FLIGHT / VISUAL FIELD GUIDE
Take off. Come back. Land.
Understand landing services, hangar clearance and a controlled return before taking a longer trip.
01
STEP 1 OF 6
Prepare the cockpit before moving
Start with an inexpensive ship and a local out-and-back practice flight. Finish the first-session food, water and equipment checks first. This lesson assumes a keyboard and mouse; your remapped controls take precedence.
Find the actual exit before applying thrust. Some hangars open overhead; others open in front. The marker and moving doors tell you which path belongs to this hangar.
- 1
Board and sit in the pilot seat
Separate controls: F At the ship entrance, use the displayed open or enter interaction. Walk to the pilot seat and use its sit or enter interaction. Keep your helmet equipped if the route may expose you to vacuum.
What you should seeYou are seated with the cockpit HUD in front of you, rather than standing beside the seat or occupying a passenger chair.
RSI Getting Started in the Verse, updated 24 Jul 2026That did not happen
Move closer to the entrance or seat and hold F for available interactions. Ship entrances differ, so do not look for a universal door location.
- 2
Make the ship flight ready
Separate controls: Right Alt + R Use Flight / Systems Ready. Look for powered displays and a ready ship state, and check fuel before requesting departure.
What you should seeThe ship systems are powered and the cockpit responds to flight controls.
CIG defaultProfile.xml, extracted by Subliminal: 4.9 LIVE defaults compared with 4.10 PTU, checked 13 Oct 2026That did not happen
If the shortcut does nothing, use F on the visible flight-ready control or inspect the named binding in Options. Do not assume the older single-R shortcut applies.
- 3
Request departure and watch the exit
Separate controls: Left Alt + N Request landing services while inside the hangar. Read or listen for the response and watch the actual doors until the opening is clear.
What you should seeDeparture is acknowledged and there is a visibly open route for your ship.
CIG defaultProfile.xml, extracted by Subliminal: 4.9 LIVE defaults compared with 4.10 PTU, checked 13 Oct 2026That did not happen
If nothing responds, open Commlink with F11 and contact the local landing service. Do not accelerate at a closed door.
- Supplies and helmet checked
- Pilot seat occupied
- Ship powered
- Departure acknowledged
- Exit visibly clear
Read the complete guide as text
The same published instructions in one readable view. Use the steps above for controls and practice panels.
Prepare the cockpit before moving
Start with an inexpensive ship and a local out-and-back practice flight. Finish the first-session food, water and equipment checks first. This lesson assumes a keyboard and mouse; your remapped controls take precedence.
Find the actual exit before applying thrust. Some hangars open overhead; others open in front. The marker and moving doors tell you which path belongs to this hangar.
Board and sit in the pilot seat
At the ship entrance, use the displayed open or enter interaction. Walk to the pilot seat and use its sit or enter interaction. Keep your helmet equipped if the route may expose you to vacuum.
Expected result: You are seated with the cockpit HUD in front of you, rather than standing beside the seat or occupying a passenger chair.
If it did not work: Move closer to the entrance or seat and hold F for available interactions. Ship entrances differ, so do not look for a universal door location.
Make the ship flight ready
Use Flight / Systems Ready. Look for powered displays and a ready ship state, and check fuel before requesting departure.
Expected result: The ship systems are powered and the cockpit responds to flight controls.
If it did not work: If the shortcut does nothing, use F on the visible flight-ready control or inspect the named binding in Options. Do not assume the older single-R shortcut applies.
Request departure and watch the exit
Request landing services while inside the hangar. Read or listen for the response and watch the actual doors until the opening is clear.
Expected result: Departure is acknowledged and there is a visibly open route for your ship.
If it did not work: If nothing responds, open Commlink with F11 and contact the local landing service. Do not accelerate at a closed door.
- Supplies and helmet checked
- Pilot seat occupied
- Ship powered
- Departure acknowledged
- Exit visibly clear
Move a little, then stop
Once the exit is fully open, use short inputs and watch actual movement. A speed limiter restricts the selected maximum; it does not remove momentum instantly. Take the ship out only through the clear assigned opening.
Lift clear of the floor
Use a short upward-strafe input and release it. Check the floor, roof and exit while remaining at a controlled speed.
Expected result: The landing gear clears the floor with room above the hull.
If it did not work: If the ship does not lift, inspect flight-ready and thruster state. Do not hold upward thrust indefinitely beneath a low roof.
Move along the clear route
Use small forward/back, side-to-side and vertical inputs. Adjust only enough to pass through the open route, keeping the ship level when practical.
Expected result: You move in the intended direction and remain clear of walls, door edges and other ships.
If it did not work: If movement continues after release, check actual speed and flight mode. Stop and stabilize before adding another direction.
Practise a deliberate stop outside
Once clear of the hangar and traffic, hold the spacebrake and watch actual speed decrease. Release it when the ship has stopped, then make a small movement and stop once more.
