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Vehicle Quickstart Guides
Last updated for v0.6.0
The following is basic information about piloting these vehicle types. It assumes default controls. Best way to learn this stuff (especially plane turning) is to practice in single player via trial and error. Shouldn't take long to get the hang of it though!
- Start at the end of a 40-100 block (depending on the plane type and it's weight) runway.
- Press and hold Left-Shift and W until you are at max throttle, then release.
- When you have enough speed, press and hold Space to lower flaps and generate lift.
- Immediately after leaving the ground, tap W and pitch up to start gaining altitude. Don't pitch up too much or else you will fall back down.
- Flaps down and deployed landing gear add drag to your plane. Thus once you're around 10 blocks high, the increased lift from the flaps is unnecessary so release Space. Additionally, press L to retract landing gear.
The lift force of a plane is obtained by:
Lift_Force = Lift_Coefficient * Air_Pressure * Wing_Surface_Area * Air_Speed_Over_Wings^2 / 2
Lift_Force always points in the direction of the top face of the wings. Air_Pressure is inversely proportional to the height or y coordinate of the plane, becoming 0 at y = 1000. Air_Speed_Over_Wings is the component of the plane's overall speed that's pointing in the direction of the wings/nose. Consequentially, even if the plane was moving at a million blocks per second along the x axis, Air_Speed_Over_Wings = 0 if the nose points towards the z axis.
Planes have an important extra stat called AOA displayed on the bottom right above the control stick. Basically, AOA is the angle between the nose of the plane and the plane's direction of motion. If the nose is pointing 10 degrees up but the plane is moving at an angle of 5 degrees down, then AOA = 15 degrees. If the plane is falling straight down but the nose is pointing straight forward, then AOA = 90 degrees. If the nose is below the direction of motion then AOA is negative.
Lift_Coefficient (LC) is obtained using AOA. If AOA is negative then LC is negative. If AOA = 0 then LC = 0. There is an AOA called the Stall Angle which is around 15 degrees. The Stall Angle gives the highest LC, but LC quickly decays back to zero by AOA = 20 degrees.
Try to keep your AOA between 5 and 15 degrees. If you notice your AOA quickly approaching the Stall Angle, your nose is probably pitched too high and your gaining altitude at too steep of an angle. Trying to fly at the Stall Angle is risky because slightly going above this threshold leads to quickly loosing all of your lift. Press S to pitch down and lower your AOA.
I recommend watching this 3 minute video to understand the basics of how planes turn. Forces Acting On An Airplane In A Turn
To turn properly in this mod you must Roll or make a bank angle with your plane by holding Left_Shift and A or D. You must now try to turn in the direction or your roll by repeatedly tapping pitch and yaw (W/S,A/D) to follow the turn radius. Based on the above video, the more you roll the smaller the turn radius and the tighter your turn.
A nifty trick to make sure your following this imaginary turn radius is to monitor your AOA. Release the pitch and yaw keys if the AOA gets too high. Once the AOA drops back to a normal value press the pitch and yaw keys again to continue the turn.
You can go back to roll = 0 or level flight once you completed your turn. Hold Roll Left and Right at the same time (Left_Alt+A+D) to automatically and precisely return to roll = 0.
If your AOA increases above the stall angle you will loose all your lift and start falling out of the sky. The process of saving yourself from a crash is called recovery. You need to pitch your nose down to bring the AOA back down to a normal value. Then you can slowly pitch back up while maintaining a normal AOA. This will take practice to understand the timings.
It's best to try to avoid falling straight down in the first place. Always keep an eye on your AOA! If you notice it climbing too quickly, adjust the direction of the plane so the AOA can go back to normal before it's too late.
- Align you plane with a long flat landing strip. I'd recommend getting some kind of waypoint mod like Journeymap. Place waypoints at both ends of the landing strip. You will be aligned with the runway if the waypoints cover each other.
- Begin your decent by lowering your throttle and reducing your speed. You don't want to slow down too much as you'll loose all your lift and fall. But you can't go too fast or else you will miss the runway. Find the right middle ground.
- Deploy your landing gear before touching the ground. You could do this early to increase drag and slow down faster.
- Even with landing gear deployed, if your falling too quickly, your craft could take damage or explode. So be careful!
- Once you touchdown, hold the Special 2 key (Left Alt by default) as breaks to slow down.
Takeoff is simple. Just increase your throttle until you get off the ground. If you control the helicopter in mouse mode controls are pretty much the same as a plane. Piloting in free look mode is much easier though. Pitch up and down (W/S) move you forward and backwards and Roll left and right (Left_Shift + A/D) move you left and right. If you press and hold Special (Space) your throttle is automatically set to an equilibrium point to allow hovering. You can release space once your vertical velocity becomes zero.
For simplicity, the Pitch Up and Throttle keys are automatically swapped. You can drive by just pressing W and turn with A/D by default without worrying about the controls swap stuff. Press Special 1 (Space by default) to use breaks and slow down. You can also go backwards with negative throttle.
For simplicity, the Pitch Up and Throttle keys are automatically swapped. You can drive by just pressing W and turn with A/D by default without worrying about the controls swap stuff. Press Special 1 (Space by default) to reduce throttle to zero. You can also go backwards with negative throttle.
For simplicity, the Pitch Up and Throttle keys are automatically swapped. You can drive by just pressing W and turn with A/D by default. Press Special 1 (Space by default) to reduce throttle to zero. You can also go backwards with negative throttle. One difference with boats is you can change your water depth with Pitch up and down (Left Shift + W/S by default).