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Below is a typical aircraft instrument panel in WarBirds, taken from a Grumman F6F Hellcat.
Click on any instrument on the panel to find out what that instrument does, and other related information.
 The gunsight in WarBirds is a standard fixed gunsight without any computing abilities. The center of the sight represents the theoretical line that your gun rounds pass through when your aircraft is under a 1 G load at the convergence range you have selected. The small green line directly above the gunsight is a slip indicator, similar to the one shown on the artificial horizon instrument cluster. It is possible to replace the default gunsight with a custom gunsight.
The beacon light indicates the current status of your connection to the iEN host during online sessions or to your opponent during H2H sessions. A green light indicates a steady connection, a yellow light indicates an intermittent connection, and a red light indicates a significant delay in communications. After a period of time, with a red beacon, the WarBirds Front End will cease attempting to communicate with the host (or opponent), and will terminate the current WarBirds session.
Note that this light does not illuminate during offline sessions.
 This counter acts as a indicator for secondary weapons on the aircraft. Depending on the weapon selected (using the Backspace key), this counter will display secondary guns, cannon, rockets, 100, 500, or 1,000 pound bombs. Note that for machine guns and cannons smaller than 37mm, the counter represents percentage remaining of ammunition, and not the actual number of rounds available. Most aircraft use a simple numeric counter to represent ordnance remaining, but some German aircraft actually use a meter-type analog display.
Similar to the ordnance counter, except that it displays only the available "bursts" for the primary guns only. Note that for machine guns and cannons smaller than 37mm, the counter represents percentage remaining of ammunition, and not the actual number of rounds available. Most aircraft use a simple numeric counter to represent ordnance remaining, but some German aircraft actually use a meter type analog display. Note that for aircraft with automatic gunners ("Otto"), the gun counter includes bursts available to all gun positions, even though individual gun positions do not have access to the entire ammo load.
The altimeter displays altitude above mean sea level (NOT above ground level). For aircraft using English units, the large hand indicates altitude in hundreds of feet, the small hand indicates altitude in thousands of feet, and the small red tick indicates altitude in ten thousands (10,000's) of feet. For example, for the altimeter shown, the aircraft is approximately 35,145 feet above mean sea level.
For some aircraft, altitude is measured in meters (Metric system). For these aircraft, the small hand indicates altitude in hundreds of meters, and small hand in thousands of meters, and the tick, ten thousands (10,000's) of meters. For metric unit aircraft, the altimeter can be set to display English units (via the Setup Flight dialog box). When so selected, the artwork in the aircraft DOES NOT CHANGE (that is, the gauge will still be labeled in meters, but will actually display feet). In these cases, the altimeter is read like an English unit altimeter, except that the 0 may be at the bottom of the dial.
The artificial horizon is an instrument used to determined aircraft attitude, especially in low visibility conditions. As the name implies, the moving line represents the horizon, and the fixed line represents the aircraft "waterline" (the plane of the wings and the nose).
Note that due to aircraft angle of attack (AoA or alpha), the aircraft is not necessarily flying level if the waterline is aligned with the horizon line.
The tick marks along the top of the instrument are bank angle indicators. Each tick mark represents 30 degrees of bank.
The slot and ball at the bottom of the instrument is the Slip Indicator. This instrument shows if the aircraft is in coordinated flight or not. When an aircraft is "coordinated", the nose is aligned with the aircraft flight path. When the ball is outside the turn (on the opposite side from the direction of turn), the aircraft is said to be in a skid. When the ball is inside the turn (on the same side of the turn), the plane is said to be in a slip. In either case, the plane may be brought into coordinated flight by "stepping on the ball", that is, applying rudder in the direction that the ball is until it is centered again. In general, an aircraft turns most efficiently when it is in coordinated flight, but there are tactical reasons why a pilot may wish to fly uncoordinated.
 The airspeed indicator represents aircraft INDICATED airspeed in Miles per Hour, or Kilometers per Hour (depending on the aircraft). Note that indicated airspeed is NOT the same as true airspeed. Indicated airspeed for the same true airspeed reduces with altitude.
WarBirds uses a variety of different indicators for landing gear and flap position indicators.
In most USN/USMC aircraft (such as the example F6F-5 shown), the gear position is indicated on the plan view diagram of the aircraft, and flap position is indicated by the position gauge above the aircraft diagram.
Other aircraft use a rectangle-shaped gauge that uses a horizontal line on the gauge to indicate flap position and use lights to indicate gear position (not illuminated: gear up, illuminated green: gear down and locked, illuminated flashing green: gear damaged and not safe). The Spitfire series of aircraft uses a unique flap indicator: a flap "lever" in the upper portion of the instrument panel (lever up: flaps retracted, lever down: flaps extended).
