Something that continues to amaze me is the way dedicated gamers find ways to push the boundaries of the games they play. Whether it’s Animal Crossing designers who know how to arrange buildings perfectly to simulate certain perspectives, or a Tears of the Kingdom I am a gamer who created an ultra-fast flying machine by holding the fan up in a certain way. I’ve always appreciated the dedication and creativity that pushes a game to its limits. I was making my rounds on Reddit when I saw something that really amazed me: Reddit user Scalhoun03 created an entirely wind-powered airship in 2013 The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
The airship requires no energy to fly – meaning no Zonai charges or power cells are needed to power it. It can fly through the air and maintain flight at high altitudes seemingly indefinitely. The Original post shows
The device seems to contradict the laws of (Zelda) physics themselves. Power cells are a crucial and fundamental aspect of building machines in the game. If you want to use Zonai devices such as a fan or flame emitter, you will need to increase Link’s maximum power cell capacity. This is why you see so many of the top manufacturers with big, long rows of tiny battery symbols as they run their massive machines.
How does a ship fly without Zonai charges or energy elements? According to its creator, its propulsion relies on a twisted force generated by its control stick. “Basically, it uses the energy from the control stick to drive the propellers. When you move the control stick, a rotational force is applied to the entire structure. This force is transferred to the wheel axles of the car and thus provides the drive [propellors]said Scalhoun03 via Reddit DMs.
Obtaining the materials required a separate journey through Hyrule. Scalhoun03 obtained propellers from Gemimik Shrine in the Akkala Highlands region and traveled to the depths to retrieve the raft and rails. Then came the actual construction.
“The hardest part was finding the balance so that the props rotated without causing interference. The props must be in the correct position otherwise they will bump into each other. When building with auto-crafted parts, you have to be careful how you break them or they will disappear. The raft is an automatically manufactured part and if the supports are in the wrong places, there is a risk of the raft breaking.”
Scalhoun03 emphasized how important the Hyrule Engineering subreddit and the larger community were in building the ship. Throughout the design, others contributed their own innovations that helped the contractor refine his design. For example, YouTuber KingX discovered A person could build a machine that starts without a “catalyst,” such as rockets or sending a ship off a floating island. Others would provide feedback on clips.
“Without the community’s suggestions, things like this are much more difficult to achieve. The community has motivated me to continue working on powerless flying designs, and I hope everyone can try them out and have fun flying around Hyrule without having to worry about anything else except having fun flying!”
