Why autobots cant fly

It was recognized that their actions did not always reflect the official views of the Autobot party, and so the other Autobots namely Optimus were spared legal action for the Dinobots' illegal flights. Most Autobots never found the time to make appointments with U. Whether they actually retained their flight parts or had them removed until they could be used legally, I don't know.

Thus, they did not know U. They finally did take care of their legal status with the governments of the world at the end of the episode however. This may have contributed to BW Megatron's hatred of humans. And now you know the rest of the story! Cyclonus, take command! I'm bad! Reply to author. Report message as abuse. Show original message. Either email addresses are anonymous for this group or you need the view member email addresses permission to view the original message.

The dinobots all could fly. George wrote in message Giles Andrews. Also in The Key To Vector Sigma both sides are described as challenging the others superiority ie they only keep to what they are best at to avoid losing easily. Decepticon Graffiti! Some or all of the Decepticon Pretenders could fly in their shells.

Pretender to the Throne! King Con! Megatron could fly in gun mode. Megatron flew using rockets in the bottom of his tank form's feet. Total War! Robot mode flight powers were a technological innovation that allowed the Decepticons, who had just mastered the art of Transformation , to start a new war and battle the Autobots for supremacy of Cybertron.

Their initial attacks were not a matter of public knowledge, and some Autobots, such as Orion Pax and Dion , admired them for their innovations. This admiration was ended when Megatron blasted Orion, Dion, and Ariel. War Dawn. Eventually, the Autobots also mastered robot mode flight powers, and they used them to reach an oil rig which the Decepticons were plundering. More than Meets the Eye, Part 1 Ironhide and Bluestreak pursued the fleeing Decepticons into the air, though Skywarp had little difficulty shooting down Ironhide.

Optimus required the use of Sideswipe 's rocket pack to catch up to the space-bound Decepticon ship shortly afterwards, implying a limit on the speed or range of his flight capabilities.

More than Meets the Eye, Part 3 Sideswipe and Sunstreaker also used robot mode flight powers in their use of jet judo against Seekers attacking the Autobot base.

More than Meets the Eye, Part 2. The Decepticons' own flight capabilities have known to fail them at times too. In one instance, under a barrage of firepower, Optimus and the Autobots drove the Decepticons back until they fell down a canyon into lava, instead of simply flying out.

Heavy Metal War. The Autobots' ability to fly in robot mode effectively vanished after that. Even Autobots with flying alternate modes did not seem able to fly in robot mode, though Cosmos seemed able to maneuver in space while in robot mode.

The newly created Dinobots could fly in robot mode, an ability they consistently demonstrated throughout their history. Their creator, Wheeljack , was also shown flying in robot mode apparently unassisted, an ability his on-package bio claims for him. In the years following the defeat of Unicron, a number of Autobots were seen to fly through space without any visible aid or means of propulsion.

Notable among them was Perceptor, who had never before demonstrated such an ability. Before one such instance, Sky Lynx advised the Autobots in question to "don your rocket packs, gentlemen! Despite the Autobots' rare display of this ability, some claim they do not have it at all. Galvatron once said outright that "Autobots cannot fly," himself flying easily over a booby trap, while his apparently earthbound Autobot companions remained helpless.

Then again, Galvatron is beyond psychotic. The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2. It also seemed as though Prima , one of the earliest Transformers, was capable of flight in the era even before transformation. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4. 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? Partly because in some continuities it seems they don't have it.

In others like G1 it looks like it was retconned away from them but there are time and again exceptions thanks to the G1 continuity. So as the in universe is a mess we need to look at the out of universe explanation. While the decepticons are most often air and space vehicles. If both can fly without transforming into something flying then we have the problem that the writers would need a reason for starscream to transform into a plane.

Furthermore it diminishes the difference between the autobots and the decepticons and furthermore it is a good plot point. As it means that the decepticons are more difficult to beat for the autobots which increases tension in a few episodes it was a plot point that the autobots were down a cliff or in a pit and couldn't just fly out. So all in all: In universe there is no reason why the autobots wouldn't have this ability, and furthermore they time and again showed to have this ability when it was cool or plot relevant.

Thus the only reason why it always looks that they don't have it is an out of universe reason. However, rather than flying on Earth or Cybertron, they flew through space. Flight is one of the transformers' peculiar functions, and it contradicts itself on more than one occasion. However, when looking at it from a story perspective, it's a great way to push the plot along when the Autobots or Decepticons need to make a fast getaway or reach a far-off destination.

But even then, the sporadic use of jetpacks for travel only adds to the overall lack of consistency in the narrative. Even though flight is one of the more unreliable and poorly used abilities, it served as a great lesson in innovation. For millions of years, the war between the Autobots and Decepticons has raged due to the constant technological growth between both factions.

Once the Decepticons could fly, the Autobots weren't far behind.