Pilot

Pilot allows you to operate any air-based vehicle in Samsara, from simple ultralights to heavily armed gunships bigass blimps. It is an excellent skill for those seeking to explore the world, with some areas being exclusive to those who can traverse the skies. Pilot is based on brains and reflexes. See Sky Map for help navigating while flying.

Getting started

• Piloting is a decently dangerous activity. With low pilot skill, it's easy to spiral out of control with a very likely chance of you slamming into the ground with a fiery explosion.
  But fear not, there are a couple ways to raise your pilot skill relatively safely. Your first pilot raws can be learned for low amounts of XP, gained through doing the EEE deliveryman job, or grinded with boats if you're into that sorta thing.
• On top of that remember to purchase aviator goggles at Simon & Simon Aircraft for a +1 to pilot. Drinking enough soda or coffee gives you another +1 on top.
• At low pilot (~16), fly at higher altitudes (during daytime); you will have more time to level the plane if your pilot skill starts failing you.
  Also, you will be free of bad weather conditions. Ascending just once is enough to get you out of the clouds and will give you better pilot rolls.

Ownable aircraft

Currently, there are six types of normally obtainable aircraft implemented.

Name	Price	Shop	Load	Fuel	Hull	Size	Rooms	Speed	Fuel/tile	Hatch	Notes
Mosquito ultralight	$ 11,000	Simon & Simon Aircraft	150	75	100	Small	1	Very fast	1	Steel	Super fast and the easiest plane to pilot. However, they only carry a small load and there are no insurance modules available. Crashed mosquitos can be fixed without parts.
Prion Gyrocopter	$ 9,999	Hendresson's Prion	200	7	200	Small	2	Slow	0.25	Reinf. Steel	Runs on super cheap alcohol (even self-made hootch) and can carry two naked people. Needs to be assembled. Due to a bug, these have to be claimed and repaired after crafting.
Cessna Tiltrotor	$ 55,000	Simon & Simon Aircraft	400	100	300	Medium	2	Average	2	Reinf. Steel	Can carry several people and has a cockpit door. Most likely your first "proper" plane.
Cessna Skywagon	Craft only	Craft only	400	150	400	Medium	2	Fast	2	Nanotube	Direct upgrade to the Tiltrotor. Much faster, has a nanotube hatch, bigger fuel tank and stronger hull.
Patton Supalifta	$ 770,000 / Crafted	Simon & Simon Aircraft	5000	500	700	Large	4	Very slow	6-8	Nanotube	Cockpit door is nanotube. Terrible mileage and incredibly slow, but can carry a huge load. Sells for a nice amount of $$$.
Dragoon Microzep	Craft only	Craft only	2500	250	900	Large	8	Slow	2	Nanotube	Nanotube cockpit door, can hover for many IRL hours. Microzeps are pricey status symbols and make for good flying apartments, thanks to their fuel efficiency and size.

Size: The bigger your plane, the less landing spots are available to you.

Protips:

• To install a lock/doorkit in your hatch, type install <lock name> in hatch to <plane ID or custom plane name>. The "hatch" syntax is also used for dragging things inside and smashing hatches.
• To name your plane, buy a bottle of rotgut champagne from Yachtzee in Botany Bay.
• Regular challenge rules apply - if you challenge someone or park in a red zone, players can break in and steal it. Otherwise, you're safe on the ground.
• Want to keep your planes stashed away? Weezer Village and Corpclave rent out hangars.

Parking meters:

• Green parking meter = you can park one plane there for free. Red meter = you get charged $250 per unwanted plane every 30 IRL minutes.
• Meters are usually red when A) the landing pad is attached to an apartment complex you don't live in or B) your local reputation is in the negative.
• No money to pay the parking meter? Your plane will get portal'd to the impound yard next to Lurleen. You will have to pay a fine before you can take off.

Insurance modules

• Insurance modules regularly take money from your account and have 3 purposes:
• 1) Pinging with a GPS receiver will show you the location of all planes with an installed module.
• 2) You get paid if your plane gets destroyed by a detonator module or the insurance module's self-destruct command. You can see the amount under "[Payout]". Useful if your plane got stolen or shot down the middle of nowhere.
• 3) Having an insurance module installed prevents burglars from installing their own and using it to destroy your plane.

Plane Modifications

Name	Price	Shop	Notes
Damage control module	$ 11,000	Insurance Office	Shows a detailed damage report.
Stereo module	$ 3,750	Lonely Hut	Shows you what is playing on the admin run radio station.
Detonator Module	$ 5,250	Lonely Hut	Plane go boom.
Groundscan Module	$ 9,300	Lonely Hut	Lists every character that is out
a FoF module	$ 9,750	Lonely Hut	Allows you to program in the code from autofire turrets. This makes them not shoot you out of the sky when you fly over.
Dumper module	$ 12,00	Lonely Hut	Dumps everything in your passenger cabin.
Eject module	$ 15,000	Lonely Hut	Fires the pilot out of your cockpit into the sky.
Rangefinder module	$ 15,000	Lonely Hut	Used in conjunction with the sharpshooter module.
Sharpshooter Module	$ 18,750	Lonely Hut	Does Nothing.
Airline Toilet	Crafted or Scavable	Necropolis	Works a lot like the dumper module but with singular items.
Remote Pilot Module	Craft only	Fry's	You install the Fly-4-fun kit on your Cyberdeck and the Remote Pilot module on your plane and tune them to the same ID. Then you can fly your plane in the matrix and use your plane modules.
Prion Insurance	$ 300	Hendresson's Prion	Insurance
Cessna tiltrotor Insurance	$ 500	Insurance Office	Insurance
Cessna Skywagon Insurance	$ 1,000	Insurance Office	Insurance
Patton Insurance	$ 4,000	Insurance Office	Insurance
Dragoon Microzep Insurance	$ 5,000	Insurance Office	Insurance

On top of the purchasable modules, you can install craftable explosion baffling and kevlar replating kits. These respectively protect against explosion and bullet damage.

