flies to its docking stations and back · an on/off lever · 15 blocks

Once started it shuttles between its two docking stations by itself, a round trip every 98 ticks. Its lever is an on/off switch: off, the machine docks at the lever's station and stays there; on, it leaves at once.

its lever: off, it docks and stays; on, it leaves at once · a round trip every 98 ticks (4.9 s) · fits in 4×2×9

flies to its docking stations and backFlying machine with docking stations3D view loading (or not available in this browser)

Try it

Press play under the view to start it; then flip its lever (the IN button under the view): off, it docks and stays; on, it leaves again. In the game, start it by placing a block where the view puts its start block, then breaking it.

How this design does it: Flying machine with docking stations, 15 blocks, and an on/off lever: a 6-block flying machine (two sticky pistons, two slime blocks, two observers) shuttles between two docking stations, 98 ticks per round trip.

Build it

Download .litematic Download the design as text

The .litematic opens in Litematica (Minecraft 26.3): every block of the design in one region. The text file is the same build written as plain text, block by block.

Blocks used: observer obsidian redstone wire slime block sticky piston stone

Details: how it works, measurements and properties

In depth

A two-way flying machine: pistons, slime or honey and observers that push each other along, then come back. Once started it shuttles back and forth by itself.

How to try it

The machine starts by itself (its start block is placed when the view begins): press play and watch it shuttle between its docking stations. Flip its lever with the IN button under the view: off, it docks at the lever's station and stays; on, it leaves again. Drag to look around, pinch or scroll to zoom.

Inputs and output over time

The input follows this schedule (the 3D view's demo plays the same). Lime: an input is on; orange: the output is on (taller = a stronger signal, 1 to 15). Blue: how far the machine has moved along its path, in blocks. Time runs left to right in game ticks (20 ticks = 1 s).

Swipe the diagram sideways: the whole sequence lasts 16500 ticks (13 min 45 s).

MOVED: round trip 4.9 s.

Step by step (33 lines)

flight: docked at [0, 0, 4] from frame 44 (2.2 s after the phase starts)
run 1: moves 0 s after the switch turns on, flies 5 cells and comes back
dock 1: docked at [0, 0, 4] from frame 1179 (2.9 s after the phase starts)
run 2: moves 0 s after the switch turns on, flies 5 cells and comes back
dock 2: docked at [0, 0, 4] from frame 2139 (1.75 s after the phase starts)
run 3: moves 0 s after the switch turns on, flies 5 cells and comes back
dock 3: docked at [0, 0, 4] from frame 3122 (0.6 s after the phase starts)
run 4: moves 0 s after the switch turns on, flies 5 cells and comes back
dock 4: docked at [0, 0, 4] from frame 4226 (4.35 s after the phase starts)
dock after a 0.2 s flip: docked at [0, 0, 4] from frame 4666 (0.35 s after the phase starts)
dock after a 0.25 s flip: docked at [0, 0, 4] from frame 5285 (5.3 s after the phase starts)
dock after a 0.3 s flip: docked at [0, 0, 4] from frame 5805 (5.3 s after the phase starts)
dock after a 0.4 s flip: docked at [0, 0, 4] from frame 6325 (5.3 s after the phase starts)
dock after a 0.5 s flip: docked at [0, 0, 4] from frame 6845 (5.3 s after the phase starts)
dock after a 0.6 s flip: docked at [0, 0, 4] from frame 7365 (5.3 s after the phase starts)
dock after a 0.8 s flip: docked at [0, 0, 4] from frame 7885 (5.3 s after the phase starts)
dock after a 1 s flip: docked at [0, 0, 4] from frame 8405 (5.3 s after the phase starts)
run with a 0.2 s reflip: moves 0 s after the switch turns on, flies 5 cells and comes back
dock after the 0.2 s reflip: docked at [0, 0, 4] from frame 9317 (2.9 s after the phase starts)
run with a 0.25 s reflip: moves 0 s after the switch turns on, flies 5 cells and comes back
dock after the 0.25 s reflip: docked at [0, 0, 4] from frame 10277 (2.9 s after the phase starts)
run with a 0.3 s reflip: moves 0 s after the switch turns on, flies 5 cells and comes back
dock after the 0.3 s reflip: docked at [0, 0, 4] from frame 11237 (2.9 s after the phase starts)
run with a 0.4 s reflip: moves 0 s after the switch turns on, flies 5 cells and comes back
dock after the 0.4 s reflip: docked at [0, 0, 4] from frame 12197 (2.9 s after the phase starts)
run with a 0.5 s reflip: moves 0 s after the switch turns on, flies 5 cells and comes back
dock after the 0.5 s reflip: docked at [0, 0, 4] from frame 13157 (2.9 s after the phase starts)
run with a 0.6 s reflip: moves 0 s after the switch turns on, flies 5 cells and comes back
dock after the 0.6 s reflip: docked at [0, 0, 4] from frame 14117 (2.9 s after the phase starts)
run with a 0.8 s reflip: moves 0 s after the switch turns on, flies 5 cells and comes back
dock after the 0.8 s reflip: docked at [0, 0, 4] from frame 15077 (2.9 s after the phase starts)
run with a 1 s reflip: moves 0 s after the switch turns on, flies 5 cells and comes back
dock after the 1 s reflip: docked at [0, 0, 4] from frame 16037 (2.9 s after the phase starts)

