How to Fly With Elytra in Minecraft (Without Becoming a Death Message)

Today's new video, Elytra Lesson: Just Look Up, was supposed to be a calm flying lesson with my friend LittleJ2277. Spoiler: the chat ended up reading "LittleJ2277 fell from a high place." It's one of the funniest clips on the channel, and it's also the perfect excuse to break down how Elytra actually works, so you can soar instead of splat.

▶️ Watch the lesson that went wrong: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Zs4KVYioKb0

1. How to find Elytra

Elytra don't drop from a mob or show up in a crafting table. You have to go get them at the edge of the End. Here's the route:

1. Beat the Ender Dragon. Once it's down, a small End Gateway portal (a floating block surrounded by bedrock) appears near the edge of the main island.
2. Get through the gateway. It's only one block wide, so the easy way is to throw an Ender Pearl into it. You'll be teleported to the outer End islands.
3. Hunt for an End City. Look for tall purple towers made of purpur blocks. Bring blocks to bridge the gaps between islands, because the void doesn't forgive.
4. Find the End Ship. Some End Cities have a big floating ship next to them. Not every city has one, so if you don't see a ship, keep exploring.
5. Grab the wings. The Elytra hang in an item frame on the ship's back wall. Hit the frame to drop them, and grab the Dragon Head on the front of the ship while you're there.

Survival tips for the trip: Shulkers guard the cities and ships, and their bullets make you float up (Levitation). That's terrifying near the void, so bring milk to cancel it, or a Slow Falling potion. Pack Ender Pearls, plenty of blocks, a pickaxe, food and your best armor. And maybe don't bring a friend who'll laugh while you float away.

2. Put your wings on

Equip the Elytra in your chestplate slot. Yes, that means giving up your chestplate while you fly, so plan your armor around it.

3. The launch (where it all goes wrong)

• Climb somewhere high. A cliff, a tower or a big build gives you room to recover.
• Jump off, then press jump again while you're in the air (X on PS5). That second press opens the wings. If you don't press it, you're not flying, you're just falling with style... and then without style.
• If your wings don't open, don't panic and don't keep looking down. Press jump again right away.

This is exactly the step our video is about. Two presses. Every time.

4. Gliding: just look up (seriously)

Your camera is your steering wheel:

• Look down to dive and pick up speed.
• Look up to trade that speed for height.
• Level out to cruise for the longest distance.

The trick is a gentle wave: dip down to gain speed, then ease up to climb, and repeat. Pull up too hard for too long and you'll stall and start dropping. Small movements beat big jerky ones.

5. Fireworks: your turbo button

Firework rockets give you a big boost mid-flight, and they're how you take off from flat ground too.

• Craft them with 1 paper + 1 to 3 gunpowder. More gunpowder means a longer boost.
• Don't add firework stars. Rockets with stars explode and damage you.
• While you're gliding, hold a rocket and press the use-item button (L2 on PS5) to boost. Keep a stack in your offhand so you can still hold a sword or block in your main hand.
• From the ground: jump, open your wings, look up and fire a rocket right away.

6. Landing without the drama

Landing is where most deaths happen:

• Slow down first. Pull up a little before you reach the ground so you're not diving in at full speed.
• Come in at a shallow angle, not straight down. A long, gentle descent is the safest.
• Water is your best friend. Landing in water cancels the fall damage.
• Never fly into a wall at speed. Crashing sideways hurts, and the death message ("experienced kinetic energy") is almost as embarrassing as falling from a high place.

7. Common mistakes (we made some of these)

1. Forgetting the second jump press. See: today's video.
2. Looking straight down for too long. You'll hit the ground faster than you can pull up.
3. Flying with broken wings. Elytra lose durability while you glide, and once they're nearly broken they stop working mid-air. Check them before long flights. Repair them with Phantom Membranes on an anvil, or enchant them with Mending.
4. Using rockets with firework stars. That's free damage you don't need.
5. Flying low through caves or forests at full speed. Leave yourself room.
6. No backup plan. Carry a water bucket, or drink a Potion of Slow Falling if you're nervous.

Quick checklist before takeoff

• Elytra found, equipped and repaired
• A stack of star-free rockets in your offhand
• High launch spot
• Jump, then jump again
• Look up to climb, look down for speed
• Slow down and land shallow, or into water

Watch the lesson (and the fall)

Now that you know the right way, go watch how it actually went. Big shoutout to LittleJ2277 for being the best (and bravest) flight student. 🪽😹

▶️ https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Zs4KVYioKb0

Stay in the loop

• Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mralvyx. Keep an eye out, because we sometimes run giveaways there, and you don't want to miss one.
• Hang out live on Twitch: https://twitch.tv/mralvyx. Come watch the chaos as it happens, ask your own Minecraft questions, and maybe become the next flight student.