Hiccup's Flightsuit is a suit that Hiccup created to glide without Toothless's company. It also has several other features incorporated into it. It includes a dagger, a compass, spare pages for his map, and his sword Inferno, with spare cartridges of Monstrous Nightmare saliva and Hideous Zippleback gas.
Design
The prototype flightsuit, Dragonfly I.
Dragonfly I
The Dragonfly I is Hiccup's first prototype of his flight suit.
It consists of a complex set of gears fixed to two pairs of red wings. One pair is slightly larger than the other. On one of the wings, you can find the same white skull found on Toothless' prosthetic tail fin. Hiccup has to wear it on his back like a backpack.
The Dragonfly I has difficulty taking off and gliding in air. One has to wait until the wind is strong enough and some luck to glide properly. Hiccup had failed numerous times and Toothless has always faithfully saved him. Tuffnut referred to it as a "Plummet Suit" on it's maiden flight, as that's what it did. Hiccup had also tried to install some equipment to it that would allow him to steer, but it failed, so Toothless had to save him again.
Dragonfly II
The Dragonfly II was inspired by webbing in the feet of evolved Speed Stingers.
The Dragonfly II looks similar to Dragonfly I. However, this new prototype is inspired by the webbed feet of a Speed Stinger.
The Dragonfly II is also red and has one large pair of wings. Hiccup has to strap them to his wrists and chain the other end to his ankles before jumping off Toothless. The Dragonfly II is also worn like a backpack.
Dragonfly II has improved significantly since the first prototype. Hiccup can glide further, faster, smoother and maneuver it better than the Dragonfly I. He can change directions in the air, turn around, glide downwards and even flip his body in mid-air.
Another modified version of Dragonfly II is seen in A Time to Skrill. This one folds onto Hiccup's back and spreads all the way across instead of just his side. Hiccup uses it to fly safely onto Skullcrusher's back after the Skrill's and Toothless' blasts collide. This is the first time that Stoick sees Hiccup's flightsuit. Unfortunately, Tuffnut lost it while fighting Gruffnut, who threw it into the ocean from Barf and Belch in Gruff Around the Edges.
Final Design
Hiccup's flightsuit.
The Flightsuit is the culmination of all the work Hiccup put into his flying harness.
The wingsuit incorporates the leather belt structure of his original harness. The higher belt has a small disc-like device on it which allows Hiccup to extend the dorsal fin on his back. It consists of a spring coil with a sensitive calibration which Astrid has been known to push several times. The lower belt has a carabiner which allows him to attach himself to Toothless in case he falls off mid-flight. His flight suit, however, does not include his black armor, which is different and is not attached to the flight suit.
The suit has several integrated pieces that allow him to carry equipment without bags or other bulky accoutrements
- Hiccup keeps a dagger on his left bracer. He uses it to sharpen his charcoal pencil.
- There are spare pages for his map located in the flap under his right bracer.
- A compass is mounted just behind the bracer on his right arm. It is protected by a metal cover to keep it from being damaged.
- His sword, Inferno, is mounted to a sheath that lines his right thigh, where he can easily draw it with his right hand.
- His ankle straps have pouches on them that carry spare Nightmare saliva and Zippleback gas to refill the sword.
- Hiccup's map is kept under his chest plate.
Gliding
The primary purpose of Hiccup's Flightsuit is to glide alongside Toothless and acts as a backup in case they get separated in the air or Hiccup falls off. The suit is activated by grasping the hoops on either side of Hiccup's legs and pulling his wrists through them. When the hoops are pulled, leathery flaps come out of pouches along his sides. When Hiccup holds his arms out straight, the flaps are held tight and serve as gliding surfaces. He has a central fin along his back that serves as a stabilizer. The release mechanism is located on the right side of his chest: a coil that, when pushed, extends the fin.
When in the air, Hiccup uses his airspeed to glide, controlling the flow of air with the wing flaps. By lifting his arms, lowering them, and turning them different directions, he controls his attitude. By putting his arms back to his sides, the flaps fold back and permit him to dive straight downward. After years of practicing on Toothless' back, he is able to keep his body in the optimum streamlined position to glide.
The Flightsuit does not permit Hiccup to fly, obviously; he has no force to increase his lift. He merely uses his airspeed to maximize his glide-out time. He can still use air currents to maneuver. This includes using columns of warm air to rise into the air. Toothless uses clever shots of his plasma to generate small explosions below and in front of Hiccup's glide path, giving him slight increases in speed and altitude.
All things considered, (as of How to Train Your Dragon 2) Hiccup is still a novice at flying and has difficulty performing complex maneuvers. Most of his flights end in the same way: Toothless swooping in to save him from crashing head-long into something very, very hard.
After landing, Hiccup folds the wing flaps back into the pouches at his sides, clipping the wrist hoops into place with metal snaps. The release mechanism for the dorsal fin also acts to retract it. The device includes a rotating mechanism that pulls the fin back into place. Although the device could never work in real life it would tip and he does fall though but he would need a tail fin to actually fly.
Appearances
- Dragons: Race to the Edge, Season 1
- Dragons: Race to the Edge, Season 2
- Dragons: Race to the Edge, Season 3
- Dragons: Race to the Edge, Season 4
- How to Train Your Dragon 2
Trivia
- There is a Deadly Nadder symbol on the strapline secured across Hiccup's chest on his final suit. It's purposely aligned to the position of his heart and is meant to be a nod to his girlfriend Astrid. (There is also a Nadder symbol on Hiccup's Viking helmet which further confirms the implications.