Flying

Before you can even takeoff, you need to fuel your flyer. If you're in the same room as a gas pump, use fuel <craftname> with fuel pump or, for the prion, fuel <craftname> with alcohol pump. The only aircraft that doesn't take normal gasoline is the UFO. You can also fuel your aircraft with fuel from jerrycans, but you have to be outside the plane to do this. To start flying, enter the cockpit of your craft of choice and type takeoff. You'll go into a hover. Type ascend and you'll enter free flight. Each room while on the flyer map is one area. For instance, one room while in the flyer map could be the entirety of Freedom City. From here you're free to move about with fly <direction>. If you begin to lose control (I usually correct my plane if I dip below 8 control), ascend or level your plane.

Be warned that there are flak guns that automatically attack you if you enter certain areas. These are located at the Skydock, which hovers over Ashen Valley; the Necropolis Gate and Necropolis' Heart, and inside the Panopticon Prison. Rumors are that a certain module, a fast plane or flying at very high altitudes helps.

Additionally, you have to be wary of adverse conditions such as bad weather and flying at night. Once you're ready to land, type descend to bring up a list of landing sites. Not all areas on the flyer map have landing sites. Once you've chosen a landing area, do descend <roomname/number> to break into a hover over that landing zone. While hovering, type land to stop hovering and bring your plane to a stop.

To sum it up: takeoff -> ascend -> fly <direction> -> descend <roomname/number> -> land.

Crashing

In the event that you crash your airplane, you'll die, some of the contents will be thrown out through the hatch and you'll have to Repair it.

While Mosquitos are easy to fix without parts, the more advanced planes might need new engines etc.

From the crash a 7 day timer starts ticking down. Once it hits zero, the wreck becomes abandoned and everybody will be able to scavenge parts from it.

Scavenging can fail and ruin parts or make the wreck explode. Each attempt will reset the 7 day timer.

Commands and other info

When you're in a flyer, it gives you an information readout like: INTEG [|||||||||||||||] [ 100/100 ] FUEL [|||||||| ] [ 42/75 ] LOAD [ 97/150 ]

 CTRL  [||||||||| ] [ 9/10 ]  ALT [||                  ] [ 500/5000 ]

• INTEGrity is your plane's health, this typically won't change unless you fly into flak.
• FUEL is how much gas you have. If it hits zero while in the air, you're fucked.
• CTRL is how well the plane is stabilized. If it hits zero you go into a death spiral.
• ALT is how high you are. The higher you are, the longer it takes to hit the ground if you go into a death spiral.
• LOAD is the combined weight of all characters and items in the flyer, including held/stashed items. If the load is past the load limit you will be unable to takeoff.

Commands

This is a list of commands compatible with most flyers.

 land - Lands the aircraft if you're hovering.
 
 takeoff - Takeoff into a hover.
 
 ascend - Ascend from a hover into full flight.
 
 descend <something> - Descend from full flight and hover over your targeted landing zone.
 
 fly <something> - Move in a given direction if you're in full flight.
   
 evade - Take evasive action, making you harder to hit.
   
 level - Attempt to level and regain control.
   
 dock with <something> - Docking with structures like the skydock.
 
 inspect/review/sf - Shows aircraft modules.

 corpsync here - Places this plane under your corporation's control. This also makes it show up under "Controlled Areas" and allows the use of Spoilsport doorkits.
   
 armor - Shows the plane's current armor profile. You can enhance this by crafting armor packs. Note: Mosquitos still explode on the first flak hit.

Module specific commands These commands become available once you install modules in your plane.

 insurance - Checks the insurance status (if any) of the aircraft.  

 destruct <plane name> insurance policy module - Self-destructs your plane after a countdown, paying you the amount listed under [Payout].

 gscan - With a groundscan module installed, scan for creatures and planes in the tile below you. Doesn't work properly in some areas.

 stealth*fof - Hides your plane's FoF module from the FoF scans of other players.

 set*fof to <something> - Tunes your FoF transponder to the code of a flak turret.

 scanf*of - Scans for nearby planes with active FoF modules.

 dump - Makes the dumper module dump all contents of your passenger compartment into the tile below.

 eject - Ejects you into the sky outside. 

 target <something> - Used by the defunct rangefinder module.

 fire <something> - Used by the defunct sharpshooter module.

 bomb - Defunct.

Sky map

You can find a detailed map of the skies here.

Skills
Weapon Skills	Blades • Clubs • Fists • Flails • Medic • Pistols • Rifles • Science • Spears • Whips
Combat Skills	Bombs • Dodge • Focus • Quickdraw • Torture • Wrestle
Mobility Skills	Climb • Pilot • Ride • Swim
Support Skills	Hack • Locksmith • Medic • Repair • Teach • Track
Crafting Skills	Chemistry • Craft • Science
Miscellaneous Skills	Appraise • Fish • Fuck • Linguist • Persuade • Scavenge • Sneak • Throw