Dodo Flying FAQ. Posted by MrIQ (chrisboone@usa.com) E-mail me if you have suggestions or questions not specifically found in this FAQ. The most frequent question asked on the Grand Theft Auto 3 message boards is “How do I fly the Dodo?” Well look no farther for this tells you how to do so! Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2. Locations of the Dodo 3. Before You Start Flying 4. Take-off 5. Stability 6. Turning 7. Do’s and Don’ts of Flying 8. Landing the Dodo 9. Having Fun With The Dodo 10. False Rumors 11. Outro 12. Legal Stuff [ 1. Introduction. ] Hello there! So, you can’t seem to be able to fly the clipped-wing plane, the Dodo, much longer for 10 seconds, can you? Well, your days of flying straight into the ocean are gone! This FAQ will tell you how you too can fly the Dodo just like the experts! Once you learn to fly the Dodo, you will spend countless hours up in the air exploring the GTA3 world from a whole new perspective. Good luck, and happy flying! [ 2. Locations of the Dodo. ] Well, first off, to fly the Dodo, you have to find the Dodo. The Dodo can be found in three different parts of Francis International Airport in Shoreside Vale. The first location is just past the toll booth of the entrance to the airport. Follow the road and take the first right. Go to the third hangar on the right. There is a Dodo in the middle of the hangar. To find the second location, take the same route as the first location but instead of turning into the hangar, continue on down the road. The road will curve to left and then to the right. Take a left just past the jet on your left and you will see the Dodo right in front of you. To find the third location of the Dodo, take the same route to the second location but do not follow the road around the curve to the right. Instead, go past the yellow and white ramps on the left and take a left. You will now be on a road that runs parallel to the runway. Follow this road until you see two hangars on the left, one will have a jet in it, the second one will have the Dodo in a corner. You can also get a Dodo at the Export/Import Garage in Portland if you have already collected all the necessary vehicles. [ 3. Before You Start Flying. ] This section tells you some quick things to do before you start flying; this will make flying easier and more enjoyable. (a.) Turn off the radio - This is the first thing I do once I get in the Dodo is turn off the radio. This makes concentration easier and allows you to hear key elements in taking off (covered later in FAQ). (b.) Find a suitable view - Whatever view you use while you are driving, I recommend you use for flying. The only one you cannot use during take off is the first-person view. You must be able to see the entire plane while taking off. (c.) Decide which control you want to use (Analog Stick or the D-pad) - This doesn’t really matter, I use the D-pad, but you may feel more comfortable using the Analog Stick. [ 4. Take-off. ] ********************************************NOTE**************************************** When I give directions to press, I will be talking about using the D-pad. The controls on the Analog Stick for latitude (up and down) are opposite the D-pad. So if I say press down, you would press up on the Analog Stick. Right and left directions are the same for both. ********************************************NOTE**************************************** There are two main places to take off from the airport. There is the runway that the 747s use and the one that no plane uses. I personally like to use the one the 747s use as the other runway is more difficult to take off from due to the wind directions. Don’t worry about crashing into the other planes as they take-off/land as you will go straight through them. Follow these steps for easy take-off: (a.) Face the Dodo towards Staunton Island. Hold R1 so that the engine will be revved up and ready to go. (b.) When you’re ready, release R1 and immediately hold down. The Dodo will gradually gain speed. (c.) As you are gaining speed, there will be two key signals that tell you that the Dodo is ready to fly. You will see sparks coming from the bottom of the Dodo and you will hear it scraping the ground. Whenever you see or hear this, quit pressing down. DO NOT PRESS UP. (d.) As soon as you release down hold L2 or R2 so that you get the side view. Continuously TAP down so that you are level with the ground (or ocean.) DO NOT HOLD DOWN, for this will cause you to do a nosedive straight into the ground. Not too much fun. You should now be flying relatively parallel to the earth heading for Staunton Island. [ 5. Stability.] Now that you are able to take off, you must now learn how to keep it up.... so to speak. You will never press up, again you will NEVER press up. Doing so will cause you to shoot up in the air and stall out. Also, you must continually press X while flying. Not doing so will cause you to lose altitude and crash. If you are going to be flying for a long period of time then you should rest your thumbs at the loading screens between cities. (a.) If the Dodo starts to go down, let it do so. It will eventually catch the draft again and start to rise. When it does so, press down continuously to get it leveled again with the earth. (b.) If you not losing altitude but the Dodo is shaking, then it is because of the winds. LIGHTLY TAP either right or left, and this will get the wings parallel with the earth. One of the most important facts that I cannot stress enough is DO NOT PANIC. It may