For most aircraft, you can get instructions by saying HELP in chat while seated in the vehicle.
Why won’t my vehicle move, even though all the scripts are running?
If you can see that your throttle and other controls are working, but your vehicle isn’t moving, check for these things:
- Is any part of your vehicle — like a wing — touching an object? SL doesn’t allow objects to use physics if they touch. Move your aircraft clear of objects and try again.
- If you’re in a private estate (an island sim), there’s a checkbox labeled “Collisions” that’s used only for debug reasons. If collisions are off, then physics objects like vehicles will not behave correctly.
- Some unofficial, third-party Second Life viewers have a bit of a hack that allows individuals to disable all object physics in an entire sim. It’s difficult to know which person is doing it, so try your vehicle in another sim.
Why does my HUD stop working when I cross a border?
Sometimes it takes SL a while to transfer all script states from the sim you’re leaving to the sim you’re entering. During this time, worn scripts like the HUD may stop working temporarily.
Why do I see “animation” error messages when I cross a sim border?
This is due to a flaw in the design of Second Life. When you cross a border, all data about your avatar and your vehicle’s script states must be transferred to the next sim. Sometimes your avatar’s data lags behind, making the script think that you’re not actually present in the same sim. It’s safe to ignore this message.
Why does my aircraft appear to fall to the ground when I cross a sim border?
This is one of the many and varied symptoms of “lag”, and there’s little that we users can do about it. When a vehicle crosses a border, the first sim has to hand off all of the objects data and script states to the second sim. This transfer is usually less than a second, but in some cases can be several seconds. It’s not unknown to become disconnected from both sims just by crossing a border, with or without a vehicle. During the handoff, the SL attempts to predict the path of your vehicle ballistically, so you will appear to fall.
If you have problems with unusual delays or disconnections while crossing a border, contact SL support: support@secondlife.com.
If SL vehicles aren’t transferable, how can I buy one for a friend?
The best way to buy a vehicle as a gift for someone is to shop at XStreet SL, the official shopping site of Second Life. They have options to deliver the item to almost anyone.
Can my friend fly my plane when I’m not around?
Some Terra vehicles have an access lock that lets you decide who can pilot your aircraft: anyone, group members only, or just you. Read the info notecards or XStreet product description to find out if the vehicle you’re interested in supports this feature.