FD 110 · Flight, transit and recovery

Publication and delivery

This course is published for study. Publication does not confirm an available class, appointed instructor or completed practical validation. Before booking, obtain a session brief naming the organiser, instructor and assessor, equipment access and any independent review arrangements.

Before live assessment, the organiser must record the current LIVE build, validation date, ship and equipment used, tasks checked and any known limitations. If a required mechanic is unavailable, defer the affected assessment rather than certify an unobserved outcome. A material game update calls for a check of affected tasks, not cancellation of earlier academic achievements.

Your brief

For pilot and Crew Support candidates preparing for crewed passages.

The first flight teaches a habit used throughout Fleet Studies: choose a recovery option before the crew needs it.

A landing that must be cancelled

Practice case · FD 110 · 2956 teaching edition

Assembly A, Destination B and Alternate C are training labels; the organizer maps them to tested locations.
B initially accepts the vessel. C is checked as a usable alternate before departure.
The candidate’s Pilot or Crew Support role is agreed before the observer starts.

Before you begin: entry and equipment

Complete these courses

FD 100 · Crew induction and communications

Choose your assessed role

Pilot — observed handling and recovery
Crew Support — navigation and recovery coordination; no handling credit

Bring or arrange

A tested vessel, a pilot where needed, a usable destination and alternate.

The organizer must confirm equipment access before booking. No ship purchase, pledge tier or donation is required.

Technical knowledge and game skills

Practical instruction revision 1 · 9 October 2026

Basic aircraft handling, quantum travel and landing

Learn what changes attitude and what changes velocity

Pitch raises or lowers the nose, yaw turns it sideways and roll rotates the ship about its forward axis. Forward/backward, lateral and vertical strafe change velocity; pointing at a pad does not mean you are moving towards it. In open space, select a modest speed limit and apply each axis separately, then release it and observe the velocity indication. Coupled assistance counters unwanted motion; decoupled flight retains drift until thrust counters it. Learn stopping in coupled mode before adding decoupled practice, and do not begin that practice near terrain.

Depart and navigate deliberately

From the seat, identify engine state, fuel, speed limit, gear, current flight mode and space brake. Request departure, confirm the actual door opening and rise only enough to clear the pad before translating through the opening. Outside traffic, demonstrate acceleration followed by braking; note how long and how much space stopping consumes. Plot the destination, select the appropriate travel mode, align, spool and calibrate the quantum drive, then engage only when its indications permit. A blocked route calls for a clear line of sight or another waypoint, not repeated activation. SCM/NAV transitions alter available systems; check shield and weapon indications rather than assuming immediate readiness.

Control closure and descent separately

Leave fast transit well before the landing area. Request clearance and identify the assigned hangar rather than following another ship. Reduce forward closure while maintaining terrain clearance; deploy gear and check lateral drift before descending. In atmosphere keep enough thrust to support the ship and use its VTOL configuration where fitted. Watch vertical speed and the pad’s movement through the view, not just nose attitude. If alignment, visibility or stopping margin is lost, arrest descent and move to clear space for another approach. After touchdown verify the ship is settled before shutting down engines; preserve needed onboard services.

Practical drill

Pilot: in an instructor-selected clear area, translate on three axes, stop beside a reference without touching it, fly one quantum leg, land, and repeat after a called go-around. Establish speed and clearance limits for this ship before starting. Crew Support: call mode, closure, route and clearance changes while another person flies; record that this is support evidence, not pilot handling.

Observed-skill checks

The pilot controls attitude, drift and stopping without collision or instructor takeover.
The learner identifies the quantum prerequisite that prevents a deliberately blocked departure.
The pilot completes a stable landing and go-around; the support learner instead demonstrates timely, correct monitoring calls.

Use these checks to document the technical evidence supporting the course outcomes in your agreed role. Record what you personally performed, what assistance you needed and what remains unobserved. A discussion or simulated action does not certify live equipment handling; Crew Support evidence does not confer Pilot qualification.

