Editing Flight

'''Flight''' is a capability many mechanoids and no few [[Transformer]]s have, whether through rocket boosters, propellers, or even flapping wings. [[Human]]s do not generally have the ability to fly, but there are exceptions. It has proven quite useful strategically in many continuities.

==Jet-powered flight==
The most common means by which Transformers fly is some variation on jet-propulsion engines, rocket engines, or similar. Transformers such as the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]] have such thrusters built into their legs, while other individuals such as [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] and [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] possess removable jet-packs which strap to their backs.


===Transformers with jet-powered flight===
*[[Grimlock (G1)|Dinomode Grimlock]]<ref>[[Call of the Primitives]]</ref>
*[[Inferno (BW)]]
*[[Megatron (BW)|Transmetal Megatron]]
*[[Optimus Primal]]
*[[Starscream (Movie)]]
*[[Autobot X]]
*[[Megatron (Animated)]]

==Propeller-powered flight==
Sometimes, by virtue of a Transformer's [[alternate mode]], they can fly by means more primitive than they might be accustomed to on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. Using airplane propellers, helicoptor rotors, or other similar technologies they can fly at speeds comparable to native aircraft on the worlds they are residing upon.


===Transformers with propeller-powered flight===
*[[Divebomb (Classics)|''Classics'' Divebomb]]
*[[Obsidian (BM)]]
*[[Blackout (Movie)]]
*[[Cyclonus (Armada)]]
*[[Springer (G1)|Springer]]
*[[Sandstorm (G1)]]
*[[Powerdive]]
*[[Ransack (G2)]]
*[[Octane|Tankor (Universe ''Classic series'')]]
*[[Megatron (Animated)]]
*[[Evac (Cybertron)]]
*[[Galvatron (SG)]]

==Biological flight==
Many transformers have a physical pair of beast-mode wings, whether natural-looking or mechanical. In these cases, the transformer's flight derives from flapping these wings or gliding much like an animal would.

===Transformers with biological flight===
*[[Airazor (BW)]] / [[Airazor (Armada)]]
*[[Divebomb (G1)]]
*[[Megatron (BW)|Transmetal 2 Megatron]]
*[[Nightscream (BM)]]
*[[Silverbolt (BW)]]
*[[Swoop (G1)]]
*[[Terrorsaur (BW)]]
*[[Waspinator (BW)]]
*[[Wasp|Waspinator (Animated)]]

==Levitation==
Some Transformers just float, often by no apparent means. It isn't always that well explained in the fiction, though certainly there exist Transformers with anti-gravity generators and other technologies which allow them to maneuver effortlessly even within a gravitational field.


===Transformers with levitation===
[[Image:Soundwave fly.jpg|right|180px|thumb|I'm flyin' without wings!]]
*[[Shockwave (G1)]] 
*[[Sky-Byte (RID)]]
*[[Transmutate (character)|Transmutate]]
*[[Soundwave (G1)]]

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==Robot-mode flight==
[[Image:G1 cartoon Autobots fly.JPG|right|200px|thumb|A rare instance of flying.]]
Robot-mode flight powers are an innovative power that allows [[Transformer]]s without a flight-based [[alternate mode]] to fly while in robot mode. The [[Decepticon]]s make good use of this power.

Sometimes the [[Autobot]]s have them....sometimes they don't. Most often they display them early in Season 1 of the US cartoon, particularly the pilot. It is uncertain if they require external equipment to fly; several times the Autobots use strap-on jet packs or rocket packs, but sometimes they don't.

Robot-mode flight was prevalent in the post-movie episodes, in which the focus was shifted to space (perhaps, taking a hint from the ''[[Wikipedia:Gundam|Gundam]]'' franchise.) Although some characters could not fly under the influence of a planet's gravity, ''everyone'' seemed to possess the power of flight in deep space.

==Human flight==
*[[Circuit Breaker]]'s electronic suit allows her to fly by manipulating electricity. Same goes for [[Sephie Beller]].
*[[Dynamo]] has the innate ability to tap into the power of the [[Earth]] which gives him flight capability.
*[[Rapture]] uses a jet pack provided by [[G.B. Blackrock]] to allow her to fly.
*[[Falcon (superhero)|Falcon]] flies with the aid of high tech wings.
*[[Ms. Marvel]] can fly, courtesy of her half-[[Kree]] genetics.
*[[Professor Princess]] flies around on her electro-mechanical unicorn, [[Powdered Sugar]].

==Fiction==
===Marvel Comics continuity===
Transformers did not demonstrate robot-mode levitation-type flight.

===Generation 1 cartoon===
Robot-mode flight powers were a technological innovation that allowed the Decepticons, who had just mastered the art of [[Transformation]], to start a [[Great War (G1)|new war]] and battle the Autobots for supremacy of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. Their initial attacks were not a matter of public knowledge, and some Autobots, such as [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Orion Pax]] and [[Dion]], admired them for their innovations. This admiration was ended when [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] blasted Orion, Dion, and [[Elita One|Ariel]]. It was to Megatron's detriment, however, for [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] rebuilt Orion and Ariel into [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Elita One]]. {{storylink|War Dawn}}

Eventually, the Autobots also mastered robot-mode flight powers, and they used them to reach an oil rig which the Decepticons were plundering. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 1}} Ironhide and Bluestreak pursued the fleeing Decepticons into the air, though Skywarp had little difficulty shooting down Ironhide. Optimus required the use of [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]]'s rocket pack to catch up to the space-bound [[Victory (G1)|Decepticon ship]] shortly afterwards, implying a limit on the speed or range of his flight capabilities. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 3}} Sideswipe and [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] also used robot-mode flight powers in their use of [[jet judo]] against [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]] attacking the [[Ark (G1)|Autobot base]]. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 2}} 

The Decepticons' own flight capabilities have known to fail them at times too. In one instance, under a barrage of firepower, Optimus and the Autobots drove the Decepticons back until they fell down a canyon into lava, instead of simply flying out. {{storylink|Heavy Metal War}}  

The Autobots' ability to fly in robot mode effectively vanished after that. To reach Dinobot Island, Optimus Prime and a crew of Autobots used strap-on jetpacks. Even Autobots with flying alternate modes did not seem able to fly in robot mode, though [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] seemed able to maneuver in space while in robot mode.

