REDSTONEPEDIA › Circuits › Flying machines

Tall flying machine

carries up to 18 extra blocks · 7 blocks

Once started it flies sideways by itself, one block every 10 ticks (2 blocks a second), until something stops it. It carries extra blocks stuck to it: 1 as built, up to 18.

no start lever, 1 block smaller than the main design · flies sideways · starts in 2 ticks (0.1 s) · fits in 4×3×1

carries up to 18 extra blocksTall flying machine3D view loading (or not available in this browser)

Try it

Press play under the view: it puts the start block in place and the machine flies off; reset to see it again. In the game, start it the same way: place a block where the view puts its start block, then break it.

How this design does it: Tall flying machine (carries cargo): the 6-block machine with a column of extra blocks stacked on its front half; every block rides along at the same speed, up to 9 on each half.

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: gold block observer piston slime block sticky piston

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 fly along its corridor; reset to see it again. Drag to look around, pinch or scroll to zoom.

Inputs and output over time

The inputs follow 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).

flightMOVED30ticks020406080100120140160180200220240260280

Swipe the diagram sideways: the whole sequence lasts 302 ticks (15.1 s).

MOVED: 1 block every 0.5 s.

Step by step (3 lines)
reached the corridor end at frame 302
first move at frame 2, intact positions seen: 31, farthest 30 cells along [1, 0, 0]
steady from frame 1: period 0.5 s, 1 cell(s) per period along [1, 0, 0] (29 periods seen)

Measurements

metricvaluewhat it means
speed0.5 s/blockthe time it takes to travel one block
period0.5 s, 1 cell(s)game ticks per cycle of the engine (one push of each piston)
latency0.1 sgame ticks from the start until the machine first moves
groundneeds 1 block of air above the ground

Notes from its designer

Tall flying machine (carries cargo): the 6-block machine with a column of extra blocks stacked on its front half; every block rides along at the same speed, up to 9 on each half. Detail: the family carries n = 1 to 18 blocks in 6 + n blocks (a piston moves at most 12 blocks: the 3-block half plus 9); this card carries 1 block

Properties

StudyFlying machines
KindFlying machine
Blocks placed7
Box4×3×1 (12 blocks of space)
Made of (the blocks that change state)gold block, observer, piston, slime block, sticky piston
Flagscarries extra blocks along (a flying machine with cargo), size
Design filefly-payload-n1

The design file

on GitHub

Design file (22 lines)
# Tall flying machine: carries up to 18 extra blocks · 7 blocks
# https://vjeux.github.io/redstonepedia/circuits/fly/fly-payload-n1.html
name: fly-payload-n1
circuit: flying-machine
distance: 24
travel: 1 0 0
port payload: 2 2 0
port start: -1 0 0 minecraft:stone 1
origin: 0 0 0
palette:
  G minecraft:gold_block
  O minecraft:observer[facing=east,powered=false]
  P minecraft:piston[extended=false,facing=east]
  S minecraft:slime_block
  o minecraft:observer[facing=west,powered=false]
  s minecraft:sticky_piston[extended=false,facing=west]
layer 0:
  oSs
layer 1:
  .PSO
layer 2:
  ..G