Helicopter
Things are not going to get any easier for you, Rayman... but this new power will make you stronger.Now you can use your hair as a helicopter. To do it, press X twice.
The Helicopter, also known as Helico, HairlyCopter or Haircopter, is Rayman's signature ability. It consists of rapidly spinning the fronds of his hair, as if they were propeller blades, in order to hover and slow his descent. Rayman possesses this power in almost every game in which he appears, and like most of his powers, he seems to gain and lose it multiple times over the course of the series.
In Rayman
In the original Rayman game, the helicopter is the fourth power that Rayman receives from Betilla the Fairy (or from the Tings in the Game Boy Color version of Rayman. She grants it to him at the end of Allegro Presto. However, it is still possible to get it before the grappling fist, depending on the order in which the player chooses to play the levels. It allows Rayman's hair to spin very briefly like helicopter blades, which lets him jump further. This way, he can reach platforms which were previously inaccessible and glide back down to the ground with precision. Several other creatures in the game also possess helicopter hair, including Electoons and Antitoons.
A temporary upgrade of the helicopter is also available: it is called the super helicopter. It allows him to fly in the air with his hair, which happens three times in the game: in Mr Stone's Peaks, when he is given the potion by the Musician, in Eraser Plains where the potion can be acquired by touching a group of stars and in Pencil Pentathlon, where he finds another potion. In the Game Boy Color version of Rayman, Rayman also obtains the super helicopter ability by eating a specific kind of a plant.
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Rayman using his helicopter power in the original Rayman game
In Rayman 2
Even though Rayman loses most of his powers at the beginning of Rayman 2, his helicopter remains, being as useful as ever. Unlike in the previous game, Rayman can now use the helicopter indefinitely. When he goes beneath the Sanctuary of Rock and Lava, Ly the Fairy appears before him and gives him a Silver Lum, which upgrades his helicopter to the super helicopter again. Unfortunately, at the end of the level, he loses this upgrade to Foutch, who thumps him. In Rayman Revolution, this was partially restored, meaning that he could permanently fly only over pools of lava, and also during the battle against Grolem 13.
In Rayman M and Rayman Arena
In Rayman M and Rayman Arena, all characters have an ability equivalent to the helicopter. Rayman and Dark Rayman fly by activating their helicopter hair, Globox and Uglette fly by inflating themselves like balloons, Admiral Razorbeard and Razorwife fly by spinning their arms like propeller blades, the Henchman 800 and Henchman 1000 fly by activating their jetpacks, Tily flies by flapping her wings and the Teensies fly by swinging the top Teensie like a helicopter.
In Rayman: The Animated Series
In Rayman: The Animated Series, by the end of the second episode, No Parking, Rayman uses the helicopter to save his friends from falling into a precipice. Questioned by Cookie about what was he doing, Rayman replies it was a small trick he learnt.
In Rayman 3
In Rayman 3, Rayman retains his normal helicopter ability, with it functioning the same as it did in Rayman 2. The super helicopter ability was revisited in the game as well, in the form of the Throttle Copter. The Throttle Copter was, of the five, the power with the shortest time limit, though it allows for brief flying similar to that in previous games.
In the Game Boy Advance versions of Rayman 3 and Rayman Raving Rabbids
In the Game Boy Advance versions of Rayman 3 and Rayman Raving Rabbids, Rayman can use the helicopter from the start of the game; however, like how it worked in the original Rayman game, he can only stay in airborne for three seconds until he falls. In addition to this, the super helicopter is revisited in these games, as Rayman receives the power to fly with his helicopter so long as he obtained a Blue Lum – small ones let him fly for a little while, whereas large ones allow him to fly until the end of the level, similar to that of the world Magmacosm. Blue Lums are first found in Prickly Passage, however Rayman cannot use them until he has been given the power to do so by Ly. The first main level in this game to use these Blue Lums to continue is the Underlands.
In Rayman: Hoodlums' Revenge
In Rayman: Hoodlums' Revenge, Rayman can use the helicopter since the beginning while stating that "he has been able to use his helicopter power his whole life", which can be possibility a reference to the events from the original Rayman. The Throttle Copter combat fatigue explores again the super helicopter ability, although this time it used Blue Lums to stay airborne once activated.
In the UbiArt games
In Rayman Origins, the heroes receive the power to glide after rescuing Holly Luya from the mouth of a Darktoon. From Rayman Legends onward, the rest of the UbiArt Rayman games give the heroes the ability to glide by default. The helicopter allows the characters to glide over obstacles, and can lift them if they use the ability in an air current. While Rayman-based characters continue to use the helicopter with their hair (with the exceptions of Sir Rayelot and Ray Plumber in which case they use the wings on their headwear), Globox-based characters rapidly flap their arms to glide, the Teensies open up their clothing to glide (acting as a parachute of sorts), and Barbara-based characters use the wings on their helmet to glide.
During early development of Rayman Origins, the heroes were originally supposed to have the ability of using their helicopter abilities on the ground to summon air currents. The move was known as the Propeller and was shown during numerous trailers for the game, but the ability was scrapped in the final release.
In the PlayStation Vita version of Rayman Origins, the player can collect relics to unlock two mosaics showing stories from the pasts of Rayman and Globox. According to the Rayman mosaic and its unused subtitles found in the game files, it seems that Rayman was originally bald, and had a girlfriend or wife who was a member of his own limbless species. One night, as they slept together in a forest, an army of tiny blonde hair creatures crept up on Rayman, and parasitically attached themselves to his head. Frightened by this strange event, Rayman's female companion took out an oversized pair of scissors and tried to cut Rayman's hair. Rayman panicked and ran off the edge of a cliff, only to discover that his new hair had the ability to act as a helicopter, flying him to safety.
Since the backstory conflicts with other stories of Rayman's origin, and of how he received the helicopter, it is unclear if it is true.
In Rayman in the Phantom Show
In Rayman in the Phantom Show, the third DLC of Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, Rayman can use the helicopter by jumping off of jump panels or after swinging off of a flying ring. If he does this in the overworld using the former method, Rabbid Mario and Rabbid Peach grab onto Rayman’s feet to fly with him. While using the helicopter, unlike in his other games, Rayman does not descend at all; rather, he is granted free horizontal movement in the air; however, after a few seconds, his hair will glow golden and sweat drops will appear for a second, and then he will stop flying. The player can spend a Skill Prism to increase Rayman’s flight duration after swinging from a flying ring from 1.75 seconds to 3.75 seconds.
Names in other languages
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
| English | Helicopter |
| Chinese (simplified) | 直升飞机 (PC)
直升机 (PC manual, mobile, mobile achievements) |
| Chinese (traditional) | 直升機 (mobile)
飛髮 (mobile achievements) |
| Dutch | Helicopter |
| French | Hélicoptère |
| German | Hubschrauber (in-game, Jaguar and Saturn manuals)
Helikopter (mobile achievements, GBA manual) |
| Hebrew | הליקופטר Helicopter |
| Italian | Elicottero
Elitrottero (mobile achievements only) |
| Japanese | ヘリコプター |
| Korean | 헬리콥터 |
| Russian | Вертолет |
| Spanish | Helicóptero (GBA, DSi, manuals)
Pelicóptero (mobile, mobile achievements) |