The newly created Dinobots could fly in robot mode, an ability they consistently demonstrated throughout their history. Their creator, [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]], was also shown flying in robot mode apparently unassisted, an ability his on-package [[bio]] claims for him. {{storylink|S.O.S. Dinobots}}     

In the years following the defeat of Unicron, a number of Autobots were seen to fly through space without any visible aid or means of propulsion. Notable among them was Perceptor, who had never before demonstrated such an ability. Before one such instance, Sky Lynx advised the Autobots in question to "don your rocket packs, gentlemen!" The Technobots all flew in robot mode from Earth to Saturn's moon Titan.

Despite the Autobots' rare display of this ability, some claim they do not have it at all.  [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] once said outright that "Autobots cannot fly," himself flying easily over a booby trap, while his apparently earthbound Autobot companions remained helpless. Then again, Galvatron is beyond psychotic. {{storylink|The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2}}

===Beast Wars cartoon===
Early in this series, the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]] had a tactical advantage due to the imbalance of flight-capable individuals in their faction. Initially, only [[Optimus Primal]] could provide air support for the [[Maximal]]s, and then only in robot-mode, which was risky in the [[energon]]-rich environment. However as more [[Protoform]]s were formatted and pressed into service, particularly [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] and [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]], the balance of forces became more even.

Sufficient volumes of energon itself, of a certain level of instability, are said to have the ability to cause large objects to float {{storylink|Power Surge}}.

[[Transmutate (character)|Transmutate]] had an apparently unique flight mechanism: it extended a crystalline object from within its body, and when the crystal was exposed to air, it gave off an intense energy field and then caused its user to levitate.  Since Transmutate was a malformed, incomplete design, this might have been a display of widespread Transformer flight technology that otherwise would always be internal and unseen.

===IDW comics===
Back before the war, information on scientific breakthroughs in levitation/"repulsors" that could lead to robot-mode flight abilities caught the greedy optics of Senator [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]], who manipulated the stock to take control. Given that he offered a variety of war-tech to the fledgling Decepticons under Megatron, this may be intended as a reference to or origin for their robot-form flight abilities; however, the Decepticons have demonstrated no such abilities in the IDW continuity. This may be an artifact of this storyline's planning and even possible scripting during the latter days before the [[Dreamwave Productions|Dreamwave]] bankruptcy.

===Cybertron cartoon===
Robot mode flight powers were tied to the ability to fly in vehicle mode, indicating that all Transformers with flight-capable alternate modes possessed internal repulsors or vertical thrusters. Faction did not come into it. A Transformer who went from vehicle mode to robot mode while in flight would lose considerable momentum doing so, a factor often used to land in confined areas. Most flight was typically carried out in vehicle mode, as it was faster and typically more agile. Interestingly, all Transformers were capable of robot mode flight in zero gravity ([[Six-Speed|and]] [[Reverb (Cybertron)|some]] were capable of it in ''car'' modes). Given the way things work in zero gravity, the robot mode flight in such conditions is  actually quite natural, albeit slow.

===Transformers Animated===
Autobots did not possess flight, save for limited jumps using booster jets. However, the capture of the Decepticon Starscream allowed the Autobot [[Ministry of Science]] to reverse-engineer flight protocols and implant them in a pair of energon refinery maintenance bots. The result was [[Jetfire (Animated)|Jetfire]] and [[Jetstorm (Animated)|Jetstorm]], whose origins as a split protoform granted them other new abilities as a result of the process, including becoming a [[combiner]]. {{storylink|First (and Second) in Flight}}

===TransTech continuity===
[[GoBots (franchise)|GoBots]] all have robot-mode flight systems. {{storylink|Withered Hope}}

===Live-action film series===

Some Transformers have robot-mode flight with the aid of "jetpacks" and other flight systems.

====''Ghosts of Yesterday''' prequel novel====
Autobots and Decepticons alike can fly under gravity in robot mode by using "propulsion." {{storylink|Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday|Ghosts of Yesterday}}

===War For Cybertron===
All Transformers are equipped with thrusters in their feet, allowing them to boost themselves while jumping (a double-jump, if you will). Jet-mode Transformers, such as [[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] and [[Air Raid (WFC)|Air Raid]], are flight capable in jet mode but are ground-bound in robot mode. However, several Transformers have the ability to hover in the air in robot mode (including [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]]).

==Notes==
*Despite all these advanced flight abilities, Cybertronians seem incapable of actually ''landing'' successfully after [[The Story of Wheelie, the Wild Boy of Quintesson|achieving]] [[Cosmos (G1)|flight]]. [[Ark (G1)|There]] [[Nemesis (G1)|are]] [[Axalon (BW)|many]], [[Darksyde|many]] [[Jetfire (G1)|instances]] [[Megatron (Movie)|of]] [[Exodus (Armada)|infamous]] [[Miranda II|crashes]] [[Ark II|within]] [[Orion|the]] [[Transition form|fictions]]. In fact, [[Jetfire (ROTF)|Jetfire]] makes somewhat of a reference to this in ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'', when he botches his own landing, commenting on it sarcastically as he does.

==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Abilities]]
[[Category:Transformer anatomy]]