Leyland Gravity Whip

The Leyland Gravity Whip is a maneuver that can be performed in the vicinity of a gravity well, to increase the speed of a ship beyond its normal maximum. It is analogous to the actual maneuver used in real world astronautics.

To perform a Gravity Whip, one moves at top speed closely past a gravity well. The closer you can get without hitting it, the better. At the moment the ship is closest to the gravity well, release the accelerator button (if you still had it pressed), and the gravity of the gravity well will "whip" or sling you. Take care not to try to accelerate (even along your trajectory) while moving faster than your ship's normal maximum speed, as this will actually slow your ship down until it reaches its normal maximum. Small adjustments to your direction can be done by accelerating perpendicular (at a 90-degree angle) to your current trajectory, without suffering a great loss of speed.

Orz Space Marines are trained in the use of the Gravity Whip maneuver. The Arilou Skiff and Slylandro Probe, being unaffected by gravity, cannot perform a Gravity Whip.

The Leyland Gravity Whip is named after Robert Leyland, who was involved in the creation of Star Control and Star Control II.