The Flying Machine is a large luxury airship captained and owned by Propeller Knight. It is one of last main stages in Shovel Knight.
Due to Propeller Knight's presence inside the puzzle box, an illusory copy of the Flying Machine can be found inside the Pocket Dungeon.
Appearance[]
Propeller Knight's extravagant Flying Machine is anchored to the mountain north from the Valley's third quadrant. The ship's lower bridges feature the cargo hold and hangar to the crew's small aircrafts. The upper bridges showcase the ship's propellers and balloons necessary to keep it afloat in the air. The top levels are swept by treacherous gusts of wind, threatening to push unsuspecting intruders off the ship. Most of the ship's crew can fly, making fights above chasms inevitable.
In Shovel of Hope and Plague of Shadows, the stage takes place at dusk, with the sun casting the shadows of the mountains and the Tower of Fate in the distance. In Specter of Torment, the stage takes place at dawn, with the Flying Machine being bathed in the sun's red tint. King of Cards features both in addition to daytime, as Aerial Brigade takes place at dusk, Ladder Factory at dawn and Heavyweight Heights at the aforementioned daytime.
Story[]
The Flying Machine was once the pinnacle of luxury transportation. It is unknown why Propeller Knight stopped transporting cargo to become a sky pirate or if the ship was even his in the past, but after Specter Knight defeated him to enroll him and his crew in the Order of No Quarter, the Flying Machine became the Enchantress's flagship, able to transport her troupes across the Valley with ease.
Propeller Knight's air superiority was ended by Shovel Knight after Plague Knight stole his essence. After this, the eccentric captain returned to his carefree life, enjoying his regained liberty.
Strategy[]
The stage's first half resembles a ship, rather than a flying machine, whilst the second half showcases the propellers and treacherous heavy gusts, symbolizing that the ship is indeed flying. As such, there are only a moderate amount of enemies, but very high amount of difficult jumps, involving Shovel Bounce. The main cause of most deaths are falling into a bottomless pit, either by a tricky jump, the wind, or being shoved into by an airborne enemy.
Most useful Relics here to use are the Flare Wand and the Throwing Anchor, since most enemies are in the air, as you have a bright chance to mince them before they have a chance to close in on your position and knock you off a ledge to your death.
In Plague of Shadows, this stage can be very easy, if the player has the right Arcanas and powerups. Using Float Burst bombs combined with The Vat, the great majority of dangerous jumps and bottomless pits can be avoided with minimal efforts. Throwing bombs using Lob casing is also extremely effective against airborne enemies, though the high wind is still a threat.
Obstacles[]
In Pocket Dungeon[]
The Flying Machine is the ninth, and potentially penultimate, stage visited in a normal run of Pocket Dungeon. It is the last level with a Shrine Portal, meaning that if all previous Shrines were cleared, this level's portal will feature the fight against the Shrinemaster and reward the last Key Fragment needed to achieve the true ending. After visiting the level once, a shortcut for Percy's cannon can be purchased for 17,000 Gems.
The stage features returning Wizzem and Floatsome enemies, as well as the first appearance of Propeller Rats outside King Knight's boss arena. Because enemies here all have 1 attack and a small amount of HP, heavy-hitting Relics, Items, and character abilities can make the enemy spawn pool trivial. To rectify this, the Legendary Path not only features the fan obstacles from Propeller Knight's boss fight, but also replaces Floatsomes with their electric counterparts, Voltsomes. Bulky Hoverhaft enemies can also spawn naturally, or be dropped by the new mini-boss spawn, the Dinghy Dropper.
The level always features a boss at its end, being either Prism Knight, Polar Knight, or the traditional encounter, Propeller Knight himself.