Grand Theft Auto V: Knife Flight tips

If you want to get the one hundred percent achievement (Career Criminal) for Grand Theft Auto V, you're going to have to complete eight knife flights. And if you want the achievement Close Shave you will have to do all fifteen knife flights. Just in case you don't know, a knife flight is done with a fixed wing aircraft, i.e. airplane or jet plane. To complete one, you must fly sideways between two buildings or structures.

Sounds easy? In case you forgot, this is flying planes in a Grand Theft Auto game. And if you played GTA: San Andreas, you remember it sucked. The game mechanics for flying planes in a GTA game stink. You're asked to fly a plane with overly sensitive controls with real world physics and turbulence. The knife flights must be done within a certain zone. And to make matters worse, many of them are low to the ground. Oh, I forgot. Knife flights are not marked and some of the angles taken require sharp turns. Yep, knife flights are painful.

So here are some tips. I got all fifteen. I'm not the greatest GTA player. And if I can do it, you can do it.

1. Get the right aircraft. There are three aircraft you should consider. Generally, don't use jets except for one. Jets are too fast and lack maneuverability. You see you will have to make sharp turns with accuracy. The two airplanes I recommend are the Mallard and the biplane Duster,

There is one exception to the no jet rule. It's the Lazer, the fighter jet. You can get one at Fort Zancudo. Below I've posted a video of the locations of the knife flights and note it shows how to get the Lazer. Thanks to Next Segment. Now the fighter jet is good for a couple of reasons. It's more maneuverable than most jets. And it has more power than an airplane allowing you to stay in the air longer during the low altitude knife flight attempt. It also goes through the area quicker which may save your life.

2. Quick save while in the air. You can quick save after a successful Knife flight or you can save before you attempt one.

3. You can complete a knife flight even if you died in the attempt. Many times I died in the knife flight attempt but still got credit for completing the flight. You will either see the graphic of completion or after you get out of the hospital, the program will ask you to autosave which means you got it. Regardless, check your stats to confirm it.

4. Use landmarks to set up the knife flight. There's a knife flight north of the movie studio. I used a triangular building to help me to line up the knife flight.

5. PATIENCE. If you're not lined up right, circle around. Look it's less annoying than reloading a saved game after dying so take your time.

I hope this helps. It took my an evening to get all of them. And again, if I can do it, you can.