first-party sources do not print one permanent keyboard-and-controller table.

PC reference: recorded inputs, not a guarantee

| Aircraft action | Recorded PC starting point | What to verify in the client | | --- | --- | --- | | Pitch forward / back | W / S | Which keys are assigned to nose attitude in the active Pilot preset | | Roll left / right | A / D | Which keys bank the aircraft and whether the axes are reversed | | Yaw left / right | Left / Right Mouse Button | The current tail-rotation binding and mouse-control setting | | Increase / reduce collective | Space / Left Ctrl | The current lift/altitude labels and whether the action is held or toggled | | Auto-Level | Left Shift | Whether Auto-Level is present in the selected preset | | Helicopter supply drop | E in the recorded catalogue | The visible prompt for the aircraft and seat you occupy | | Repair / interaction | Read the vehicle or helipad prompt | No stable public universal binding was found in the reviewed sources |

The six catalogue rows are repeated by more than one third-party guide, but they are not first-party control-screen captures. Other launch-era player reports map some of the same actions differently. That conflict is why this table says recorded rather than default for every current build.

Verify the active layout before takeoff

  1. Open Controls → Pilot and record the build, platform, controller preset and the labels for pitch, roll, yaw and collective.
  2. Enter a safe practice context and change one axis at a time. Confirm the direction before adding sensitivity or an inversion change.
  3. Raise collective gradually, level the aircraft, and add a small pitch input only after the aircraft is clear of nearby players, trees and structures.
  4. Agree with the squad whether the flight is transport, supply, reconnaissance or fire support before leaving the helipad.
  5. If a prompt or binding differs from this page, keep the client value and record the difference instead of forcing the catalogue value.

The official Patch 1.3 notes describe fixes for controller inversion, Layout B pitch inversion, incorrect controller-layout buttons, co-pilot control after Pilot death, supply-helicopter prompts and vehicle interaction behavior. Those changes make the live menu more important, not less.

What pitch, roll, yaw and collective do

  • Pitch changes the nose attitude. Nose-down input builds forward movement; nose-up input reduces it.
  • Roll banks the aircraft left or right and can create lateral drift near the ground.
  • Yaw rotates the nose left or right without requiring a large bank.
  • Collective changes lift. Increase it to climb or arrest a descent; reduce it gradually when descending.

Use the axis that matches the problem. If the aircraft is moving too far forward, correct pitch before lowering lift. If it is sliding sideways, level roll. If the nose points away from the landing line, use yaw rather than adding an uncontrolled bank.

First takeoff and landing checklist

Takeoff

  1. Read the current engine and lift prompts in the Pilot menu.
  2. Start the engine using the prompt shown by the client; do not borrow an engine key from another platform or preset.
  3. Raise collective in small steps and watch for nearby obstacles.
  4. Establish a stable attitude before adding forward pitch.
  5. Tell the squad the route and job before leaving the pad.

Landing

  1. Choose an open landing area and check the route for trees, structures and incoming fire.
  2. Reduce forward movement early instead of trying to stop during the final descent.
  3. Arrive above the landing area with the aircraft level and lateral drift under control.
  4. Lower collective in small steps while making small roll and yaw corrections.
  5. If the approach becomes unstable or the area is blocked, add lift, regain a stable attitude and go around.

For a longer approach decision, use How to Land a Helicopter. For a logistics task, use Helicopter Supply Drop. The Hell Let Loose Vietnam guides hub keeps those tasks separate from the input reference.

Controller status

This page does not convert the PC table into a PS5 or Xbox button map. The official Patch 1.2 material reports gamepad and helicopter fixes, but the reviewed first-party sources do not publish a current Pilot button diagram. Select the exact controller preset you intend to use, inspect Controls → Pilot, and test collective, pitch, roll, yaw, Auto-Level and the visible supply prompt separately.

When a binding does not match

| Symptom | Safe next check | | --- | --- | | The table does not match the client | Keep the active Pilot menu value and record platform, preset and build | | Collective or yaw feels wrong | Read the action label, then test one axis without changing several settings together | | A controller button is missing | Check the selected preset and the on-screen prompt; do not apply the PC row | | Supply drop or interaction is unavailable | Confirm the current seat, aircraft and prompt before treating it as a game issue | | The landing approach is unstable | Add lift, regain a level attitude and go around rather than forcing the descent |

The Helicopter Pilot role guide explains the job boundary, while the beginner guide explains the match objective loop. A correct key is only useful when the pilot also knows what the squad needs.

Frequently asked questions

What are the Hell Let Loose Vietnam helicopter controls on PC? The reviewed PC catalogues record W/S pitch, A/D roll, mouse-button yaw, Space/Left Ctrl collective, Left Shift Auto-Level and E supply drop. Check Controls → Pilot because current reports and presets can differ.

Which collective input should I use? Start by reading the active Pilot label. Space and Left Ctrl are the recorded catalogue pair, while another launch-era layout reports a different assignment.

Are PS5 and Xbox helicopter controls the same? This page does not claim that they are. Controller layouts require a current on-device check.

How do I stop overshooting a landing area? Remove forward movement before lowering collective. If small corrections no longer stabilize the approach, climb away and make another pass.

Sources

Last verified: September 3, 2026. This September 17 rewrite makes the direct task answer and the live-client boundary explicit; it does not promote a third-party row into a guaranteed current binding.