The Bf-109 series also uses a flap "lever" indicator, located in the left side of the cockpit. It is similar to the Spitfire flap lever, but has more available flap positions.
Note that different aircraft have different available flap positions, and may not use the entire flap position display, even with flaps fully extended. Also, be aware that flaps are airspeed limited. You can not deploy flaps over the speed at which they are capable of operation.
 Indicates the percentage of maximum fuel load remaining in the aircraft (F=100%, E=0%). When fuel reaches a critically low level, a red low fuel light will illuminate on the fuel gauge.
Measures aircraft's acceleration in the pitch axis (G-Force). Most often used to determine how tightly the aircraft is turning, or in achieving a "zero G" dive for maximum aircraft acceleration. The number of "G's" indicate the apparent gravitational force being applied to the aircraft and pilot in the pitch axis. 1 G is the normal force of gravity, and is what is experienced in normal straight and level flight. So in a 5 G turn, the plane and pilot experience a force apparently 5 times the force of gravity... a 200-pound man would SEEM to weigh 1000 pounds! Positive G's indicate a force toward the bottom of the aircraft, negative G's indicate a force towards the top of the aircraft.
Note: most WWII aircraft were not fitted with G-meters. They are included in WarBirds to compensate for the lack of physical feedback ("seat of the pants" feel) that a pilot in a real aircraft experiences.
 This gauge indicates the current rate of climb or descent. On most aircraft, this will be related as 1,000's of feet per minute. On some aircraft (those that use metric gauges), this will be related as kilometers per minute.
This lamp indicates what mode the auto-trim system the aircraft is using. Note that the aircraft in WarBirds use an autoTRIM system and not an autoPILOT system. This means that the aircraft TRIM is adjusted to maintain the desired attitude, NOT control inputs.
See also Aircraft Trim in WarBirds
Indicates when the wheel brakes are engaged. Green indicated brakes engaged. Unlit indicates wheel brakes NOT engaged.
 This is a "tape" style compass. Cardinal directions are indicated with the appropriate letter (for English language aircraft, N-North (000), E-East (090), S- South (180), W-West (270). A number indicating tens of degrees of heading (that is, 33 means 330 degrees) indicates directions between. Large tick marks indicate tens and small marks indicate five degrees. In the example, the aircraft is heading 345 degrees.
Although referred to as a "tachometer", in WarBirds this gauge actually represents the current pilot selected power setting (power indicator). Idle indicates flight idle of the engine. Note that on most aircraft, the propeller produces more drag at flight idle than with the engine stopped. 100 represents 100% power selected. Most aircraft can exceed 100% power through the use of War Emergency Power (WEP).
The effectiveness of WEP varies from aircraft to aircraft and altitude. Each aircraft has a limited supply of WEP, and use of WEP will tend to overheat the engine. The aircraft will cool more efficiently from an overheated condition if power is set below the yellow line.
These gauges represent the "health" of your aircraft's engine(s).
Oil pressure lubricates and cools the engine. If your engine is damaged by enemy fire, or you fly in a negative G state for too long, the engine will slowly lose oil pressure. As the pressure drops, the engine temperature will rise until the engine seizes and stops. If oil pressure drops due to a negative G state, return the aircraft to positive G's to restore oil pressure.
On some multi-engine aircraft (such as the P-38), there will be two needles on this gauge. The white needle represents the number one (or left) engine, and the red needle represents the number 2 (or right) engine. Air-cooled engines lose oil pressure slower than liquid-cooled engines.
The Temperature Gauge is very important. When overheated, a red warning lamp illuminates to warn of the dangerous condition. When overheated, the aircraft WEP system will not function for extended periods of time. The aircraft engine can overheat from extended use of WEP or a loss of oil pressure in that engine. If overheated due to WEP use, disengaging WEP can cool the engine. The engine will cool slowly to normal temperature at 100% thrust, but will cool much faster if the throttle is retarded to below the yellow line. If overheating due to a loss of oil pressure, the engine can not be operated for any period of time without destroying it. The engine may be preserved by turning it off, but oil pressure will continue to decrease.
Dive Brake Light - Some aircraft (such as the SBD Dauntless) are fitted with a dive brake. For those aircraft, a light indicating the state of the dive brake is in the cockpit. When illuminated green, the dive brake is deployed. When unilluminated, the dive brake is retracted. Bomb Bay Light - Aircraft fitted with a bomb bay have a light in the cockpit indicating the status of the bomb bay doors. Green is doors open, unlit or red is doors closed.
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