🐧 Penguin Learns to Fly

Can a penguin learn to fly?

Pip is a small penguin with a big dream: he wants to fly. Every day he slides down a snowy ramp, launches off the edge and flaps out over the icy sea. On the first day he flops into the water after a few metres. But every flight earns coins, and coins buy better gear: a taller ramp, a faster sled, cardboard wings, a kite, a hang glider, fireworks, rockets. Day by day Pip flies further, higher and faster, until one day he might reach the giant Ice Wall at 4,000 metres and smash right through it.

Penguin Learns to Fly is a free launch-and-upgrade game, the kind of game where one more try is always tempting, because you can see your progress grow with every flight.

How to fly further

Once Pip leaves the ramp, the arrow keys tilt his nose up and down. A glider turns speed into lift, so the trick is to manage your speed. Diving makes you faster; pulling up turns that speed into height and a long glide. Pull up too steeply and Pip stalls and slows down; dive too long and you hit the water. The best pilots dive a little after launch, then hold a gentle nose-up angle and stretch the glide. With a rocket, fire it while pointing slightly upward for the biggest gain.

Upgrades

There are five upgrade tracks, and each one changes the flight. The Ramp grows from a little hill to a mountain ramp, launching Pip much faster. The Sled goes from belly-sliding to a rocket sled, losing less speed on the ramp and sliding further when you land on the ice. The Glider is the biggest change: flippers barely glide, while cardboard wings, a kite, a hang glider and finally jet wings give more and more lift. The Rocket adds a push, from a little firework to a turbo jet, and the Fuel tank lets it burn longer.

Coins, fish and goals

Each flight earns coins for distance, maximum height, top speed and time in the air, plus a bonus for every fish Pip catches. Fish float in rows over the sea, and gold fish are worth five. Pink balloons give a big bounce upward. Twelve goals give stars, like flying 600 metres, reaching 200 metres high, going 220 km/h, staying in the air for 20 seconds and catching 15 fish in one flight. Stars unlock outfits: a red scarf, a pilot's cap, a superhero cape and a golden crown.

The Ice Wall

Far out at 4,000 metres stands the Ice Wall. Hit it too slowly and Pip just bonks off it. Hit it at more than 120 km/h and Pip smashes straight through, earning a big bonus and the final star. Getting there takes a good set of upgrades and a well-flown flight, which makes it a great long-term goal.

Tips

Buy the glider upgrades early: they help more than anything else. Upgrade the ramp next for a faster launch. Aim for the ice floes when you come down, because sliding along the ice adds free distance. Do not hold the nose-up button all the time; small corrections work better. Save rocket fuel for when you are slowing down, then point slightly up and boost.

Great for kids

Penguin Learns to Fly is gentle and funny: there is no failure, only shorter flights, and every flight earns something. It is a fun way to explore speed, height and gliding. It runs in any modern browser on computers, Chromebooks, tablets and phones with no download or account, and progress is saved only in your browser. See the Parents & Safety page for more.

More flying and penguin games

Pip's cousin slides over the hills in Penguin Ice Slide. For more flying, try the classic Helicopter Cave or Paper Plane Flight. Every flying game is on our Helicopter Games page.

Frequently asked questions