Gliding
From Digi-China gameplay trailer
Quite possibly one of the most interesting features in the game is gliding. Around the in game world there are various placements known as glider pads. When gliders are used correctly they are just about the fastest form of travel in Firefall at this moment. These pads look like main of the types of nodes that spawn different powerups, however they will have a little up arrow hovering over them instead. These pads once a player walks over them will launch you up into the air.
The player will then begin gliding in the direction they are facing. Glider movement from then on is controlled by your mouse crosshairs and not by your movement keys. If you are not going fast enough you screen and your character will begin to wobble letting you know that you are about to run out of lift and take a very quick dip towards the ground as you are not picking up enough speed to continue gliding. If you are falling to the ground too quickly you can also be susceptible to taking falling damage so it is a good idea to pull up before you slam into the ground.
The other trick with gliding is to remember that it’s all about finding that sweet spot between lift, speed, and distance. Sometimes it’s more advantageous to quickly dart down to gain some speed to get to an area close by, but when trying to go the distance one has to find the sweet spot right before you run out of speed and dip into the ground.
Tutorials
Glider Tutorial Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDNwWgkKABk