Why cant autobots fly

Do check back or subscribe to this post for my responses or to see comments from other readers! This is one of a number of contentious, often discussed but never resolved G1 Transformer continuity issues. The contention: Autobots cannot fly, Decepticons can.

There were particular exceptions of course: 1 Autobots who transformed into airborne vehicles could fly sometimes without transforming ; 2 Autobots with some special ability could fly or have flight like powers. For example, Sideswipe rocket pack and Gears air cushion legs ; and 3 all Dinobots can fly courtesy of rear mounted rocket packs. Anonymous 13 November at Botch the Crab 15 November at Heroic Decepticon 17 November at Newer Post Older Post Home.

Subscribe to: Post Comments Atom. The Birthday Post. Kingdom webpage [5]. Early in this series, the 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 Maximals , and then only in robot mode, which was risky in the energon -rich environment.

However, as more protoforms were formatted and pressed into service, particularly Airazor and Silverbolt , the balance of forces became more even. The introduction of Transmetal forms into the Maximal and Predacon ranks once again shifted the balance of flight-capable transformers. Megatron and Cheetor gained the ability to fly via jets in their beast modes, and Optimus Primal gained the ability to fly in his beast mode via a jet-powered hover board, addition to his original robot mode flight.

After upgrading to his "Optimal Optimus" form, he further acquired a true jet mode that only enhanced his flight capabilities. The arrivals of Depth Charge and Tigerhawk, who were likewise equipped with flight-based altmodes, further added to the ranks of airborne Maximals.

Sufficient volumes of energon itself, of a certain level of instability, are said to have the ability to cause large objects to float.

Power Surge. 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. During the Great War, the Decepticons displayed the ability to fly in their robot modes.

By the time of the Grand Uprising , however, energon had attained such a high premium that this ability was lost to the Maximals and Predacons. By contrast, the Monster GoBots , invaders from another reality possessed the ability to fly in their robot modes, allowing them a temporary edge over the Ex-Bots.

Cultural Appropriation. 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 and 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. 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 and Jetstorm , whose origins as a split protoform granted them other new abilities as a result of the process, including becoming a combiner named Safeguard. First and Second in Flight. GoBots all have robot mode flight systems. Withered Hope. When B landed on Earth, he was attacked by Blitzwing who slammed the scout against the rocks using his flight capabilities. B managed to use his more nimble frame to climb onto Blitzwing's back and his blade to disable the Seeker 's engines, grounding him.

Autobots and Decepticons alike can fly under gravity in robot mode by using "propulsion. After vowing to leave Earth and confront the " Creators ", Optimus Prime deployed a set of built-in rockets which he used to break free of Earth's atmosphere. Dinobots, being larger, had larger energy tanks and more efficiant methods of storing energy. That's why they flied a few times. After the movie, bots often flied See Magnus in The Ultimate Weapon as they no longer had an energy problem:their peace with Earth was assured after Autobot City was built.

The cons still flew, nut still raided energy. Near Space. But you still have Galvatron's mocking "Autobots can't fly Although, he is admittedly a less than reliable sorce Which made their big Fort. Not to mention the fact that both sides also had a Space Bridge. Talk about overkill Actually, this issue revolves around a little known fact involving factional discrepancies as they relate to insurance purchases on the planet Cybertron.

The Decepticons, while feeling quite randy and capable of taking over the universe, initiated the Wars against the Autobots, though not in so helter-skelter a manner as some might expect. Megatron, being a true strategic genius, purchased an umbrella policy from Mutual Cybertronia which allowed for the strict use of flight capabilities under an additional thirty energon cube per month premium.

Optimus Prime, considered to be a classic insurance risk on nearly all actuarial charts throughout the galaxy due to his engine size, the fact that he rides without a driver, and that he's red , cannot possibly get insurance from any organization on Cybertron.

As such, the Autobots, as an uninsured faction of ragtag freedom-fighters, cannot fly. Aside from certain cases, such as the Dinobots, for example, who benefit from having one of the best legal teams in Cybertronian history. Although, he is admittedly a less than reliable sorce.. In many of the continuities, the Decepticons are capable of natural flight while in robot mode or possibly more correctly levitation.

By-and-large, Autobots do not share this ability. They either require jetpacks, or can only fly while in their Alt-Modes as planes, rockets, spaceships, etc.

We know that some Transformers have changed factions, including from Decepticon to Autobot, so the technology isn't exactly kept completely secret or hidden. In the 84 cartoon episode "War Dawn" we see a flashback to before the war. Even then the writers didn't always remember, in the first 3 part episode "More Than Meets The Eye" Everyone is flying. It's only later it was changed to Decepticon only. The truth is that all Transformers of the original cartoon can fly, not only the Decepticons, it was clearly seen in the first chapters of the cartoon and then in the third season when Autobots can fly in space.

There are several theories for the Autobots suddenly not flying, the most extended one is that Decepticons had advantage in the air due to the Seekers and they decided to fight mainly on land where they had the advantage. Other theory was that the the makers of the cartoon realized that the Autobots wouldn't use their land vehicle forms if they could travel by flight.

The last theory is that Autobots prefer to not fly because it consumes lots of energy, explaining why the Decepticons are so obssesed to obtain it.

Things are different in other continuities, in most of them flight is mainly resctricted for those whose alternate form can fly or have flight as special ability.

A good example would be the beginning of Beast Wars, the only ones who could fly were Terrorsaur and Waspinator in their beast modes and Optimus Primal in robot mode as special ability. The main thing as you stated is that they are all one race in reality. As stated already there are some episodes in almost all continuities even in the films where autobots have been flying in G1 even the dinobots had this ability. In the film universe this is still to be seen.

So why do the autobots not use this ability that often?