Magical flight - need examples!

[Maieius]

Hi all! Been a while!

I'm looking for a wide range of examples of magical flying devices with little luck. I've been trying to research but obviously my termionology is never right as I'm getting nothing I actually want in the results, so I've come to the experts.

I'm writing a fantasy wherein my characters develop magical flying vehicles or machines. This particular one they develop is for single use and the flyer uses their whole body to control it. They can stand on it, sit, lie down, what have you, whenever required depending on how they want to move in the air. It's quite small and agile and the flyer is exposed to the outside. Though, this is just based on what I see in my imagination. The ins and outs are nowhere near developed.

Flying and the development of the magical flying devices has already started play a prominent part. Whilst I'm interested in seeing all sorts, as anything could provoke my thinking, I'm quite intrigued by those that have a mechanical element (not unlike ones I often see in Ghibli films) since it's set in an industrial world. Animals and the like are out of the question.

I can think of a couple of flying devices, such as the flying carpet and the broomstick, but I struggle to find more. Perhaps it's my approach to finding it. But if anything pops into your collective brains, anything at all, I'd be very grateful.

Thanks in advance and Merry Christmas!!

 

[HareBrain]

not unlike ones I often see in Ghibli films

There are some lovely images of flying machines in a book I have, "The Art of Nausicaa", which are more inventive and fantastical than anything that made it into Miyazaki's films. They inspired some flying machines I have in my own book, but I couldn't see how they could possibly fly mechanically, so I hit on the idea of them being powered by conjured air elementals (which, fortunately, fitted well with the magical aspects of my world).

 

[TWErvin2]

I guess part of it is how magic is harnessed/used in your world.

Possibly the magical vehicle or device summons/harnesses the power of some sort of air elemental. It could be a vest with vestigial wings for show, or even something like a surf board the individual rests upon and is strapped into. I guess that might be like a carpet. But they could stand, with feet strapped down, or lie down or sit on the 'board'.

 

[Abernovo]

You could go back to the classics. Look up the flying machines - ornithopters, in fact - imagined by Leonardo. Then, imagine they actually work, with a little help from a magical friend. One of Leonardo's big problems was that he had the ideas, but not the power sources to complete some of them.

 

[Ihe]

Depends on what the aesthetics for your industrialised setting look like and what are the mechanics behind the magic in this world.

If it's minimalistic and advanced, it could just be the person inside a transparent bubble made of glass or air magic (the only mechanical piece would be the base of the sphere, where the bubble would come from when turned on. The base could contract to fit strapped comfortably to your back when not in use). The flyer would run like a hamster inside it to give the sphere spin and lift, using his/her body to manoeuvre. If the magic also powers it, the outside of the sphere could spin on its own fast enough to lift it off the ground.

If you want the flyer to be exposed to the outside, a flying coat of partial armor could do the trick, a-la racy Iron Man. Or think a giant hamster-wheel. Same running and body-turning principle as the bubble apply.

That's all I got with the scanty context you've given us. Best of luck!

 

[Mirannan]

Hi all! Been a while!

I'm looking for a wide range of examples of magical flying devices with little luck. I've been trying to research but obviously my termionology is never right as I'm getting nothing I actually want in the results, so I've come to the experts.

I'm writing a fantasy wherein my characters develop magical flying vehicles or machines. This particular one they develop is for single use and the flyer uses their whole body to control it. They can stand on it, sit, lie down, what have you, whenever required depending on how they want to move in the air. It's quite small and agile and the flyer is exposed to the outside. Though, this is just based on what I see in my imagination. The ins and outs are nowhere near developed.

Flying and the development of the magical flying devices has already started play a prominent part. Whilst I'm interested in seeing all sorts, as anything could provoke my thinking, I'm quite intrigued by those that have a mechanical element (not unlike ones I often see in Ghibli films) since it's set in an industrial world. Animals and the like are out of the question.

I can think of a couple of flying devices, such as the flying carpet and the broomstick, but I struggle to find more. Perhaps it's my approach to finding it. But if anything pops into your collective brains, anything at all, I'd be very grateful.

Thanks in advance and Merry Christmas!!

Well, one thing that springs to mind (especially today!) is a flying sleigh - perhaps with a couple of reindeer to disguise it when on the ground. Incidentally, such a vehicle also crops up in Finnish myth; Väinämöinen from the Kalevala has one.

As another alternative, I was watching a programme on TV earlier today about someone who has developed a one-man (only men have flown it so far! ) jet-propelled strap-on flying wing, controlled by shifting body weight in the manner of a hang glider. Maybe something like this, with the power supplied by a bound elemental?

Merry Christmas!

