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Emergency Glider

Lost your backpack? Need a ride home? This glider is designed to help you get airborne in an emergency situation with as few resources as possible. You can quickly build an SV using only surface rocks.


You can build this with 52 iron, 58 copper, and 48 silicon at level 7. That's the cheapest SV you've ever seen, right? Of course, there's a catch.

The reason this vessel is so cheap is because it is not a full-fledged SV. It has only 3 thrusters - backward, forward, and upward. It is designed to fly in the atmosphere, not in space. It handles more like a hang-glider or small airplane.
You can go anywhere with it, but you need to understand how to fly it and how to land it.

• To lift off, you can simply go upward as normal. Then apply thrust to go forward.
  
• There are no side thrusters, so in order to change direction you must turn and apply forward thrust in the direction you want to go. You will need to make wide turns.
  
• To descend, just point your nose downward slightly, and let gravity take you downward.
  
• To land, it is much like an airplane. Identify a flat area, and descend slowly. When you get close to the ground, brake (backwards) to slow down, then press 'Y' to power off the craft.

While this may sound complicated, it is easy to learn and fun to fly. Give it a try.


This ship is designed for planetary use. Because it does not have all 6 directional thrusters, it does not handle well without gravity and air resistance.

However, it is designed for single-use emergencies, and your problem might be that your SV got blown up and you need to get back to your CV in space. You can still use this glider to do that as follows:

• Take it into orbit by going straight up.
  
• As soon as you get into orbit, just stop and get your bearings.
  
• You will travel in space by coming to a complete stop, turning to the direction you want to go, and applying forward thrust in that direction.
  
• When you want to move a different direction, come to a complete stop using reverse thrust, then turn, then start moving in the direction you want to go. Never turn while moving, or apply anything other than forward/reverse thrust.
  
• If at any point you drift sideways uncontrollably, just power off the glider and you will slow to a stop. Then reorient yourself in the right direction and apply forward thrust.
  
• When you get to somewhere that you can see your waypoint, point directly at it and apply thrust. You should head right for it. Apply reverse thrust to stop.

It may sound complicated but in fact it is quite simple once you figure out the rules.

Enjoy!