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diff --git a/docs/re/weapon-datasheet-runtime.md b/docs/re/weapon-datasheet-runtime.md
index 5e34756..c68ff91 100644
--- a/docs/re/weapon-datasheet-runtime.md
+++ b/docs/re/weapon-datasheet-runtime.md
@@ -170,3 +170,63 @@ Screenshots for every row above: `/sylph-home/re/caps/` in the container.
 
 Evidence PNGs are committed under [`captures/weapon-datasheet/`](captures/weapon-datasheet/)
 (64-colour quantized for size; the numbers stay legible).
+
+---
+
+# Addendum — the in-flight HUD (2026-07-28)
+
+Reached via **TUTORIAL → BASIC CONTROLS / HEADS-UP DISPLAY** from the title menu (no
+save needed). Evidence: [`captures/hud-runtime/`](captures/hud-runtime/).
+
+## The HUD corroborates the ammo mapping, independently
+
+The Delta Saber's HUD prints its two equipped weapons as `NOSE <TYPE> <AMMO>` and
+`MAIN <TYPE> <AMMO>`. With the loadout known from the HANGAR (nose = STILETTO BG I, main =
+FALCON 9AM) the HUD reads **`NOSE BM 06000`** and **`MAIN MPM 00300`** — exactly
+`wep_01_Beam`'s `LoadingCount = 6000` and `wep_02_Missile`'s `300`.
+
+This matters because it is **not** the Arsenal panel: the weapons were identified from the
+HANGAR loadout, and the numbers come from a different renderer in a different game mode. It
+is a genuinely independent confirmation of `Ammo Capacity == LoadingCount`.
+
+The type tags (`BM`, `MPM`) are the same short codes as the Arsenal type tabs.
+
+## HUD element inventory
+
+| HUD element | Backing data | Conf. |
+|---|---|---|
+| `NOSE` / `MAIN` + type tag + 5-digit ammo | equipped weapon, `LoadingCount` | ✅ |
+| `HEAT` / `L.HEAT` bar under each weapon | the `Heating` / `Cooling` pair | 🟡 |
+| Speed readout + throttle scale (`0`, `100`, `A/B`) | craft velocity | ✅ |
+| `SHIELD` and `ARMOR` bars (two separate pools) | craft `HP` + a shield pool | 🟡 |
+| Target reticle: name / type / distance + ring **Armor Gauge** | target unit record | 🟡 |
+| `RANGE` gauge with `MAIN` and `NOSE` tick markers | each equipped weapon's `MaximumRange`, plotted against target distance | 🟡 |
+| `YOU KILLED: WARSHIPS nnnn` + a second counter | score / `ScorePoint` | ❔ |
+
+The `RANGE` gauge is the interesting one for future work: it draws a **per-weapon marker on
+a distance scale**, so a weapon whose `MaximumRange` is defaulted on disc (`wep_25`,
+`wep_58`, `wep_82`) would have its value *drawn* rather than bucketed into a letter — if the
+scale can be calibrated against two weapons with known ranges, that recovers a real number
+where the Arsenal panel only gives a class.
+
+## Craft velocity
+
+Full afterburner (RT) peaked at **1193** against `UN_f001_TCAF_DeltaSaber_T`'s on-disc
+`MaximumVelocity = 1200`. 🟡 PROBABLE — one observation, and the readout may have been
+still climbing. Cruise sat at 350, which is *not* the record's `CruisingVelocity` (700), so
+the number is the current throttle setting, not a named constant; don't read more into it.
+
+## Notes for the next session
+
+- The tutorials need **no save game** and are reachable in ~1 min from a cold boot, which
+  makes them the cheapest way back into a live flight scene.
+- `tools/re-capture/autopilot.py` chases the yellow off-screen waypoint arrow (colour +
+  shape, `-sample` not `-resize`, ~0.65 s per detection). It **finds the arrow reliably but
+  oscillates** — the proportional gain is too high for the craft's turn rate. It needs a
+  damping/derivative term before it can actually fly a waypoint.
+- The HEADS-UP DISPLAY tutorial reaches a scripted targeting segment where the ship stops
+  moving (target distance pinned) and the on-screen controller highlights **A**; tapping and
+  holding A did not advance it. **NEEDS-HUMAN**: what input that segment wants.
+- Canary is unstable here: it died twice mid-session (once loading BEAM `Resource3D`, once
+  hanging on tutorial teardown) with no crash dump. Re-launch is cheap; just don't assume a
+  long session survives.
diff --git a/tools/re-capture/autopilot.py b/tools/re-capture/autopilot.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..736f622
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/re-capture/autopilot.py
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Fly the Delta Saber toward the tutorial waypoint by chasing the yellow
+off-screen direction arrow.
+
+Detection: no PIL/numpy in the box, so the frame comes from `convert ... txt:-`.
+Two things make it fast AND correct:
+  * `-sample` (point sampling, not `-resize`/`-scale` averaging) — a 1-px-thin
+    glyph keeps its true colour, so the exact colour predicate still fires while
+    the dump shrinks ~9x (3.5s -> 0.65s).
