Six Degrees of Freedom in space

1 Throttle – speed

Movement Forward and Backward. Used almost always and keep throttle in blue zone whenever you need to maneuver because that's when you get top turning speed.

2 Pitch – Nose up and down

This is basic maneuver for everything in E:D universe. Yaw is very slow so you will have to Roll and Pitch most of the time and never forget that fastest maneuvering speed is when throttle is in blue "sweet spot" (middle).

3 Yaw – left and right

Yaw – it is very slow (design decision to prevent turreting in space) and is mainly used to fine tune your movement and aim. Yaw should be used with Pitch and Roll together allowing greater control over your ship.

I use YAW a lot to align ship with station's entrance when i am left or right from it – so just strafe left or right and compensate that with yaw in opposite direction – that way you will face the entrance.

4 Roll – rotating your ship

Roll is crucial because you will have to constantly adjust it for Pitching. Combat is mainly Roll and Pitch (and vertical strafe), also to get faster into desired position you will have to Roll first and then Pitch to align with your target.

5 Vertical – Strafe up and down

Vertical strafe is one of main components for successful combat and is used highly in Circle Strafing when you strafe down and same time pitch your nose up so you can keep enemy in your cross hair all the time and circle around them. Going straight head to head with enemy is bad idea, especially against NPC's who have aiming advantages over you, so only way to make them miss their shots is to use Vertical strafe. Usually 25-30% of Vertical strafe is enough but all depends on enemy type and how many pips you have in ENG.

6 Lateral –Strafe left and right

Lateral strafe is mainly used to align your ship with docking bay entrance as well as docking your ship and is useful in combat too especially if you combine it with yaw. It's not as effective and fast as Circle Strafing because of very slow yaw but still can be used.

Tips and Tricks

Maximum forward speed and maximum vertical thrust (any direction) plus Flight Assist OFF and you can maintain top speed indefinitely with just one boost.