 

[RX-79G]

I think it would be fair to dissect the basis of magical devices:

1. Magical one piece objects: Brooms and carpets.

2. Non-magical devices powered by a spell: An airplane that should run on av-gas, but a spell is making the motor 'think' it is running on fuel, but it isn't.

3. Devices built to harness magic: Imagine a steam engine that is heated by a magic crystal, rather than coal or uranium. It was built to work with the heat given off by that crystal, so it is different than the second category. It is completely mechanical, but harnesses a limited type of magic energy.

4. Hybrid mechanical/magic device: An aircraft that is held aloft by a spell, but requires a purely mechanical gas motor to move through the sky. Alternately, a blimp that is held aloft by hot air, but uses magical means to change location.

5. Magically complex device: A device that is so complicated or lovingly constructed that it mimics life, and is thereby imbued with life energy allowing it to move. Hephaestus' mechanical owl would be a good example, or maybe Pinocchio. These devices don't need a magic source - their elaborate construction is a kind spell casting that taps it into the same force that puts life in organic things.


Generally, every magic flying device falls into one of these categories, or multiples. I would devise you flying device keeping these categories in mind for inspiration.

 

[The Big Peat]

I guess Icarus' wings maybe sorta count?

And there's always the old faithful of just turning into a bird.

Or riding a big flying animal.

You can always take a classic and adapt it slightly. Pratchett has his elves ride yarrow stalks, not broomsticks. There's the flying bed in broomsticks and bedknobs. And so on.

 

[Maieius]

Brilliant answers, thank you all very much for your input. So many different ideas and suggestions, which is perfect, since not only am I developing this one particular flying model but others that it developed from.

You could go back to the classics. Look up the flying machines - ornithopters, in fact - imagined by Leonardo. Then, imagine they actually work, with a little help from a magical friend. One of Leonardo's big problems was that he had the ideas, but not the power sources to complete some of them.

This. I wouldn't have thought of this in a million years, brilliant! Thank you!

3. Devices built to harness magic: Imagine a steam engine that is heated by a magic crystal, rather than coal or uranium. It was built to work with the heat given off by that crystal, so it is different than the second category. It is completely mechanical, but harnesses a limited type of magic energy.

4. Hybrid mechanical/magic device: An aircraft that is held aloft by a spell, but requires a purely mechanical gas motor to move through the sky. Alternately, a blimp that is held aloft by hot air, but uses magical means to change location.

Thank you for this! Very helpful, these categories have made it much simpler. I've thought and learnt little about mechanics and flying so I'm a little out of my depth at the beginning of this machine and this is a great help. These two in particular are the sort of thing I have in mind, but all these categories have helped a lot, thank you.

Thanks so much guys! This is much less overwhelming, I had hardly any idea where to begin. It's given me a lot to think about now and led to quite a few tangents and ideas, so it's greatly appreciated.

Hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

 

[tinkerdan]

I was thinking: Flying Kayak but instead of a cavity for the feet you have one side open with two sets of stirrups so you can either sit up or lie down. The upper part would only have a cavity for lying down forward facing with some sort of steering mechanism and then you could also sit and pull the steering up with you or use some magic oars.

There is always The Girl With a Symphony in Her Fingers. by Michael G. Coney.

http://bookzangle.com/images/books/00037/16179.jpg

It almost looks like the artist needs anatomy lessons; but for taking into account Foreshortening.

Oh: Don't forget that half shell thingy.

 

[paranoid marvin]

how about a hover board?

 

[sinister42]

You could go back to the classics. Look up the flying machines - ornithopters, in fact - imagined by Leonardo. Then, imagine they actually work, with a little help from a magical friend. One of Leonardo's big problems was that he had the ideas, but not the power sources to complete some of them.

oooooh DaVinci-punk. I'd read the sh*t out of that.

 

[sinister42]

Brilliant answers, thank you all very much for your input. So many different ideas and suggestions, which is perfect, since not only am I developing this one particular flying model but others that it developed from.



This. I wouldn't have thought of this in a million years, brilliant! Thank you!



Thank you for this! Very helpful, these categories have made it much simpler. I've thought and learnt little about mechanics and flying so I'm a little out of my depth at the beginning of this machine and this is a great help. These two in particular are the sort of thing I have in mind, but all these categories have helped a lot, thank you.

Thanks so much guys! This is much less overwhelming, I had hardly any idea where to begin. It's given me a lot to think about now and led to quite a few tangents and ideas, so it's greatly appreciated.

Hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

Yeah, I agree with this. I write a lot of cross-genre stuff that combines magic and tech. So like you can have something that's like a car, and it works mechanically like a car, but it's "hexed" to be able to fly. The thing to figure out is the balance between realism and magic. If it's a floating pink bubble thing that flies based on the whimsy of the great demons of Stephia, then it's likely going to be hard to shove some cogs & gears in there and have it make sense to the reader. It's probably easier to start with a familiar framework, like a car, and add magic to get it to do stuff a car doesn't normally do. Like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, or the flying cars in Harry Potter, or whatever.

