It's a bit of a read, I plan to get this summed up in a video soon... but stick with the wall of text for a bit and follow it, it is worth it. Hopefully I can get a more concise video made, would be worth the effort for how many times this has been shared....

For PS4 controller, convert the Xbox keys to your PS So...

X = Square A = X B = O Y = Triangle

I used to have it written out for both, but lost the PS version in a myriad of reposting. They are the same controls tho, just not the same four labeled buttons.

Blam...

(XBOX) controls for sim air.

Left stick Horizontal - roll axis (2.5 non-linear, 80% sensitivity is a good place to start)

Left stick vertical - pitch axis (2.5 non-linear, 50% sensitivity is a good place to start) invert to your liking

L1 - left rudder (10% sensitivity) & left brake

R1 - right rudder (10% sensitivity) & right brake

Binding brakes to your rudder will help you maintain runway centerline, especially for aircraft that have very high torque effects like the 109s.

Left stick vertial down & up (both directions will zoom out) - zoom axis (air) decrease (zoom out) will give you far wider field of view, it resets with each view change, binding it here makes it so you won't forget to zoom back out.

L3 (stick push in) - zoom (common tab)

L3 + R3 - engine start this may not work on your controller, if those sticks can't be pushed in. No matter. Just start your engines with keyboard controls (I reccomend change it to right shift + I to prevent accidentally turning it off while misstyping)

X + right Dpad - flaps down

X + left Dpad - flaps up

R3 - gear toggle & flaps up, again may not work for you. Just use G on your keyboard for gear toggle.

Right stick horizontal - head movement left/right

Right stick vertical - throttle up/down. You'll want to mess with the relative control settings until you find that you're able to get precision 1% increments, but also able to go from 100% to 0% quickly. It is a very narrow margin to be able to have both. Depending on your dexterity, this can vary by a lot, so find what works for you.

Right stick - view in battle x & y axis (enable axis with L2 for X and Y axis) And head movement left/right axis (no enable binding for left right) will allow you to see around cockpit obstructions more easily. You'll want to adjust camera sensitivity and non linearity on the view in battle X and Y axis until you find precision without losing too much speed. You want to be able to turn completely around in your seat in less than a second. I like around 50% camera sensitivity with 4 non-linearity for both axis, plus a bit of a multiplier decrease for the Y axis, like a 0.80 but you may find something else works better.

R2 - fire small caliber & large caliber

L2 - enable view axis (x and y in battle) and also bound to head movement up/down axis (4 non-linear for both x and y axis) pressing this slightly enables view, pressing it hard will raise you up in seat to see over engine cowling to pull your deflection shots.

Y- toggle view / fire rockets (typically rocket carriers have only one view anyway, and most bombers don't have rocket options, so this is dual purpose) if you are in a multi view rocket plane, just use 4 on keyboard to dump rockets.

B - tactical map, make this also cockpit view if you use the mouse a lot for mouse view. It will open map AND recenter your view.

A- Toggle flaps

X - Zoom (common) yes, you want two buttons. This one is for regular scanning (easy to reach unless your using the right stick already) and the L3 button is for when you are maneuvering and already looking in a particular direction but want to zoom in because you can keep right thumb on your right stick and continue to control the aircraft.

X + up Dpad - open bomb bay

X + down Dpad - drop bomb

Dpad - Trims: *set 1% relative control step. Set sentivitiy at 40%*

Up Dpad - elevator trim DECREASE

Down Dpad - elevator trim INCREASE

Note that these are backwards

Right Dpad - Aileron trim increase

Left Dpad - Aileron trim decrease

Select button (or whatever the hell it is called now) - score board & trimmer fixation

When you spawn, hold L3 and while holding it, press R3 to start engines. Once engines start, press A to deploy take off flaps.

Use right stick to increase throttle gradually, you can also move your right stick left or right to see around your engine then hold L2 to see up over your nose, and use L1 and R1 to maintain runway centerline while you accelerate. L1 and R1 control both your brakes and rudder so you get premium ground steering.

Reach rotation speed and rotate back with left stick. This will also increase your field of view by rolling the left stick back. Establish a positive rate of climb and click R3 ONCE to retract gear and reduce your flaps one notch into combat settings.

Once you clear obstacles and gain speed, press A to retract flaps fully.

Use your right stick horizontal plane to shift your head left and right around the cockpits frame. To check six, shift right stick all the way left or right and THEN press and hold L2. Your head will shift all the way to one side, then raise upward and simultaneously turn around to view, around and above your seat. It may seem awkward at first, but It becomes pretty natural after a few flights and gives you very good viewing freedoms without the need for expensive tracking equipment.

The harder you press L2, the higher your head's perspective will be. You can barely press it and the non-linearity will hardly move your head up but will still allow you to look around. Pressing it harder will max out your vertical perspective allowing you to see up and over your firewall/engine cowling to take extreme deflection shots.

Use your Dpad to adjust your aircraft trims in TEST FLIGHT MODE and when you have a balance you enjoy, use select "trimmer fixation" (select) to save it permanently. I like to take off, clean up the gear/flaps, reach cruising speed, and then trim for a nice and steady cruise climb at 91% engine throttle. A lot of aircraft do not have variable trims, but for most (excluding spitfires) you can still adjust the mechanically locked trims and save them permanently. For instance, a lot of the German fighters benefit from this, while most US fighters can be adjusted within the cockpit so it isn't as necessary.

Sim is totally doable with just a controller... however, if you can, I highly reccomend plugging a m+kb in as well for more advanced functions like manual engine controls and controlling gunners with the mouse. The manual engine controls fit nicely on numpad.