Basically, this current iteration of the game’s flight physics is based on player feedback, the first of which was collected during CitizenCon and the most “interesting” of which came from Evocati testing. A greater appreciation of ship-to-ship combat was also cited as a source of input. All of this information caused the devs to make what they called “a big leap,” but naturally feedback and tweaking will continue.
Content retrieved from: https://massivelyop.com/2019/05/03/inside-star-citizen-discusses-the-3-5-flight-model-collecting-feedback-and-the-banu-defender/.