What is it? Away from computer so can’t test it turned off. I heard people saying you need it off to fly the Cutter, what does it do exactly?
Flight assist
- Thread starter Jacobis9000
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Flight assist attempts to keep your ship moving in the direction you're pointing it, and automatically zeros roll, pitch, and yaw when you stop providing any input in to them. Without it you need to counter-act roll, pitch, and yaw manually and the direction you're going in and the direction you're facing are controlled entirely independently. It takes more skill and practice but that decoupling can help in combat, particularly with unmanouevrable ships like the Cutter. You don't "need" FA-off to fly it at all but a skilled pilot will get more out of their ship with FA-off (I'm not a skilled pilot however).
So a real maverick flies no FA! Got it lol. Will have to get practising
FA-OFF TUTORIALS
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6zIXu52RnA&list=PLIQVVKXGd78AiYjhGUNZL9dFm23hYgc8R
And the discord you want is Newton's Gambit.
And the discord you want is Newton's Gambit.
Don't ask me, I'm not a real maverick! Been playing the game on and off since release and I'm still not a good pilot (but then again I've not tried to become one, so only myself to blame there).So a real maverick flies no FA! Got it lol. Will have to get practising
Some people do though. There are two schools of thought, switch it on and off when needed in combat or off all the time. And although there's no massive advantage outside combat I'd have thought keeping it switched off all the time would rapidly build up useful experience and practice.
Flight assist on and off each have mechanical advantages that go well beyond how the ships respond to control inputs.
FA Off, in addition to not automatically countering movement, allows higher single axis lateral and reverse velocities, and gives a small benefit to positive acceleration.
FA On, in addition automatically zeroing translational and rotational movement when no input is applied, significantly increases the negative acceleration thrust, especially in the vertical and lateral directions.
You cannot get the most performance possible out of a ship without using both, because each is better at certain things, and this applies no matter how skilled one is.
FA Off, in addition to not automatically countering movement, allows higher single axis lateral and reverse velocities, and gives a small benefit to positive acceleration.
FA On, in addition automatically zeroing translational and rotational movement when no input is applied, significantly increases the negative acceleration thrust, especially in the vertical and lateral directions.
You cannot get the most performance possible out of a ship without using both, because each is better at certain things, and this applies no matter how skilled one is.
Not true ... the Cutter can tend to fly not in the direction you intend because of intertia, but applying boost overcomes that effect well enough.
So, for example, if you are waiting for the ship to line up with the next target system in a jump (or an escape vector from a planet), and it still says "align with target" (or something similar) apply boost in order to line it up faster.
FA Off - the "holy grail" of ED flying.
If you want to learn from the masters, look at CMDR Sanderling's videos.
E.g. the Okinura Station Sprint Challenge:
or on the Cortes Raceway
It's also useful if you want to fly a corvette sideways through the mailslot
In short, FA off permits you to control the direction of movement independent from the way your ship is pointing - true 6 DOF flight. The downside, of course, is that it requires you to control all 6 DOF by yourself.
If you want to learn from the masters, look at CMDR Sanderling's videos.
E.g. the Okinura Station Sprint Challenge:
or on the Cortes Raceway
It's also useful if you want to fly a corvette sideways through the mailslot
In short, FA off permits you to control the direction of movement independent from the way your ship is pointing - true 6 DOF flight. The downside, of course, is that it requires you to control all 6 DOF by yourself.
Deleted member 121570
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FA off is much fun. More challenging, and imo a better way to fly a spaceship.
Why bother waiting to slow down with a single thruster countervector when you can stop nearly immediately with a boost flip?
If you're gonna do it, do it with style
Why bother waiting to slow down with a single thruster countervector when you can stop nearly immediately with a boost flip?
If you're gonna do it, do it with style
You can also use the back of a station as an airbrake, and you never get into trouble for it. My local stations have more dents than pads.
FA/Off T-9 skittles in a burning station!
I'm terrible at it, but that's not the point!
Deleted member 121570
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I find the terms 'flying' and 'T-9' to be largely incompatible 
I did an FA off t-9 high-g landing once. The chair was attached to my bum for 8 hours afterward.
FA/Off T-9 skittles in a burning station!
I'm terrible at it, but that's not the point!
No.So a real maverick flies no FA! Got it lol. Will have to get practising
As it's been said already, both functions has their purposes and usage. Using just one is as smart as not using a computer because you can do all calculations in your head and need no damn machine to help.
I can assure you thrust control gives way more advantage in combat than leaving your ship drifting in a direction while shooting that is FA off. Don't be fooled by those medieval horse fight pvp videos.
Still, handling a ship to its state of art requires a lot of practice and knowledge, it's not done by choosing the easier path of extremes but by balancing the downsides and advantages of its resources.
FA/Off T-9 skittles in a burning station!
I'm terrible at it, but that's not the point!
Absolutely right mate - it's no fun doing something dangerous or stupid, if you're good at doing it!
I'm still fond of boosting out the mailslot too, but my problem with that, is I rarely have the patience to line it up - just thrust up, hit boost, then point the nose starwards!
Deleted member 121570
D
I never personally found any use for FAon after I'd learned to fly FAoff.
The restricted verts and lats are horrendous.
I don't think there's any benefit to FAon, and it's great fun doing things FAoff. Finding new ways to do things keeps the flight model fresh and constantly challenging.
For me, toggling FAon would feel like giving up and failing. I prefer figuring out how to get the results without it.
The restricted verts and lats are horrendous.
I don't think there's any benefit to FAon, and it's great fun doing things FAoff. Finding new ways to do things keeps the flight model fresh and constantly challenging.
For me, toggling FAon would feel like giving up and failing. I prefer figuring out how to get the results without it.
Deleted member 192138
D
lmao okay dude
FAOff has vector detached from facing, faster rotations, faster acceleration, stronger directional thrust and no cap to speed on lateral and vertical axes. It is significantly advantageous in combat compared to nose led vector control of FAOn, with significantly reduced lateral and vertical thrusters. Some people at the very top of their game will use brief toggles of flight assist for very specific manoeuvres. But to get the most out of a ship in combat, because of these mechanical differences, you want to be comfortable being permanently FAOff. If you have trouble controlling drift in flight assist off, that's a PEBCAK issue.
Think of flight assist as all the gizmo's on your car, Cruise control, lane keep assist, automatic gearbox etc.
i.e. all of the things that make controlling a car simpler and easier for the average person.
And I can see it being more than plausible that this would become standard in the future when space travel becomes more prolific.
FA-off like when you have a manual car and you turn off all the radar control, ESC and traction control etc and a skilled driver will almost always turn that off as it allow for maximum vehicle capability to be 'unlocked' and tapped.
i.e. all of the things that make controlling a car simpler and easier for the average person.
And I can see it being more than plausible that this would become standard in the future when space travel becomes more prolific.
FA-off like when you have a manual car and you turn off all the radar control, ESC and traction control etc and a skilled driver will almost always turn that off as it allow for maximum vehicle capability to be 'unlocked' and tapped.
Do you think it’s best to wait for HOTAS? I tried flying FA off today and it’s really hard, I’m wondering if it would be easier with joystick.