Tutorials/Flying machines

Flying technologies are technologies that make the use of commands or Slime Blocks to move a player, entity or structure in the air or through liquids.

Using Slime Blocks
The Slime Block based flying technologies use clever placement of pistons, blocks of redstone and slime blocks to make an engine, which will move the structure. This is the only way of legitimate flying in Survival mode.

These technologies use the fact that slime blocks will move adjacent movable blocks, including other slime blocks, when pushed or pulled.

Engines


Engines are the base of slime-block-based flying technologies, they can make a structure to move in the air and through liquids by pushing it.

Engines divide into semi- and fully-automatic. The semi-automatic engines need player's intervention to move it. The fully-automatic move autonomously. However, to stop them, you must place blocks until they can no longer move. (Any solid block will do, but unpushable blocks like obsidian and furnace will often ensure a stop with a single block.)

Engines can also differ in available directions and speed. Some can only move in a single direction. They are the simplest and most common engines, but for them to move in another direction, a complex external mechanism is needed.

More rarely, engines can move in multiple directions. They have multiple piston mechanisms, each for movement into its direction. The only thing the player needs is to re-arrange just some blocks (usually blocks of redstone).

Also, engines have different speeds, with smallest engines usually being slower. For example, the engine shown in the animation on top of this section is slower than the engine on the bottom of the section.

You can download from Planet Minecraft some of the small engines that move in a single direction. They are designed by Xbxp:

A compacted (by Xbxp | 14 blocks) version of a DicoTheRedstoner's engine design is available to download here, or you can build it by following the schematics. This is how it looks:

The X-marked blocks must be placed the last, then the engine piston (E-marked) has to be updated in order to turn on the engine (e.g. breaking the sign as in the image).

Splitters


Splitters are mechanical parts of a flying machine used to push an independent part of a large flying structure. A single piston only can push or pull up to 12 blocks. Splitters split a structure into multiple independent pushable parts (hence the name). A splitter itself has 2 parts (a normal piston in the rear, and a slime block (or more) with a power source in the front) with space between them.

Once the rear part with the piston is pushed, the piston will be activated by a power source from the front part. It will push the slime block (and thus the next part of flying contraption and its splitters), which pulls the power source with it. The piston will then deactivate and prepare for another push.

List of flying creations
You can download here a world save with a guide that shows few versions of each mechanical part and explains what it does and how to use it.

Using Commands
Commands can also be used for flying entities or structures. Unlike slime block based technologies, however, they cannot be legitimately used in Survival, except by operators.

Telporation stations
Simply place down 2 Command blocks at each "station", one going each way.

Using /tp
The earliest way of this "artificial" flying (dating back to 12w32a) is done using the command to teleport players (and entities as of 14w02a) into a specific direction. Direction can be controlled by various means, like holding a specific tool. The main con is that it only works on players (and entities as of 14w02a).

Using Slime Blocks

 * If you place a slime block in the front of a normal piston and a redstone block over the slime block, the piston will become powered by that redstone block (due to quasi-connectivity). However, after the piston extends, it will deactivate and retreat. This gives the opportunity to make smaller engines and 1-wide splitters.