[3.5] Raptoran flight & spellcasting

[Raezeman]

So, my raptoran sorcerer just reached 5th level, meaning it now has a limited capability of flight. Naturally, it will now spend combat flying a bit to stay away from pesky melee enemies while casting spells (of course, he will stay on the ground if the enemies are mostly ranged attackers, since then there would be no point to attract attention). So now my question is, what happens if he uses a standard action to cast a spell while airborne?

Kethro (his name) has a maneuvrability of average, which means he can't hover. So when he uses a standard action, does he remain at the same hight, or does he drop a little like if gliding? If so, how much does he descent? The races of the wild state that raptorans glide at 40 ft speed, average maneuvrability and descent 5 ft for every 20 ft forward.
My interpretation is that when he does a standard action, he basically is gliding without the forward motion, meaning 10 ft drop when he casts a spell.

Is this correct, or am i overlooking something?

[SethoMarkus]

I played a Warmage that was reincarnated as a Raptoran in a campaign once. My DM ruled that the movement was similar to that of a caster on land; although all the movement and spellcasting is occurring simultaneously in the 6 seconds, it is still broken down into Standard Action, Move Action. He allowed me to cast a spell as a Standard Action (no Full Round castings), and fly as a Move Action, though he required I pass a concentration check as vigorous motion (DC 10) or violent motion (DC 15).

I think he also made a ruling about not being able to take 10 for those checks, but can't quite remember (it was several years ago). Granted, this was also a fairly low OP, "rules lite" style game, so YMMV

[Talya]

So when he uses a standard action, does he remain at the same hight, or does he drop a little like if gliding? If so, how much does he descent? The races of the wild state that raptorans glide at 40 ft speed, average maneuvrability and descent 5 ft for every 20 ft forward.
My interpretation is that when he does a standard action, he basically is gliding without the forward motion, meaning 10 ft drop when he casts a spell.

Is this correct, or am i overlooking something?

Your standard action and your move action actually happen simultaneously. You don't run/fly for three seconds, then cast for three seconds. As long as you meet the requirements for flight during your move action, your standard action does not affect it at all.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Lacking Hover means you must maintain your minimum forward speed (in this case, 20 feet or 4 squares) to keep aloft. That means you have to spend a Move Action (or some other method of moving) to move at least that distance to stay aloft. You can cast a Standard Action spell before or after this movement as per normal. I'd suggest, though, to use one, maybe 2 rounds of flight to gain altitude, then just Glide. You have limited flight per day, so I'd take advantage of the fact you only need to stay out of reach and take the 5 foot descent. You should finish most encounters before you touch ground again.

[RedWarlock]

No, as long as you maintain the minimum forward movement with your move action, you're fine. A standard action wouldn't affect your height at all.