seem that the Dodo is going to fly straight into the ground, but it will not if you stabilize it right. Calmly wait for it to descend and then it will rise again. Calmly tap down and get it level with the ground, then you will be fine. [ 6. Turning.] Now that you’re in the air, you’re flying level, you suddenly face a new problem..... a building. Granted, that the clipped wings of the Dodo makes turning extremely difficult, it still can be done. There are some basic rules you should always follow while turning: (a.) Do not hold right or left, simply TAP - If you do hold right or left, you could end up spinning out of control. Only once you mastered turning is when you can hold right or left. I wouldn’t even call it holding, more like a long tap. (b.) Correct the oversteer - If you are turning but you have turned the Dodo too much, you must correct this with the opposite direction you just pressed. For example, if you wanted to turn left, and the Dodo turns left too far, then you must tap right to get it flying straight again. (c.) Know your turns - In order to turn successfully without crashing, you must give yourself enough time to turn. Trying to turn the Dodo too quickly will make you crash. Make sure you know where you want to go and any obstacles that could hinder your flying. Turning is not difficult once you get use to it. Just always remember to TAP and never hold. [ 7. Do’s and Dont’s of Flying. ] DO’S: (a.) Hold down during take-off. (b.) TAP down to correct altitude. (c.) TAP right or left to turn. (d.) Have fun. DONT’S: (a.) NEVER press up. (b.) NEVER hold anything. (c.) Turn too quickly. (d.) Release the gas. (d.) DO NOT FLY OVER UNIQUE JUMPS. Doing so will cause you to crash and you’ll have to start over. (e.) DO NOT FLY OFF THE EDGE OF THE MAP. Doing so will crash your game, and you will have to reset. (f.) Panic. [ 8. Landing the Dodo. ] Believe it or not, landing the Dodo the proper way is harder to do than take-off! This will require immense practice to perfect and is only recommended to veteran Dodo fliers. The best place to practice is at the runways at Francis International Airport. Take off from the same runway that you always take-off from, and make an immediate right turn as soon as you stabilize the Dodo. Turn the Dodo completely around so that you are facing the shorter runway that you did not take off from. Follow these steps: (a.) Let go of the gas. This slows you down and you’ll need your right thumb later on. (b.) Make sure the Dodo is level after turning. If the Dodo is shaking to the right and left, it makes landing extremely difficult. (c.) Hold up until the Dodo’s nose is at least at a 45 degree angle between it and the level of the ground. (d.) The Dodo will slowly begin to descend, but DO NOT LET THE NOSE GO BELOW 45 DEGREES. Tap and hold up as you need to. (e.) The Dodo’s back wheels will eventually touch down. Hold R1 and square to come to a complete stop. This will take a few times to perfect. Don’t get discouraged if it seems impossible to do at first, it took me about half an hour to get right. [ 9. Having Fun With The Dodo. ] Now that you are able to fly the Dodo for longer than 10 seconds, you are now able to explore the massive Liberty City. There are several things to discover in the city. Try some of these things for starters: (a.) Try to see what is on top of Kenji’s casino. (Not the one with the helicopter, the other building) (b.) Fly over the stadium in Staunton Island. (c.) Try to land on the boat and on the light house in Portland. (d.) Try to fly over the dam in Shoreside Vale. (e.) Fly around the outskirts of the islands to see how long you can fly. Flying around the island will let you escape the unique jumps. Of course, these are very few things you can do with the Dodo. If you see some place you want to explore further, but you cannot get there in regular ways, then fly the Dodo there. Have fun! :) [ 10. False Rumors. ] One of the most common rumors deals with the full-winged Dodo. It’s the red plane that you can see, and destroy, flying around the city. THERE IS NO WAY TO FLY THE FULL-WINGED DODO. Do not e-mail me asking me how to get it for I will ignore you. Also, there is no way to fly the helicopters, 747s, or any other air vehicle in the game. Again, do not e-mail me asking how to do so for I will ignore you. You do not get anything for flying the Dodo a certain amount of time, just the satisfaction of doing something that few can do. [ 11. Outro. ] Thanks for reading this FAQ! I hope this has helped you to learn to fly the Dodo. If you are still uncertain about something, then e-mail me (chrisboone@usa.com ) and I will try to help you. If anybody has a better technique for anything, than e-mail me and if I like it, I’ll put it in the FAQ and give you full credit. Happy Flying! [ 12. Legal Stuff. ] This guide is copyrighted 2002 and sole property of Chris Boone, the author of this guide. This guide shall not be used in whole or in part without written approval by the author. Any violations of this shall be, and will be, acted upon. This guide shall not be used for profitable accounts for any reason. This guide may be used for private and personal use only. The websites that have my permission to use this FAQ are: www.gamefaqs.com www.neoseeker.com www.psxcodez.com www.grandtheftauto3.cjb.net So if you see it somewhere else, please inform me right away. Basically, if you want to put this FAQ up on your site, then just get my permission and give me FULL CREDIT. That’s all I have to say.