Hang Glider
Hang Glider is a tool from OpenBlocks and one of the earliest forms of Flight available to the player. While it cannot ascend, the glider can be combined with Piston Boots, Jetpacks, towers of ladders or Elevators, Bounce Pads, mountains or a Tinker's Construct Longsword for launch. The Glider's natural travel speed is higher than the player's, starting at six blocks/second, but capable of over 50 blocks/second when combined with glide boosting equipment. Crafting a Hang Glider requires steel, making it a Steam Age upgrade after the Bricked Blast Furnace is built.
Usage
To use a Hang Glider, put it on the hotbar and equip with right-click. The held item will disappear, and if the player jumps or falls the glider will deploy above their head, slowing descent dramatically. To unequip, switch to any other hotbar slot. The glider requires both hands to operate and other tools cannot be used while gliding, though blocks can be interacted with as normal or the inventory opened. When in the air, the walk forward key can be held to increase the gliding speed from ~six blocks/second to ~11 blocks/second. Holding the walk backwards key slows the glider significantly, allowing more precise landings. Holding down the Shift key will more than double the glider's speed, at the cost of greater altitude loss.
Vertical Draft
While gliding, the player is subject to updrafts and downdrafts. Updrafts will lift them higher, while a downdraft will increase the loss of height. Updrafts can be circled in to gain altitude up to a maximum of ~Y122. Rain will negatively impact a glider's performance, causing a swift descent. OpenBlocks offers a keybind audio tool to help players track drafts, under Esc > Controls > OpenBlocks > Vario on/off. When enabled, Vario will emit a pulsing tone when climbing, steady tone when descending, at a higher pitch for updrafts and lower pitch for downdrafts.
Going Faster
Equipment or buffs that increase speed sometimes also affects the Hang Glider positively. Approximate distances listed in blocks per second.
| Equipment | Base Speed | Hold Forward | Hold Sprint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glider Only | 6.5 | 12 | 22 |
| Piston Boots | 6.5 | 12 | 22 |
| Nanosuit Boots of the Traveller | 6.5 | 29 | 29 |
| Mantle of the Raven | 17 | 22 | 44 |
| Mantle & Kami of the Raven | 27 | 33 | 44 |
| NanoTraveller, Mantle & Kami | 22 | 48 | 53 |