Hello! I love this mod but I always felt it was way too strong. The machines are easy to craft, easy to use, super lenient to mistakes, and almost risk-free! They instantly become the best method of transportation under any circumstance (except maybe underground...) and while you'd expect flying machines to be risky and hard to maintain, it does not come across that way. I have some small tweaks and suggestions that I think could keep this mod fun and useful while making it a little less... Overpowered

Make crashes matter. Right now, you can slam into something full speed and it will barely take a couple wrenches off of the healthbar. I think a single strong crash should destroy the aircraft AND deal damage to the player (calculated the same way as the aircraft damage, affected by feather fall enchants). That way it will be a little riskier to fly these rickety machines, just like one would expect! It's not like the flight physics are challenging, so to be honest if someone crashes into something they probably were careless!

Make storms VIOLENT. There is already code making the crafts get pushed around by storms, but it's not NEARLY ENOUGH! If you're flying a lighter-than-air aircraft or a pedal-powered wood contraption into a thunderstorm, you should be getting thrown about violently, and not just side to side, but also up and down! Make keeping control of these crafts in a storm a real challenge! I think the ideal outcome would be that when a player sees a storm rolling in, they know they can't fly, and if they're flying already they will want to look for somewhere to land ASAP, or prepare themselves for a bad time! Of course some crafts should be affected more than others, but none of them should be "easy" to fly in a storm!

Make repairs cost materials! Now, I'm not going to say just demand iron or something expensive like that, but probably allow players to choose what they use. Sticks and wood could repare a tiny bit, while iron repairs a whole lot. Either way, being able to just right click a flying machine and repair it is way too easy for such a powerful and useful contraption.

Adjust hitboxes. Unless this is super difficult to do due to the engine or something, it's goofy that wings don't have collision and every craft is way smaller than it looks, it makes them even more forgiving to fly, take off and land.

For the biplane, increase the runway required for take off, and most importantly, decrease how fast you can cut the speed! One of the biggest limitations of planes are the take off and landing, and they're also one of the riskiest parts of flying! In this mod, you can just hold shift and basically land like a helicopter, and you only need a few blocks to take off. It's far too easy!

For the gyrodine, make it hard to keep flying! If it's a pedal powered plane, the lack of fuel should be a trade off. The gyrodine is so simple it can be crafted super early game, and yet it allows you to fly indefinitely and hover and carry a passenger and inventory! It's far too good. I suggest balancing it by making flying it either drain your hunger bar super quick (and when it's depleted it just falls out of the sky) or by making it so the gyrodine has to be controlled like a "flappy bird" of sorts, rather than it just hovering you'd have to be hitting the space bar in intervals to keep it up, and if you stop hitting it it would fall, to simulate the fact that it's pedal driven! This would also fix the issue of it being incredibly easy to use to mine while riding, which I think is a little too strong, especially since in most modpacks any sky structures have amazing loot.

I think with all or some of these suggestions being implemented, the mod would become a lot more fair and balanced while also leaving a tad more room for all the other methods of transportation that minecraft has, and having strengths and weaknesses. After all, even with all those drawbacks these aircraft will remain one of if not the fastest and more convenient ways to travel long distances, and the only ways to fly other than the elytra.

Make crashes matter

Can be configured, the default is fine given the average user.

Make storms VIOLENT

Can be configured, people already complain about the default wind :)

Make repairs cost materials!

You would start a civil war across players by adding that, and I hate adding too many optional mechanics. It's annoying to maintain and port. Issue is tracked here #144

Adjust hitboxes

Impossible, welcome to Minecraft :pain:

For the biplane, increase the runway required for take off

Might rework that for 1.22.

For the gyrodine

Yes, it draws hunger rather quickly and can be configured if you want more.

Thank you for your response! I did not know so many of these things were configurable! I will try cranking them up and see how the experience is