× VX-01 / PILOT HANDBOOK Flight manual Aircraft: choose the F-14, F-15, F-16, F-22 or A-10 before starting or in the between-mission hangar. Each has its own handling, weapon profiles, cockpit and purchased upgrades. Switching preserves each aircraft’s magazines and systems; credits are shared. Trial MK4 practice unlocks tactical routes without changing your campaign.
Orbital operations: missions 7, 13 and 21 include a station trench. Follow the green apertures at their marked heights, stay between the walls and below the displayed ceiling, then destroy the generators and reactor. Cannons always work; empty missiles cannot block victory. The midpoint and reactor approach save your progress. Follow bank, pitch and brake cues; rolls drift less inside the trench.
Branching routes: use 1 / 2 / 3 or the on-screen buttons before commitment. The NAV ribbon previews the corridor and tells you when to bank. use the tactical route planner below the flight screen before the fork. Each sortie offers a winding patrol route and two upgrade routes. Armor opens a low-altitude cache route: stay below 105 m to avoid environmental damage. Lance routes spend two missiles for a 35% weaker command target. Cannon routes require destroying 2 / 3 / 4 marked contacts by act to remove two generators or 30% of unshielded command hull. Patrol pays 160 CR and has the widest corridor. Requirements vary by system; check the planner. Follow green NAV markers; corridor walls apply at every altitude. Branches rejoin before the command target. Route choice and rewards save with your checkpoint. The simulator borrows upgrades from your saved campaign.
Down climbs. Up dives. Left / right or A / D bank. Forward flight is automatic. W climbs and S dives as alternate controls. Your shadow marks the ground track; the dotted line shows your height above it.
Space fires twin cannons. Z or the AUTO FIRE button toggles continuous fire, like a turbo controller. Bank until the GUN bracket highlights a target. Cannons aim down at ground targets in your firing lane; match an aircraft’s altitude within about 45 m. X fires a homing missile after the orange bracket reads MSL LOCK. A fresh campaign starts with 6 missiles and 5 bombs. Between missions, remaining ammunition carries forward; buy resupplies in the hangar.
C releases a forward-moving bomb. The BOMB ellipse predicts its landing point at your current speed and altitude. Climb to throw farther, dive to shorten the drop. Keep your bank steady until release.
Q / E barrel roll left / right, evading projectiles for 0.58 seconds. Rolls need 2.25 seconds to recharge and do not protect against terrain or collisions. Cannons and secondary weapons cannot fire during a roll.
Shift increases throttle; Ctrl reduces it. Release to hold the new speed. Arrows always bank and change altitude, even while changing throttle. Q / E are the dedicated roll controls. The same throttle behavior applies in combat, orbital docking and carrier landing. Flashing orange rings warn that an enemy is aiming at your current position. Move before it fires.
Climb above amber terrain outlines or steer around them. Destroy enemies for repair and ammunition pickups. The carrier’s core is shielded until its two generators are destroyed. A well-aimed bomb can hit both.
Recovery + shop: after each victory, choose Kestrel orbital docking or a carrier landing. Successful recovery repairs hull free and earns service credits. Between missions, buy faster cannons, stronger missiles, armor or ammunition. Equipment works in both views. Failed approaches can be retried without losing the cleared mission. Campaigns save automatically in this browser every 15 seconds, on pause/close, at sector boundaries, after objectives and recovery, and after every purchase. Continue Campaign restores your latest save after refresh or reopening. Mission Simulator and Recovery Simulator never overwrite it. New Campaign explicitly starts over.
Orbital: arrows trim position, Q/E rotate your wings, Space commits inside the capture zone. All three indicators must be green. Follow the shortest rotation cue; Shift / Ctrl adjust closure speed without changing alignment. Carrier: arrows trim centerline and glide path; Shift/Ctrl change speed. Target 160 KTS and follow the moving target altitude. Touchdown is automatic at zero range.
High Meridian is a full cockpit air-intercept sortie with the same canopy, HUD, pitch direction, throttle and perspective as carrier recovery. Bombs are disabled in this air-to-air mission. Supply sorties use C to release unlimited mission cargo; rescue sorties require flying below 75 m at 350 KTS or less and holding F for 1.25 seconds over a beacon. Missed objectives offer another pass. Escort sorties require keeping the convoy alive. Each sortie has four sectors with saved progress, +15 hull and +1 missile field service. The RECOVERY SIMULATOR lets you practice either approach without changing the campaign.
P / Escape pauses. Destroy the boss, recover, then rearm to advance. Mission Simulator entries launch practice sorties without changing your saved campaign; the Flight Manual pauses an active mission.
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