Game references and build-sensitive details

The linked pages were read for this revision. Community references mix release eras; each source note identifies what is used and what is excluded. Technical explanations below are an Academy synthesis, and drills and performance checks are Academy-designed. Before practice, compare the named actions with the installed LIVE build and actual equipment. Bind actions by name rather than copying old default keys. Research is not an in-game validation.

Star Citizen Wiki — Controls
Control categories, movement axes and targeting concepts. The page contains legacy bindings and flight-system descriptions; use the installed game’s bindings, not its key table.
Star Citizen Wiki — Master Modes
SCM and NAV distinction. Check the actual mode, transition and available systems on the session build.
Star Citizen Wiki — Quantum drive
Spooling, calibration, obstructions, orbital markers and interdiction. Its proposed quantum-boosting section is not used as a live procedure.

Check the official LIVE release notes and record the session build, equipment and observed limitations before practical sign-off.

Learn the method

1. Build a route you can finish

Write down the start, destination and alternate before departure. Check the available vessel and recovery arrangements with the crew. If the destination is unavailable, the alternate must still be reachable under the conditions tested for this session.

Read the route as a sequence of transitions: leaving the berth, reaching the departure point, travelling, approaching and arriving. Each transition can have a different constraint. Check fuel indications, route access and destination suitability on the chosen vessel; an alternate is useful only while enough capability remains to reach it.

Practise: Brief the destination, alternate and recovery contact.
Ready when: The crew can identify where it is going and what it will do if arrival is blocked.

2. Do the work of your assigned role

The pilot handles the vessel. Supporting crew track progress, confirm receiving arrangements and relay changes. Keep a short log of your own actions so the instructor can distinguish handling from coordination.

Before moving, the Pilot identifies the controls and indications needed for departure and stopping; Crew Support checks the route and receiving arrangements without issuing competing handling inputs. Rehearse at a quiet location before attempting the assessed passage. Controls learned on one setup must be checked against the actual bindings and configuration.

Practise: Fly or support the route with an observer.
Ready when: Your record shows the actions you performed in the agreed Pilot or Crew Support role.

3. Cancel the approach clearly

Say why you are stopping the approach, where the vessel will go next and who needs to acknowledge the change. Keep monitoring until the next crew member takes over. A safe diversion is a useful result even when the planned landing does not happen.

A cancelled approach needs a positive next action. “Do not land” leaves the crew uncertain; “Approach cancelled; proceeding to the briefed hold while Navigation confirms C” assigns both movement and verification. The pilot chooses a safe response to the immediate flight conditions; the supporting crew do not distract them with a full debrief.

Practise: Cancel an approach and complete the recovery handover.
Ready when: You communicate the cancellation, confirm the next destination and transfer any unfinished checks.

A worked decision

The receiving berth closes. Navigation confirms the alternate, the pilot cancels the approach and the crew tells the receiver that arrival has changed.

Brief A to B and the conditions for using C. Name the person who checks reception and the person who flies.
When B becomes unavailable, the support role checks C and reports the change; the Pilot role cancels the approach and carries out the agreed movement.
Record the action actually observed in that role and give the next crew the new receiving contact. Do not credit handling to the supporting navigator.

Try it yourself

Conduct the short route in your agreed role. Respond to the receiver’s cancellation and finish with a recovery handover, not merely a changed map marker.

What changes during the exercise

The destination cannot receive the vessel before approach.

Keep this record

Role and vessel / start / destination / alternate
Receiving cancellation / action taken / acknowledgement
Observed recovery / open checks / next crew

Download FD 110 worksheet

Plain-text worksheet with this case, your working fields and the assessment criteria. Fill it in privately; downloading does not submit work or record completion.

Check your reasoning

The supporting crew planned a successful diversion. Does that prove they can fly it?

Compare your reasoning

No. Planning and flying are different demonstrations. Record the support work accurately; assess pilot handling separately.