Expected result: You can deliberately reduce speed and recognize a stopped ship on the instruments.
If it did not work: Stopping needs distance. If the ship barely responds, check damage, thruster state and mode; do not practise next to a wall.
- Strafe
- Moving sideways or vertically without first turning the nose toward that direction.
- Actual speed
- How fast the ship is currently moving. This is different from the maximum value selected on the speed limiter.
- Coupled flight
- The flight-assist mode that helps counter movement after inputs stop. In decoupled flight, momentum behaves differently, so inspect the mode if the ship keeps drifting.
Make the first flight a short return exercise
SC Nomads suggestion: remain near a familiar port for the first lesson. Learn to stop, turn and return before adding a contract, unfamiliar planet or quantum route.
Turn while watching the space around you
In a clear area, make a modest change of heading, then slow and stop again. Keep the port identifiable so you can return without navigating a whole system.
Expected result: You can face a destination, move toward it and stop with useful clearance.
If it did not work: If orientation becomes confusing, pause the exercise and use F2 to identify your location and destination before proceeding.
Request a specific place to return
A spaceport assigns your landing position. A random open hangar is not your clearance. Watch for a queue or a new assignment if the port is busy.
Contact the port within service range
Approach the spaceport at a controlled speed and request landing. If the shortcut does not connect, use F11, find the local Landing Services entry and call it.
Expected result: ATC acknowledges you and assigns a marked hangar, pad or docking port.
If it did not work: If no service appears, check that you are near the actual spaceport. Continue a careful approach without entering restricted space.
Identify the assigned entrance before descending
Follow the assignment marker, stop outside it and identify the opening and floor orientation. Read any docking instruction if the port assigned a dock rather than a hangar.
Expected result: You can point to the assigned entrance and a clear approach path.
If it did not work: If the marker points elsewhere, do not use the nearest open door. Back out of traffic and recheck the assignment.
Field note: ATC means Air Traffic Control. Landing Services is the entry you contact; clearance is the response and assignment you receive.
Reduce speed, lower the gear, then land
Our first-landing exercise is to stop outside, align, then make one small movement at a time. Keep an escape direction clear. A touchdown is only complete when the ship is settled and landing is acknowledged.
Set a low approach limit and extend the gear
Reduce the speed limiter while watching its HUD value. Tap N to deploy landing gear and confirm the gear indication. Use brief movements instead of holding full thrust through the entrance.
Expected result: The ship has a low selected speed limit and deployed gear.
If it did not work: A limiter setting is not proof you have already slowed down. Read actual speed and brake before reaching the doorway.
Check clearance from the cockpit and outside view
Toggle the external camera if useful to check wings, roof and floor clearance. Return to the cockpit for the instrument view before continuing.
Expected result: You know whether the whole hull fits, not only whether the nose points at the center.
If it did not work: The external camera does not stop the ship. Brake and stop before spending time looking around.
Settle onto the landing surface
With the ship level and gear down, use short downward-strafe inputs. Stop horizontal movement, descend the remaining distance gently and wait for the landing response.
Expected result: The landing gear is on the surface, the ship is stable and ATC confirms the landing at a controlled port.
If it did not work: If you drift toward a wall, stop the approach with the spacebrake and reposition. Latest extracted downward strafe is Left Ctrl; inspect your binding if it differs.
- Correct assignment
- Low actual speed
- Landing gear deployed
- Hull clear of doors
- Stable touchdown confirmed
Finish the flight before leaving the seat
Remain seated until the ship is settled. At a controlled port, verify the landing acknowledgment, then shut down deliberately and leave with your carried gear.
Shut down only after a stable landing
Once landed and stationary, toggle ship power off if appropriate, then use the exit-seat action. Walk out by the normal ship entrance and remember where the ship is stored.
Expected result: You are safely outside a stationary ship with the first out-and-back flight complete.
If it did not work: Do not use the power toggle as an in-flight brake. If the ship is still hovering or moving, remain seated and finish the landing first.
- Landing confirmed
- Ship stationary
- Power state deliberate
- Seat exited safely
- Ship location remembered
The controls do nothing in a passenger seat.: Use the pilot station for piloting. A seat with a view or display is not necessarily a flight-control seat.
The landing marker exists, but the doors remain closed.: Wait clear of the entrance and recheck the ATC response. Do not force a ship through a closed or partially moving doorway.
The ship does not stop when I let go.: Inspect actual speed, flight-assist state and damage. Use the spacebrake in clear space and practise at lower speed.
Sources & guide information
Sources checked 13 October 2026. Latest-known keyboard defaults; not gameplay verified on Alpha 4.10.2.. Reference information, not a claim of current-patch playtesting.
RSI Getting Started in the Verse, updated 24 Jul 2026RSI How to Land Your Ship, interface reference updated 22 Jun 2025CIG defaultProfile.xml, extracted by Subliminal: 4.9 LIVE defaults compared with 4.10 PTU, checked 13 Oct 2026RSI How to Quantum Travel