 

[Abernovo]

oooooh DaVinci-punk. I'd read the sh*t out of that.

I've just got Assassin's Creed: The Ezio Collection on PS4, so I'm playing the whatsit out of that. But, it's Leonardo - the term da Vinci simply means from the town of Vinci, which is where Leonardo and his father Piero originated from. Sorry. Names are important to me.

Edit: That was not meant as a dig at you, @sinister42. I blame the media for using the name incorrectly. And a certain writer using conspiracy theories to sell his novels. I felt guilty you might take it amiss, rather than as I intended. If you did, the fault is mine.

 

[RX-79G]

Yeah, I agree with this. I write a lot of cross-genre stuff that combines magic and tech. So like you can have something that's like a car, and it works mechanically like a car, but it's "hexed" to be able to fly. The thing to figure out is the balance between realism and magic. If it's a floating pink bubble thing that flies based on the whimsy of the great demons of Stephia, then it's likely going to be hard to shove some cogs & gears in there and have it make sense to the reader. It's probably easier to start with a familiar framework, like a car, and add magic to get it to do stuff a car doesn't normally do. Like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, or the flying cars in Harry Potter, or whatever.

Unless the writer isn't any good, the reader can be made to understand whatever you want them to. And something more unfamiliar is going to be more interesting than re-hashing the Flubber car from The Absentminded Professor.

 

[sinister42]

I've just got Assassin's Creed: The Ezio Collection on PS4, so I'm playing the whatsit out of that. But, it's Leonardo - the term da Vinci simply means from the town of Vinci, which is where Leonardo and his father Piero originated from. Sorry. Names are important to me.

Edit: That was not meant as a dig at you, @sinister42. I blame the media for using the name incorrectly. And a certain writer using conspiracy theories to sell his novels. I felt guilty you might take it amiss, rather than as I intended. If you did, the fault is mine.

No biggie. I should have known that, honestly.

 

[GreenKidx]

I've just got Assassin's Creed: The Ezio Collection on PS4, so I'm playing the whatsit out of that. But, it's Leonardo - the term da Vinci simply means from the town of Vinci, which is where Leonardo and his father Piero originated from. Sorry. Names are important to me.

Edit: That was not meant as a dig at you, @sinister42. I blame the media for using the name incorrectly. And a certain writer using conspiracy theories to sell his novels. I felt guilty you might take it amiss, rather than as I intended. If you did, the fault is mine.

Personally, in this particular case, I would sacrifice accuracy for clarity. I feel that the term "DaVinci Punk" is more easily understood/recognized by the common person than the term "Leonardo Punk". DaVinci Punk could (if need be) stand on its own with no further definition. You could be reasonably confident a reader of all ages/backgrounds/nationalities/education levels would understand what you are trying to express. Leonardo Punk would almost always need further clarification. Leonardo da Vinci Punk would be both accurate and clear but also cumbersome. In addition, it lacks the potential catch phrase "ring" of DaVinci Punk.

Just my thoughts...Very Interesting idea. Sorry, for taking the thread sideways!

 

[tinkerdan]

It's not just limited to people trying to sell theories or novels.

I've just got Assassin's Creed: The Ezio Collection on PS4, so I'm playing the whatsit out of that. But, it's Leonardo - the term da Vinci simply means from the town of Vinci, which is where Leonardo and his father Piero originated from. Sorry. Names are important to me.

Edit: That was not meant as a dig at you, @sinister42. I blame the media for using the name incorrectly. And a certain writer using conspiracy theories to sell his novels. I felt guilty you might take it amiss, rather than as I intended. If you did, the fault is mine.

Davinciite, a recently described mineral recognised in 2011 by the International Mineralogical Association, is named in honour of the artist.

We've grown fond of surnames and it's just a way of identifying him from every other Leonardo out there.

He shall now be known as the Artist formerly known as Leonardo.

 

[Abernovo]

I know of Davinciite. American naming conventions, as American English seems to dominate amongst international associations.

We've grown fond of surnames...

Tell that to Madonna, and some singer called Cheryl, will you? And the late, great Prince.

He shall now be known as the Artist formerly known as Leonardo.

Heh! Perfect answer, tinkerdan.

Right, sorry for the thread derail. Back to business as usual now.

 

[sinister42]

It's not just limited to people trying to sell theories or novels.




Davinciite, a recently described mineral recognised in 2011 by the International Mineralogical Association, is named in honour of the artist.

We've grown fond of surnames and it's just a way of identifying him from every other Leonardo out there.

He shall now be known as the Artist formerly known as Leonardo.