Getting a roblox planes script fly mechanic up and running is one of those projects that looks easy on paper but gets complicated fast once you start dealing with CFrame and velocity. If you've spent any time in Roblox Studio, you know that the physics engine is a bit of a double-edged sword. It's great because it handles collisions for you, but it's a nightmare when your plane starts spinning uncontrollably into the stratosphere because of a weird center-of-mass issue.
I've spent way too many hours tweaking flight scripts, and I've realized that most people overcomplicate the process. You don't need a PhD in aeronautics to make a plane feel good to fly. You just need a solid grasp of how to push a part forward and how to rotate it based on player input. Let's break down how to actually build this without losing your mind.
The Foundation of Your Plane
Before you even touch a script, your model needs to be set up correctly. This is where most beginners fail. They'll have a beautiful mesh of a Spitfire or a Cessna, but the parts aren't welded right, or the "Forward" direction of the model is actually the "Up" direction in global coordinates.
First, make sure your plane has a PrimaryPart. This is usually an invisible box (a "hitbox") that encompasses the whole plane. Every other part of the plane should be welded to this PrimaryPart. If you don't do this, when your roblox planes script fly code starts moving the ship, the wings will literally fly off while the engine stays behind. It's a hilarious sight, but not exactly what we're going for.
Make sure the Front face of your PrimaryPart is actually facing the direction you want the plane to go. You can check this in the Properties window under "Orientation" or by using the "Show Face" tool in some plugins. If the front isn't the front, your script will be trying to fly the plane sideways.
Choosing Your Physics Method
There are two main ways to handle flight in Roblox: Legacy BodyMovers and the newer Mover Constraints.
Old-school scripters still love BodyVelocity and BodyGyro. They're deprecated now, but they still work surprisingly well for simple arcade-style flight. However, if you want to be "future-proof," you should probably look at LinearVelocity and AngularVelocity.
The core idea is the same for both. You want to apply a constant force in the "LookVector" of your plane. That's just a fancy way of saying "the direction the nose is pointing." If the nose points up, the force pushes it up. If you tilt the nose down, gravity and your forward force take it down.
Setting Up the LocalScript
Since flight is all about responsiveness, you usually want the player's input to be handled on the client side. If you try to script the entire flight on a ServerScript, there's going to be a delay (latency) between the player pressing "W" and the plane actually moving. That "floaty" feeling is a game-killer.
You'll want to put a LocalScript inside the StarterPlayerScripts or directly inside the Pilot Seat. This script will listen for keys like W, A, S, and D using UserInputService.
```lua local UIS = game:GetService("UserInputService") local plane = -- path to your plane model local speed = 0 local maxSpeed = 100
-- This is just a conceptual snippet game:GetService("RunService").RenderStepped:Connect(function() if UIS:IsKeyDown(Enum.KeyCode.W) then speed = math.min(speed + 1, maxSpeed) elseif UIS:IsKeyDown(Enum.KeyCode.S) then speed = math.max(speed - 1, 0) end -- Apply this speed to your velocity object here end) ```
This is the bare-bones logic. You increase a variable called speed when W is held and decrease it when S is held. Then, you constantly update the plane's velocity to match that speed in the direction it's facing.
Making It Rotate (The Hard Part)
Forward motion is easy. Turning is where things get spicy. To make a roblox planes script fly smoothly, you need to handle three types of movement: Pitch (tilting up and down), Roll (tilting side to side), and Yaw (turning left and right).
Real planes roll into a turn. If you just make the plane turn left like a car, it looks stiff and unnatural. To get that "Top Gun" feel, you want the plane to tilt its wings when the player hits the A or D keys.
You can use a CFrame manipulation to handle this. Instead of just setting the rotation, you can "Lerp" (Linearly Interpolate) the rotation. This makes the transition from flying straight to banking into a turn look smooth instead of snappy.
Why CFrame is Your Best Friend
If you're not using CFrame to calculate the plane's orientation, you're basically fighting with one hand tied behind your back. CFrame allows you to say, "Take the current position and rotation, and then tilt it 5 degrees to the left relative to where it's already facing."
If you use global coordinates, as soon as your plane turns 180 degrees, your controls will likely invert or glitch out. Always calculate your rotations relative to the plane's current CFrame.
Dealing with Gravity and Lift
In a realistic flight sim, "lift" is a complex calculation based on wing surface area and airspeed. In Roblox, we can cheat. Most arcade roblox planes script fly setups use a BodyForce or a VectorForce to counteract gravity.
If your plane is moving fast enough, you apply a force upwards that equals the weight of the plane. If the plane slows down, you reduce that upward force, causing the plane to stall and fall. This creates a natural "stall" mechanic without needing actual wind physics. It's a simple trick, but it makes the gameplay feel much more rewarding.
Handling the Pilot Seat
Roblox has a built-in VehicleSeat that provides Throttle and Steer properties, but for a plane, I usually recommend just using a regular Seat and UserInputService. The VehicleSeat is designed for cars, and its built-in logic can sometimes fight against your flight script.
When a player sits in the seat, you can fire a RemoteEvent to tell the server, "Hey, this player is now the pilot." The server should then give Network Ownership of the plane to that player. This is a huge step! If the server owns the physics, the flight will be laggy. If the player owns the physics, it will be buttery smooth for them.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
- Infinite Speed: If you don't cap your velocity, the plane will eventually go so fast it clips through the map or crashes the physics engine. Always have a
maxSpeedvariable. - Sensitive Controls: Beginners often make the rotation speed too high. If you tap 'A' and the plane flips three times, it's unplayable. Use
math.rad()to keep your rotation increments small. - No Drag: If you stop the engine, the plane shouldn't just hover. It should gradually lose speed. Adding a simple "drag" calculation—where speed is multiplied by something like 0.99 every frame—adds a ton of realism.
Testing and Tweaking
The secret to a great flight script isn't the code itself; it's the hours spent tweaking the numbers. Change the turn speed by 0.1, fly around a bit, and see how it feels. Does it feel heavy like a bomber or snappy like a stunt plane?
Don't be afraid to scrap your rotation logic and try a different approach if it feels clunky. Sometimes, using the mouse to steer (where the plane follows the cursor) is way more intuitive for players than using the keyboard. To do that, you'd calculate the angle between the plane's front and the Mouse.Hit position.
Final Thoughts
Building a roblox planes script fly system is a bit of a rite of passage for Roblox developers. It forces you to learn about vectors, CFrames, and network ownership. It's frustrating when the plane starts vibrating or flies backward for no reason, but once you get that first smooth takeoff, it's one of the most satisfying things you can code in the engine.
Keep your code modular, handle the heavy lifting on the client, and don't forget to set the Network Ownership. If you do those three things, you're already ahead of 90% of the flight scripts on the Toolbox. Now go get that plane in the air!