Using the Orbital Fly tool

Available with 3D Analyst license.

The Orbital Fly tool provides a way to navigate a 3D view in a way that is similar to flying.

The observer and target locations are controlled via a collection of buttons on a floating dialog box, providing free-flight navigation around the 3D view that does not rely on the mouse cursor location.

The Orbital Fly tool is only available in surface mode in ArcGlobe and ArcReader.

1. Click the Orbital Fly button on the Globe toolbar. The Orbital Fly panel will appear.
2. The panel displays buttons that can be used to control flight. Click the Play button to start flying.
3. Click the Left and Right arrows to turn left and right as you fly.
4. Click the Up arrow to increase forward speed.
5. Click the Down arrow to decrease speed and reverse direction.
6. Click the Altitude arrows to increase or decrease the observer's distance from the surface.
7. Click the Pitch arrows to adjust the view angle of the observer. Use the Double Up arrow to look to the horizon, or the Double Down arrow for a vertical view of the surface.

Tip:

• The Fixed Line of Sight button can be used to control how the observer positions itself in relation to the globe while flying. If Fixed Line of Sight is turned on, the observer will zoom in and out along the line of sight when the altitude is adjusted. This is how zooming in or out with the standard Navigation tool works. If Fixed Line of Sight is off, the observer will increase or decrease vertically in relation to the globe surface.
• You can hold down the left and right direction arrows to get a continuous turn while flying.
• When flying is stopped, the altitude, pitch, and turn arrows can be used to change the observer position. The intermediate direction arrows allow gentler turns. It is sometimes easier to get a feel for how the flight controls work, especially regarding fixed line of sight, when forward motion is stopped.
• The mouse and keyboard can also be used to control flight. Click the keyboard button on the Orbital Fly panel to see how the keyboard keys are mapped to the fly panel buttons.
• To show a North arrow on the display, check the Enable North Arrow option in the View > View Settings dialog box.