Baby steps. It might be easier to learn about flying in atmosphere and orbital manœuvers separately, one at a time. Again, that flight school link explains all the tools, buttons, and terminology you might see and need in S.E.

Baby steps. It might be easier to learn about flying in atmosphere and orbital manœuvers separately, one at a time. Again, that flight school link explains all the tools, buttons, and terminology you might see and need in S.E.

Thanks, the funny thing is I already completed the intragalactic voyage all the way across M87.  That was actually easier than flying over a planet lol.  I guess because there are more obstacles in planetary flying?  I've observed that my plane stays above the ground for different periods of time depending upon the time of day it is (temperature and pressure differences?) and sometimes it dips to a lower altitude and then goes back up a little!  I also found the vortex again (or maybe it's a different one)?
By the way, we had 7 tornadoes yesterday, a new state record for tornadoes in one day!  

Is window flickering normal?  I increased my resolution and when I take screenshots now I notice the SE window flickers when I do that.  It also sometimes happens when I first load the program or if I'm switching between the SE window on one monitor and my browser or OBS, which are on the other monitor.  Could it be due to the higher resolution?  Also, is a lower frame rate in Flight Simulation mode normal (like going from 30 fps in Planetarium mode to 15 fps in Flight Simulation mode?)

Can't help you there, I don't obsess over numbers like FPS, and I never monitor them. I have no idea what mine runs at.

As for the flickering, that might be the auto-exposure system. Still has some bugs, I think.

Can't help you there, I don't obsess over numbers like FPS, and I never monitor them. I have no idea what mine runs at.

As for the flickering, that might be the auto-exposure system. Still has some bugs, I think.

Could be, but the flickering actually involves the entire SE window disappearing for a fraction of a second and my desktop background showing lol.  It doesn't happen every time, usually just when I start the program or when I'm taking a screen shot or when I click on something else (like my browser) or when I click on the SE window the first time after I've been doing something else.

Sounds like something Steam might be doing.

Most of the time when I'm asking something I already know the answer because I thought it through, I just need some kind of confirmation of that since it's the first time I'm doing this.  Thanks!

That's alright, I just like seeing independency.

Most of the time when I'm asking something I already know the answer because I thought it through, I just need some kind of confirmation of that since it's the first time I'm doing this.  Thanks!

That's alright, I just like seeing independency.

Thanks, it's silly that I want independent confirmation because of course this is something I can do over in case I make a mistake (mistakes are supposed to be the best way to learn!) unlike real flying where there are usually no do overs.....

I actually discovered a mode where I can climb hills and mountains like an all terrain vehicle can do, granted at a very slow speed but it's useful for examining terrain close up!

Sounds like something Steam might be doing.

Wasn't Steam. I figured it out with a little detective work.  At first I thought it was an add-on I recently added.  I usually favorite the most recent ones so that I know if there is a problem which ones to delete first.  Wasn't that and I just resubscribed to them when I was sure.  Turns out going full screen does it.  I thought I could just ignore it but having my window disappear every time I click on something, even if its just for a fraction of a second, is really annoying.  What was more than annoying is that it also made my OBS freeze and not update (whether I was making a video or not.)  So I went back to windowed mode and that fixed the issue!  Doesn't actually matter what my window size is, just clicking on it fixed the issue.  I selected the largest window size I could (my monitor resolution is 1280x1024, on both screens actually, and setting that in windowed mode causes the program to automatically choose 1264x985- odd resolution I know but it works well, no more flickering of the SE window and OBS no longer freezes either, although the odd resolution causes it to place small black bars on the right and bottom of the video window.)
By the way did you know you can actually put ships in an ATV mode and can actually climb mountains with it just like a 4 wheel can do? I set the speed to 0.32 m/sec to do this!

I actually discovered a mode where I can climb hills and mountains like an all terrain vehicle can do, granted at a very slow speed but it's useful for examining terrain close up!

That sounds like a bug.

I actually discovered a mode where I can climb hills and mountains like an all terrain vehicle can do, granted at a very slow speed but it's useful for examining terrain close up!

That sounds like a bug.

ah so there is no way to turn ships into land vehicles to climb hills and such?   The speeds are ridiculously slow but I guess it's fun to watch the changing terrain go by.

ah so there is no way to turn ships into land vehicles to climb hills and such?

Of course not.

What's the best way to climb in altitude above a planet?  This is the procedure I'm using right now but I wonder if there's something better, since even at full speed (100 main engine level) I still sometimes still crash back to the surface (and the atmosphere on the planet I am doing this on is very thin- 0.236 atm and composition is only N2.)

My usual procedure is to first turn off hold altitude and then use the num keypad to raise the nose marker until it's higher than the center marker.  But this flies me off into space, even with the main engines set to low (like a value of 2.)  And what's the best way to come back down to a "cruising" altitude if this happens? I tried to put the nose down again towards the planet but this doesn't seem to make my altitude decrease even when I shut my engines off completely.

Keep an eye on the VS (vertical speed) — if it is negative, you are descending, If it's a big negative number, hope your airbags are in good shape! if it is positive, you are climbing. If it's a big positive number, get ready to say hello to space travel.

To climb, make sure  your velocity vector is above the horizon (0 degrees on your pitch ladder). Your nose may be pointed above the horizon, but if your velocity vector points below it, your VS will be negative, you will be descending.

Keep an eye on the VS (vertical speed) — if it is negative, you are descending, If it's a big negative number, hope your airbags are in good shape! if it is positive, you are climbing. If it's a big positive number, get ready to say hello to space travel.

To climb, make sure  your velocity vector is above the horizon (0 degrees on your pitch ladder). Your nose may be pointed above the horizon, but if your velocity vector points below it, your VS will be negative, you will be descending.

This. One of the greatest things a pilot has is situational awareness I.E. being able to tell that you're starting to fall backwards, or that you're about to crash. It's easy to crash because you weren't familiar with how your HUD elements react to different situations - for instance, falling backwards.