Lift Off and Hovering
Lifting the helicopter off the ground is incredibly simple. All you need to do to lift and lower a heli is use the same forward and backward movement buttons as a soldier: W/S for PC or up and down on the left stick for consoles. Just as if you were walking forward or backwards with a soldier, you can lift and lower a helicopter -- also known as throttle up and throttle down.

Height Level
Make sure you keep throttling up if you're too close to the ground. You wouldn't want to crash or become an easy target for any enemy combatants. Don't fly too high either, or you may not be able to accurately fire upon any soldiers below.

Hovering and Looking around
If the helicopter's blades are parallel with the ground, you will be able to hover in a set position. Hold the aim button (Right mouse button on PC, LT on Xbox, L2 on PlayStation) and use the camera movement controls to free look around the cockpit. Using A/D for PC or left and right on the left stick for consoles will turn the heli to the left and right -- also known as yaw left and yaw right.