01 · The ramp
Suction starts off: set it yourself before moving. Feather the accelerator on the wall; aim for a measured exit, around 4–8 m/s. At the lip, release the accelerator, use the roll control to turn upright, then apply opposite roll input to stop rotation. Add lift thrust to arrest the descent. Without suction, a slow or stopped inverted car falls. Sufficient speed can maintain curved-road contact through centripetal acceleration; that is momentum, not suction.
02 · The kickflip
The start is now farther back, with a clear run-up. Keep suction off for takeoff. Build moderate speed with wheel drive, then raise lift in the amber launch zone well before the first car. Clear the lineup, complete a full roll, then counter-rotate and land beyond the last car. Each stage starts with a fresh test charge.
The controls
W / SAccelerator / brake
A / DWheel steering
SPACE / VIncrease / decrease lift valve opening
Q / EYaw left / right
↑ ↓ ← →Pitch nose up/down, roll left/right
SHIFTHold rear jet valves open
R / FRaise / lower delivery pressure
Z / XRaise / lower suction power
P / CPause / change camera
On touch screens, use the two sticks and the wheel buttons. Lift, pressure and suction stay at their settings. Rotation input springs back to neutral; angular momentum remains. The left stick also controls yaw.
Precision mode (B) uses 25% pitch, roll and yaw thrust. Use opposite input to stop rotation.
1 / 2 / 3 set lift directly to 0 / 50 / 100%. Space / V still make fine adjustments.
A stable landing
Touch down inside the marked pad at less than 2.5 m/s descent, less than 14° tilt, and less than 40°/s rotation. The suspension must then settle. Releasing a stick does not brake the rotation. Landing thresholds are simulation targets.
Scoring
What is documented
Tesla describes powered suction and cold-gas thrusters. Current engineering walkarounds report ten nozzles: four rear, four downward near the wheels, and two sideways at the nose. Reported gas storage is 200 L plus 400 L for the Rocket version.
What this simulation assumes
- Scene: approximate ramp, vehicle geometry, lineup spacing and landing pads, inspired by the two demonstrations; not a measured reconstruction.
- Gas: nitrogen, one connected 600 L reservoir, initially 400 bar absolute at 20°C. Delivery command is 0–50 bar gauge. Those operating settings are chosen for this simulation.
- Vehicle: 1,700 kg dry mass, 80 kg pilot, plus changing gas mass. Inertia, nozzle dimensions, fan forces, suspension and aerodynamic drag are engineering assumptions.
- Valves: independently commanded, time-averaged valve duty. Collective lift and pitch/roll inputs mix directly into corner valves. There is no angle-hold, rate-hold, auto-level, auto-landing or scripted flight path.
- Thermodynamics: Peng–Robinson pressure calculation; approximate constant-heat-capacity blowdown and wall heat transfer. Single-phase model limitations grow near depletion. No real-time compressor refill is modeled.
- Contact: constrained rolling contact on the ramp; free rigid-body flight, tire forces and spring/damper touchdown. Collision geometry and low-pressure nozzle expansion are approximations.
- Controls: this manual interface and adjustable delivery regulator are design choices, not verified Tesla owner controls. Both devices run the same fixed-step model.