flies sideways · 7 blocks

Flip its lever and it flies sideways by itself, one block every 10 ticks (2 blocks a second), until something stops it.

starts in 2 ticks (0.1 s) · fits in 3×4×1

start lever

flies sidewaysFlat flying machine3D view loading (or not available in this browser)

Try it

Flip its lever (the IN button under the view): the machine sets off and flies until something stops it; reset to see it again. In the game, flip the lever the same way.

How this design does it: Flying machine with a start lever, 7 blocks: a 6-block slime flying machine (a piston, a sticky piston, two slime blocks, two observers) parked next to a lever on a stone.

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 piston slime block sticky piston stone

Without the start lever, 1 block smaller: Flat flying machine: flies sideways · 6 blocks.

Details: how it works, measurements and properties

In depth

A flying machine: pistons, slime or honey and observers that push each other along. Once started (the start block is placed), it moves itself one block at a time and keeps going until something stops it.

It moves one block every 0.5 s (2.0 blocks per second).

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 420 ticks (21 s).

MOVED: 1 block every 0.5 s.

Step by step (10 lines)

reached the corridor end at frame 420
parked until the first flip (frame 60), first move at frame 62, farthest intact 30 cells along [-1, 0, 0]
steady from frame 114: period 0.5 s, 1 cell(s) per period along [-1, 0, 0] (29 periods seen)
flips 0.25 s apart: flies intact (speed 0.5 s/block, period 0.5 s, 1 cell(s), latency 0.1 s, start flip the lever)
flips 0.3 s apart: flies intact (speed 0.5 s/block, period 0.5 s, 1 cell(s), latency 0.1 s, start flip the lever)
flips 0.4 s apart: flies intact (speed 0.5 s/block, period 0.5 s, 1 cell(s), latency 0.1 s, start flip the lever)
flips 0.5 s apart: flies intact (speed 0.5 s/block, period 0.5 s, 1 cell(s), latency 0.1 s, start flip the lever)
flips 0.6 s apart: flies intact (speed 0.5 s/block, period 0.5 s, 1 cell(s), latency 0.1 s, start flip the lever)
flips 0.8 s apart: flies intact (speed 0.5 s/block, period 0.5 s, 1 cell(s), latency 0.1 s, start flip the lever)
flips 1 s apart: flies intact (speed 0.5 s/block, period 0.5 s, 1 cell(s), latency 0.1 s, start flip the lever)

Measurements

metric	value	what it means
speed	0.5 s/block	the time it takes to travel one block
period	0.5 s, 1 cell(s)	game ticks per cycle of the engine (one push of each piston)
latency	0.1 s	game ticks from the start until the machine first moves
start	flip the lever
ground	flies along the ground

Notes from its designer

Flying machine with a start lever, 7 blocks: a 6-block slime flying machine (a piston, a sticky piston, two slime blocks, two observers) parked next to a lever on a stone. Start: flip the lever, and the machine flies away at 10 ticks per block. The observer that watches the lever rides the part the first push moves, so flipping the lever again, at any moment, does nothing to the machine; the lever and its stone stay behind.

Properties

Study	Flying machines
Kind	Flying machine
Blocks placed	7
Box	3×4×1 (12 blocks of space)
Made of (the blocks that change state)	observer, piston, slime block, sticky piston
Inputs / outputs	IN (lever) (no output: it moves blocks)
Flags	its own lever as the input
Design file	`fly-horizontal-start-7b-10gt`

The design file

on GitHub

Design file (26 lines)

# Flat flying machine: flies sideways · 7 blocks
# https://vjeux.github.io/redstonepedia/circuits/fly/fly-horizontal-start-7b-10gt.html
name: fly-horizontal-start-7b-10gt
circuit: flying-machine
distance: 24
travel: -1 0 0
port input: 1 -2 0 lever
port station.0: 2 -2 0
port station.1: 1 -2 0
origin: 1 0 0
palette:
  A minecraft:stone
  L minecraft:lever[face=wall,facing=west,powered=false]
  O minecraft:observer[facing=down,powered=false]
  P minecraft:piston[extended=false,facing=west]
  S minecraft:slime_block
  o minecraft:observer[facing=east,powered=false]
  s minecraft:sticky_piston[extended=false,facing=east]
layer -2:
  LA
layer -1:
  O
layer 0:
  SP
layer 1:
  sSo