Flying shell

Flying shells are missiles in Rayman 2 which, unlike normal shells, can fly in the air. They do not need to be tamed and seem to show a certain liking towards Rayman, as can be seen in the final battle where one comes up and helps him fight the Grolgoth. When on a flying shell, Rayman can turn freely in any direction, and can stabilize the shell by holding the strafing button. This does however not work on the Nintendo 3DS version. Flying shells are usually grey in color, but some of them appear to be yellow, just like walking shells.

Appearances

In the Prison Ship, once Rayman flips the switch to activate the generator in the control room, a flying shell appears. Rayman uses the shell to cross the lava chamber and fly into the depths of the Buccaneer, in order to free the prisoners and approach the final battle with Admiral Razorbeard.
In Rayman Revolution, after freeing the prisoners, Rayman returns to the Rainbow Creek, where a flying shell has appeared. The Grand Minimus instructs Rayman to jump on it to get to Razorbeard.
In the Crow's Nest, after the floor caves in, and the Grolgoth and Rayman both fall into the lava-filled interior, Rayman encounters a flying shell, which he rides during the second part of the battle with Razorbeard.

Trivia

During the development of Rayman 2, the flying shell didn't exist at first, being originally a walking shell running on the ceiling.^[1]
There is some inconsistency in the coloring of the flying shell in the Crow's Nest. In the PC and Dreamcast versions, this shell is yellow, like walking shells, and not grey like the one in the Prison Ship. This may have been unintentional, as the Nintendo 64, Nintendo DS, PlayStation and PlayStation 2 versions change the color in the cutscenes to grey. However, the PlayStation 2 version still shows the flying shell in yellow color during the battle itself, creating a different inconsistency. Only the PlayStation, Nintendo 64 and Nintendo DS versions have the flying shell consistently colored grey everywhere.
In Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party, there is a framed photograph of the Flying Shell on the wall of Rayman's house.