Many spacefighterflygames have a key to align your ship with "the plane".
True 3D is very hard to display on 2D screens so most games (including X3) use basically flat sectors.

[size=16][u][b]Manual Operation:[/b][/u][/size]
[list][*] This script provides [b]1 Hotkey[/b].

[*] [u][b]Allowed Targets:[/b][/u]
If you have one of your own objects targeted then this one will be rotated.
If not, your own ship will be rotated.

[*] [u][b]Press Hotkey 1x:[/b][/u]
Ship is rotated and aligned with the plane of the ecliptic.

[*] [u][b]Press Hotkey 2x[/b][/u] within 3 sec:
Ship is rotated, aligned with the plane of the ecliptic, and turned "[b]north[/b]".

[*] [u][b]Press Hotkey 3x[/b][/u] within 3 sec:
[size=10]Blahblah . . .[/size] "[b]east[/b]".

[*] [u][b]Press Hotkey 4x[/b][/u] within 3 sec:
[size=10]Blahblah . . .[/size] "[b]south[/b]".

[*] [u][b]Press Hotkey 5x[/b][/u] within 3 sec:
[size=10]Blahblah . . .[/size] "[b]west[/b]".

[*] [u][b]Stuff:[/b][/u]
[list][*] This script can be interrupted at any time with manual ship control or an autopilot command.

[*] Stations do not have autopilot commands so you can not interrupt the script for them. If they appear to lock up you should leave the sector and let the script complete.

[*] The turning speeds are roughly equal to the normal turning speeds of the ships.

[*] It's nice if you can properly arrange your fleet for a screenshot or just don't want to fly upside down. =)

[*] If you rotate or position stations it can be pretty useful if you can normalize the orientation of your own ship.[/list][/list]

[size=16][u][b]Automatic Operation:[/b][/u][/size]
[list][*] With an AL Plugin you can set this to run automatically and how often.

[*] As long as you or the Autopilot control the ship, nothing unusual happens.

[*] After (setting) seconds of inactivity the playership will be rotated to the default orientation.

If the speed = 0 then it will also be aligned with the plane of ecliptic.

[*] That way I can conveniently fly my ship from the sector map because the controls are never reversed.[/list]



[b]Resources used:[/b]
1 Hotkey
AL Plugin

[b]Disclaimer:[/b]
Rotating objects in the vicinity of other objects may be hazardous to their health. Gazz cannot be held liable for any loss arising directly or indirectly from the use of, or any action taken in reliance on this script.