I was just watching the 1st season of G1 and I had forgotten that in these early episodes the Autobots had the same ability to fly as the Decepticons, yet in later episodes it was established that they couldn't. Now I know in reality it's down to the differences in writers but has there been a fan/retcon explanation for why they lost this ability?

They have realy bad memorie??

Seriously. How do any of the non-jets fly at all?

1-Its quite simple most of the autobots are landbased vehicles by choosing what ever mode they decided to be this in return changed the circuitry of their programing or design to best master that vehicle mode and to blend in completely.
I would not make sense to be a semi-truck and can fly in the air. Where is the discise in that.

2-The Decepticons are considered military and war like thus they are plains, tanks and other such war machines. While the Autobots are considered civilians so military includes bombs and other flying weaponry.

3-In the battle for energon and resources the decepticons were winning and taking what they wanted therefore they had ample fuel to keep up their circuits and other mechanical parts. So they had the energy to fly, while the Autobots had to use what they had and thus just went without it but if it were necessary they used the necessary energy to fly. But in the mean time Skyfire, Skylinx and Omega Supreme were always on standbye.

the same way a truck trailer just disappears when a transformation occurs

natch

This is one of those questions that will never have a satisfactory answer. I mean, let's suppose for a moment that they are totally unable to fly. Why then didn't Ratchet or Wheeljack just upgrade them? They were always inventing stuff, and managed to build the Dinobots from scratch (who were way tougher and stronger than the other Autobots, but we're not talking armament here) but they were unable to throw a frickin' integrated jetpack into Prime and the others?? C'mon.... it made for handy story canon and that's about all there is to say about the situation.

It Teleported back to the ark/subspace I wonder if it hade epic battles with MEgatrons Gun Parts, and all of the Autobots Hands

If they were fighting for millions of years then maybe they understand wormhole technology and thus can transport unused parts to safety and teleport their weapons when they need them. just like sky warp can teleport maybe all the transformers can but they do it in different ways

or it could be cloaked and is still there for example like mirage can become invisible maybe the trailer can become invisible as well.

Somebody came up with a theory that because the 'Cons were always stealing fuel, they were refuelled more often than the 'bots, who were getting energy from the governments of Earth. And, being the good guys they are, didn't take everything, but enough to keep themselves going. Perhaps flying took a lot of power, so the bots, in order to conserve, didn't fly. Or couldn't, due to the lower power level.

Or, the writers thought it was easier to get the bots trapped in a hole if they couldn't just fly out of it ....

If Dreamwave had made a series out of *that*, I guarantee they'd be around today.

Didn't Orion Pax envy Megatron and the original Decepticons in part due to their ability to fly?

I remember that in an episode. "War Dawn" wasn't it? I'd check my dvds but I'm at college right now...

Yeah, it was War Dawn. What I'm thinking is that they had that power all along, and that was one of the things that distinguished them from the Autobots in the first place. This also tells me that the Decepticons were very few in number to begin with. Why else would Orion have been so taken aback to see flying robots?

Basically, the best way to retcon it is this: [retcon] Some Autobots actually had the ability to fly, such as Tracks, others used secondary propulsion (ie: Sideswipe's rocket back, Wheeljack's solid-fuel boosters), but those required an external fuel source. Almost all of the Autobots however, could utilize compressed air from their foot holes, which could include limited flight capabilities. This of course would work best in a near zero-g area, and would work much harder in a heavier atmosphere, resulting in higher fuel-consumption. Some Autobots then had 'wings' incorporated into their design, to allow limited gliding while using bursts of air for propulsion (ie: Bluestreak), which could result in prolonged flight. The problem with compressed-air propulsion however is it is considered slow, most Autobots could travel faster on the ground then they could in the air, which is why the Autobots hardly used it (reiterate: slower speeds, higher fuel-consumption). The episode where Ironhide & Bluestreak take off in the air after the 'cons was more for altitude to attempt to hit the targets, rather than trying to catch them. [/retcon]

They borrow Sideswipe's jetpack?

Autobots flying was only used in a plot gimmick of some sort or if they had to go someplace they couldn't. Such as the Oil platform in MTMTE. They didn't have any boat transformers at that time. And when Prime needed to catch up with Megatron's ship he borrowed Sideswipe's backpack. Just to prove that Sideswipe had a jetpack and wala, in future episodes, other Autobots could fly, but they had jetpacks too. Like Sunstreaker and Ironhide. But not only that, Ironhide has a missile launcher in his back???

This is exactly what I've always believed...

The Autobots that are specialized to fly...can...and the rest use compressed air, which isn't very effective at all and in higher gravity is pointless.
The Decepticons I've felt always used Anti-Gravity components and/or Magnetic devices to fly using Earth's magnetic waves. Which makes sense to me since the 'Cons are the warriors and would have better technology since they are dominating Cybertron at the time.

That is how I feel about the subject...It all makes since and gives just enough support to eliminate most doubt.

Oh and the Seekers all had rockets in their feet.

according to the DW MTMTE series, most of the decepticons were modifed to be able to fly. it states that it was a really painful procedure that megatron felt was necesarry to win the battle against the autobots, who wouldnt subject themselves to such a procedure

Good answer, this is exactly what I was looking for. Now I can relax, another inconsistancy ironed out.

Quote: Ultra Magnus Posted on Jan 12 2005, 07:53 AM
according to the DW MTMTE series, most of the decepticons were modifed to be able to fly. it states that it was a really painful procedure that megatron felt was necesarry to win the battle against the autobots, who wouldnt subject themselves to such a procedure

And this answers my other thought of why could the non-jet Decepticons fly. Thanks