Star Citizen Flight Modes
Currently, there are 3 flight modes. To change between flight modes, a player must press the ‘V’ key. There are three flight modes, PRE, SCM, and CRU. Here they are in greater detail.
Precision Mode [PRE]
Your ship will start off in this mode on the landing pad. PRE limits the ship to 50 m/s max velocity. This mode is used for landing and “taxiing” around stations at a low speed so you don’t run into obstacles. While not a requirement for enabling landing mode, it is highly recommended as throttling up with this mode enabled is a LOT more forgiving than the other two modes.
Pressing V while in PRE will toggle the ship into..
Sub-Cruise Mode [SCM]
This will allow your ship to fly at whatever it’s max speed is. Each ship has a different speed. This flight mode is ideal for combat as it allows an optimal speed and agility for manuevering.
SCM is the decision point for what flight mode is next: If a ship is at 50% throttle or less and the pilot presses ‘V’ the flight mode will change to Precision Mode [PRE]. If the throttle is 50% or more it will go to…
Cruise Mode [CRU]
This mode allows your ship to fly at high speeds with limited maneuverability. Cruise mode is ideal for traveling distances that are too far for Sub-Cruise Mode but too short for Quantum Drive. Cruise mode increases your ship’s maximum velocity with a multiplier. For example, an average Hornet F7A in SCM goes roughly 200 m/s but in CRU it goes 1100 m/s. While turning is possible in this mode, it isn’t very fast. Also, slowing down can be a time consuming issue.
Pressing ‘V’ while in CRU will change to SCM.