Measurements

metric	value	what it means
two-way	round trip 4.9 s	goes and comes back by itself
switch	docks within 4.35 s
restarts	within 0 s
ground	needs 1 block of air above the ground

Notes from its designer

Flying machine with docking stations, 15 blocks, and an on/off lever: a 6-block flying machine (two sticky pistons, two slime blocks, two observers) shuttles between two docking stations, 98 ticks per round trip. Each station has a wall that stops the machine and an observer that sees it arrive and fires into a dust behind the leading piston, which pushes the machine back the other way. At the station with the lever, the observer stands on a sticky piston: lever off pulls it aside, so the machine docks there and stays; lever on pushes it back into place, and a moved observer fires, so the docked machine leaves at once. It survives the lever flipped back too soon. obsidian at 1 0 6 stays for immovability (pistons must not move it: the design fails or changes even with a blast-proof netherite block there).

Properties

Study	Flying machines
Kind	Flying machine
Blocks placed	15
Box	4×2×9 (72 blocks of space)
Made of (the blocks that change state)	observer, redstone wire, slime block, sticky piston
Inputs / outputs	IN (lever) (no output: it moves blocks)
Flags	its own lever as the input, flies there and back between stations
Design file	`fly-docking-15b-narrow`

The design file

on GitHub

Design file (52 lines)

# Flying machine with docking stations: flies to its docking stations and back · an on/off lever · 15 blocks
# https://vjeux.github.io/redstonepedia/circuits/fly/fly-docking-15b-narrow.html
name: fly-docking-15b-narrow
circuit: flying-machine
distance: 8
travel: 0 0 1
port input: -2 0 4 lever
port start: 0 -1 0 minecraft:stone 1
port station.0: -2 0 5
port station.1: -2 0 4
port station.10: -1 0 4
port station.2: -1 0 5
port station.3: 0 0 5
port station.4: 0 0 6
port station.5: 0 1 6
port station.6: 1 0 6
port station.7: 1 0 -1
port station.8: 1 0 -2
port station.9: 1 1 -2
origin: -2 0 -2
palette:
  A minecraft:observer[facing=south]
  B minecraft:obsidian
  C minecraft:sticky_piston[extended=false,facing=north]
  D minecraft:sticky_piston[extended=false,facing=south]
  E minecraft:stone
  L minecraft:lever[face=wall,facing=west,powered=false]
  O minecraft:observer[facing=down,powered=false]
  R minecraft:redstone_wire[east=side,north=side,south=side,west=side]
  S minecraft:slime_block
  o minecraft:observer[facing=north]
  s minecraft:sticky_piston[extended=false,facing=east]
layer 0:
  ...E
  ...A
  ..O
  ...O
  .
  .
  LE
  so
  ..EB
layer 1:
  ...R
  .
  ..SD
  ..CS
  .
  .
  .
  .
  ..R