Your first flight

Once seated in the cockpit, your ship is off. The HUD is dark. Here is the power-on sequence:

1. Press 1 — this requests power from the ship’s power plant. You will hear the ship coming to life: systems initializing, engines spooling, the HUD populating with information.
2. Wait for the HUD to fully load. You will see your speed indicator, shields status, power triangle, and target display appear. This takes 5–10 seconds.
3. Optionally, press 2 or 3 to shift the power trianglePower TriangleThe cockpit power-management balance between weapons, shields, and engines. Shift power one way mid-fight to dump shields into guns or escape. toward engines or shields. For a first flight, balanced is fine.

This is where new pilots crash most often. The hangar is enclosed — walls, ceiling, door frame. Take it slowly.

1. Raise landing gear — press N. You will hear a mechanical clunk and see the gear indicator on your HUD change. The ship will drop slightly as the gear retracts — this is normal.
2. Lift off gently — tap Space briefly to apply upward thrust. Rise slowly — you only need a few meters of clearance from the pad.
3. Face the hangar exit — use the mouse to turn your ship toward the open hangar door. Move slowly. Do not strafe sideways while near walls or the ceiling.
4. Exit slowly — press W gently to add forward thrust. Exit the hangar at no more than 20–30 m/s. The door frame is unforgiving. Clipping it at speed destroys ships.
5. Once clear — increase speed freely. You are in open sky or space. Push W to accelerate. Move the mouse to pitch and yaw.

Star Citizen uses a “coupled mode” by default — the IFCSIFCSIntelligent Flight Control System — the assist software that handles thrusters and stability. Toggle 'decoupled mode' for raw flight without IFCS smoothing. (Intelligent Flight Control System) automatically counteracts your momentum to keep you flying in the direction you’re pointing. Think of it as flying through air, not through space. This makes it easier to control on your first flight.

• Mouse — aims the ship. Move it left/right to yaw, up/down to pitch.
• W / S — increases and decreases throttle (forward speed). Hold W to accelerate up to your cruise speed.
• A / D — lateral strafe (sidestep left and right without turning). Useful for docking and precise movement.
• Q / E — roll the ship around its long axis. Not needed often on a first flight.
• Left Shift — afterburner. Temporary boost well above cruise speed. Drains quickly.
• Space / Left Ctrl — vertical strafe (up and down without pitching the nose). Very useful near landing pads.

Speed cap: in atmosphere (near planets), your speed is limited by IFCSIFCSIntelligent Flight Control System — the assist software that handles thrusters and stability. Toggle 'decoupled mode' for raw flight without IFCS smoothing.. In space, the limit is higher. You will feel the difference as you climb away from the planet.

Quantum travelQuantum TravelFaster-than-light travel between points in a star system. Your ship's quantum drive eats fuel and takes time, but it's how you cross planets and moons. is how you cross the distances between planets, moons, and space stations in the StantonStantonThe first playable star system — four corporate-owned planets (ArcCorp, Crusader, Hurston, microTech), each with cities and moons. Mostly safe, law-enforced. system. Without it, even nearby destinations take hours to reach at normal speeds.

Here is how to initiate your first jump:

1. Select a destination — open mobiGlasmobiGlasYour character's wrist-mounted computer. It opens missions, manages inventory, summons ships, and handles in-game messages. Press F1. (F1) and go to the StarMap. Click on any planet, moon, or station. Close mobiGlasmobiGlasYour character's wrist-mounted computer. It opens missions, manages inventory, summons ships, and handles in-game messages. Press F1.. The destination appears as a waypoint on your HUD.
2. Point your nose at the waypoint — your quantum drive only jumps in the direction you are facing. The HUD shows a targeting reticule — align it with the quantum travel marker.
3. Spool the drive — hold R. A circular charge indicator appears on your HUD. Hold it until the circle completes and the display flashes, indicating ready.
4. Jump — hold B to initiate quantum travel. The ship lurches forward, a tunnel effect fills your vision, and you are traveling at a meaningful fraction of the speed of light. Do not touch the controls during the jump.
5. Arrive — the jump ends automatically when you reach the destination. You appear near your target. The ship decelerates to normal speed.

If the quantum drive will not spool (no indicator appears), check: do you have a destination selected? Are you in a quantum-safe area (not inside a hangar or gravity well)? Is your quantum drive online in the power panel?

Landing is the other place new pilots have trouble. Patience and low speed are the keys.

1. Find the landing zone — look for a landing padLanding PadA numbered platform at a station or city spaceport where your ship is assigned when you request it from the ASOP terminal. Each pad has a number — finding the right one is a rite of passage for new players.: a flat surface marked with yellow or white paint, often illuminated, with a pad number or indicator. At major stations and spaceports, pads are assigned via an automated system. If prompted for clearance, hold F while looking at the pad for the Inner ThoughtInner ThoughtThe contextual interaction system — hold F to see the actions available on whatever you're looking at. Sit, pick up, repair, board. option to request landing.
2. Slow down well in advance — reduce throttle to zero and let IFCSIFCSIntelligent Flight Control System — the assist software that handles thrusters and stability. Toggle 'decoupled mode' for raw flight without IFCS smoothing. bleed off your speed. Approach the pad at under 50 m/s, slowing further as you get close. Below 20 m/s near the surface is ideal.
3. Lower landing gear — press N before touchdown. Landing without gear extended damages the hull.
4. Descend with vertical thrust — use Left Ctrl to descend slowly. Hold Space briefly to arrest a descent that is going too fast.
5. Set down — aim for the center of the pad. The ship will lock into the pad surface when the gear makes contact correctly. You will hear a clunk and the ship settles.

Do not land on surfaces that are not designated pads — this can result in trespassing warnings, fines, or your ship being seized depending on the location.

Once landed and ready to leave your ship, you can either:

• Leave engines running — fine for a short stop. Your ship stays on. Walk to the exit and hold F to exit to the crew area or directly outside.
• Power down fully — hold U for 3 seconds to cut master power. The ship goes dark. This is useful when parked for a long time. To restart: press 1 again when back in the seat.

Congratulations — you have completed your first flight in Star Citizen. From here, everything else is just more of this: take off, fly, land, explore, earn aUECaUECAlpha UEC — the test-server currency used during Star Citizen alpha. It usually wipes when CIG resets the player database between major patches., upgrade. The the ‘Versethe 'VerseSlang for the Star Citizen universe — the in-game world, lore, and community combined. 'See you in the 'Verse' is a common sign-off. is enormous. You have barely seen any of it.