+  * shape, not just colour — the instruction-frame bars and the throttle marker
+    are the same dim yellow, so the arrow is the largest blob that is roughly as
+    tall as it is wide, with the fixed throttle marker blacklisted by position.
+A ~1.1 s control loop is fast enough to converge; the earlier ~6 s loop was not.
+"""
+import re, subprocess, sys, time
+
+X0, Y0, W, H = 80, 60, 820, 640      # flight view (the arrow also rides the bottom edge)
+K = 3.03                             # 1/0.33 sample factor
+CX, CY = 640, 405                    # crosshair
+THROTTLE = (382, 456)                # fixed yellow decoy on the speed gauge
+PX = re.compile(r"^(\d+),(\d+):.*?srgb\((\d+),(\d+),(\d+)\)")
+
+
+def pad(*a):
+    subprocess.run(["/opt/sylph/vgamepad.py", *a], check=False)
+
+
+def arrow(png="/tmp/ap.png"):
+    subprocess.run(["/opt/sylph/screenshot.sh", png], check=False,
+                   stdout=subprocess.DEVNULL, stderr=subprocess.DEVNULL)
+    out = subprocess.run(["convert", png, "-crop", f"{W}x{H}+{X0}+{Y0}", "+repage",
+                          "-sample", "33%", "txt:-"], capture_output=True, text=True).stdout
+    pts = set()
+    for l in out.splitlines()[1:]:
+        m = PX.match(l)
+        if not m:
+            continue
+        x, y, r, g, b = (int(v) for v in m.groups())
+        if r >= 60 and g >= 48 and b <= 0.35 * g and (r - g) <= 0.45 * r:
+            pts.add((x, y))
+    seen, best = set(), None
+    for p in pts:
+        if p in seen:
+            continue
+        st, c = [p], []
+        seen.add(p)
+        while st:
+            x, y = st.pop(); c.append((x, y))
+            for dx in (-1, 0, 1):
+                for dy in (-1, 0, 1):
+                    q = (x + dx, y + dy)
+                    if q in pts and q not in seen:
+                        seen.add(q); st.append(q)
+        xs = [q[0] for q in c]; ys = [q[1] for q in c]
+        cx, cy = X0 + sum(xs) / len(c) * K, Y0 + sum(ys) / len(c) * K
+        if abs(cx - THROTTLE[0]) < 30 and abs(cy - THROTTLE[1]) < 30:
+            continue
+        if len(c) < 8:
+            continue
+        if best is None or len(c) > best[2]:
+            best = (cx, cy, len(c))
+    return best
+
+
+def main():
+    steps = int(sys.argv[1]) if len(sys.argv) > 1 else 25
+    centred = 0
+    for i in range(steps):
+        a = arrow()
+        if a is None:
+            print(f"{i:2d}: no arrow -> boost (target ahead)")
+            pad("trig", "RT", "0.55"); time.sleep(1.2); pad("trig", "RT", "0")
+            centred += 1
+            if centred >= 6:
+                print("   arrival likely — stopping"); return 0
+            continue
+        x, y, n = a
+        dx, dy = x - CX, y - CY
+        if abs(dx) < 70 and abs(dy) < 70:
+            centred += 1
+            print(f"{i:2d}: arrow ({x:.0f},{y:.0f}) centred -> boost")
+            pad("trig", "RT", "0.55"); time.sleep(1.2); pad("trig", "RT", "0")
+            continue
+        centred = 0
+        lx = max(-1.0, min(1.0, dx / 200))
+        ly = max(-1.0, min(1.0, dy / 160))
+        print(f"{i:2d}: arrow ({x:.0f},{y:.0f}) n={n} -> LX {lx:+.2f} LY {ly:+.2f}")
+        pad("axis", "LX", f"{lx:.2f}"); pad("axis", "LY", f"{ly:.2f}")
+        time.sleep(0.45)
+        pad("axis", "LX", "0"); pad("axis", "LY", "0")
+    print("steps exhausted")
+    return 1
+
+
+sys.exit(main())
diff --git a/tools/re-capture/skip_intro.sh b/tools/re-capture/skip_intro.sh
index d2b804c..8eaa3f1 100755
--- a/tools/re-capture/skip_intro.sh
+++ b/tools/re-capture/skip_intro.sh
@@ -5,6 +5,10 @@
 # Static logo screens are left alone, so a stray tap can never land on NEW GAME.
 set -u
 export HOME=/sylph-home/re
+# The X root keeps the DEAD session's last frame, so a fresh launch would be
+# detected as "already at the title". Blank it, and wait for the new window.
+xsetroot -solid black 2>/dev/null || true
+until xdotool search --name "Xenia-canary" >/dev/null 2>&1; do sleep 1; done
 deadline=$(( SECONDS + ${1:-900} ))
 while [ $SECONDS -lt $deadline ]; do
   screenshot /tmp/f1.png >/dev/null 2>&1; sleep 0.6