Answer first, then compare. In a later session, explain the decision using a changed case without referring to this answer.

How completion is judged

A flight log identifying the role, observed transit actions and recovery handover.

The assessor checks your own work against all three “Ready when” criteria above. Use the observed-skill checks in the technical chapter to establish the applicable game-handling evidence in your agreed role. A successful team result does not replace an action they did not observe.

Findings, another attempt and review

Demonstrated: Your observed work meets the criterion in the agreed role.
Further practice required: The assessor identifies the observed gap and the specific practice needed.
Interrupted: Equipment, staffing or personal circumstances prevented a valid assessment. This is not a failure.
Not assessed: There is not yet enough evidence for this outcome.

A fresh attempt

Keep the role unchanged but use a different alternate or receiving restriction. Observe only the outcome that was missed.

Reassess the missing outcome, plus any linked skill that needs new evidence. For prior learning, compare existing work with the same criteria and observe any missing practical action.

Ask for the reasons behind a finding. Reviews must be handled by someone independent of the original decision; defer the review if that person is not available.

Read the Academy Ordinance and review rules

For instructors

Session setup and coaching

Prepare the session

A tested vessel, a pilot where needed, a usable destination and alternate.

Assign crew stations and tell each learner what they will practise. The instructor must be able to hear the calls and see the action being assessed. Brief the callsigns, channel, route and expected duration. Replace the example locations with the places you will actually use.

Ask the learner to explain the relevant earlier procedure without notes; correct any gap before the practical.
Teach and demonstrate the technical chapter using the actual game indications. Run its drill with feedback before connecting those skills to the three methods and worked decision. Use the observed-skill checks to identify missing handling evidence.
Let the learner complete the normal procedure first, then introduce the change described in the exercise. Give them time to respond without coaching. Keep unrelated failures out of this attempt.
Record the learner's action against each criterion. Give one specific next step for any gap and transfer unfinished operational work before closing.

What to watch for in FD 110

Watch whether the learner announces the change before the crew act on different plans. Ask the supporting candidate for the pilot’s acknowledgement.

If another attempt is needed

Keep the role unchanged but use a different alternate or receiving restriction. Observe only the outcome that was missed.

Running the exercise

Before the crew assembles, try the exercise in the ship you intend to use. Check station access, equipment and the route. Brief the crew on any faults that affect the task. If a bug prevents someone completing it, repeat that part once it works; do not record a failure for a broken mechanic.

Brief the command “Stop exercise” before starting. On that call, cease the drill and tell the instructor what needs attention. For weapons practice, identify the participating ships and crew; anyone else entering the area is a reason to hold fire.

Session administration: use player handles in your notes. Ask before recording voice or video, and agree when the recording will be deleted. Academy rules and review procedure.

Sources and edition

Lex Astra · Foundation teaching team
Course FD 110 · edition 2956.3 · 2956 teaching edition · revised course text.

Academy Ordinance

Governs instruction, individual assessment, conduct and review. This course turns those duties into crew practice.

Professional references and instructional revision

Instruction revised 9 October 2026. Lex Astra cases supply the teaching situations. Professional references inform communication, decision-making and instructional design; they do not confer external qualifications. LIVE capabilities remain subject to the recorded session check.

Editorial context and teaching basis

The lessons are current Academy teaching, not newly discovered historical records. Lex Astra opened in 2891. Historical sources keep their original issuer and date; all case callsigns, quantities, times and conditions are supplied for practice.

Your session brief names the instructor, the crew assignments and the equipment provided. Contact the teaching office above to arrange a place.

Course-text revision: 8 October 2026. Educational references were reviewed for the framework on 8 October 2026; they inform the teaching approach, not external accreditation or current game-capability claims.

Teaching research and its limits

Where this leads

Qualification and role requirements

Courses that use this work

Course records retain the edition and role assessed. New teaching text does not erase earlier achievements.