I’ve Got a Flying Machine!

Quest Giver: Steel Gate Chief Archaeologist — Steel Gate, Howling Fjord

Objective: Use the flying machine’s grappling hook to transport 3 Sacks of Relics from the bottom of the excavation pit to the crane platforms on the north or south side of Steel Gate.

Quick Facts

• Level: 71
• Faction: Alliance
• Chain Position: 2 of 3 — See to the Operations → I’ve Got a Flying Machine! → Steel Gate Patrol (daily)

Walkthrough

Board the Flying Machine

• After accepting the quest, click on a flying machine near the Chief Archaeologist. There are two types of machine at Steel Gate: one with a grappling hook (this quest) and one with rockets and guns (used for Steel Gate Patrol later). You need the grappling hook version.
• If the wrong machine spawns (rockets instead of grapple), talk to the Chief Archaeologist and choose the dialogue option to request a new one.

Locate the Sacks of Relics

• Fly down into the excavation pit below. The Sacks of Relics are large bags on the ground scattered around the bottom of the dig site. They do not sparkle like typical quest objects, but they’re hard to miss since they’re roughly the size of the machine itself.
• Confirmed bag locations include around [31, 25], [31, 27], and [30, 27], plus one that spawns in the water near the top of the waterfall area at the “head” of the excavation.

Grapple and Deliver

• The grappling hook (button 1) fires forward, not downward. Do not hover directly over the bag.
• Land near a bag, position yourself about 5-15 yards away facing it, and press 1 to fire the grapple.
• Once hooked, fly upward (spacebar) and head to a crane platform on the north or south rim of the site. The drop-off point is a hanging platform marked with a large flashing red arrow. Fly through it to automatically deposit the sack.
• Note: while carrying a sack, your altitude is limited. Follow the terrain upward rather than trying to fly straight up.
• Repeat for all 3 sacks.

Efficiency Tips

• Only 3 trips are required, not 5-6.
• After delivering a sack, immediately dive back down toward the next closest bag rather than returning to the Chief Archaeologist. The quest auto-completes after the third delivery, then you can turn it in.
• Completing this quest unlocks Steel Gate Patrol, a daily quest where you pilot the rocket/gun version of the flying machine to defend the dig site. Good for repeatable Explorers’ League rep and decent gold.

Known Bugs (WotLK Classic)

• Bags not responding to grapple: A long-standing issue where some bags won’t register the hook. If this happens, try the bag near the waterfall/water at the top of the excavation, as players report it’s the most reliable. Server restarts tend to fix unresponsive bags.
• Can’t fly the machine: Some addons (notably older versions of QuestHelper) can interfere with vehicle controls. Disable addons if you can’t gain altitude. Also, ensure you have your character selected rather than the vehicle frame.
• Stuck on platform/can’t dismount: Type /console reloadui to reset your interface. Alternatively, fly outside Steel Gate’s boundary, and the machine will power down and eject you (watch your health; there’s no parachute on forced ejection).
• Pets interfering: Some report that active pets could prevent bag pickups. Dismiss your pet before starting.

Easter Egg

• The quest name is a direct reference to the Gnomish Flying Machine unit from Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness. When construction finished, the gnome pilot would exclaim “I’ve got a flying machine!” in an excited, nasally voice. One of those audio clips WC2 veterans never forget.

Explore Howling Fjord’s hidden easter eggs, lore mysteries, and connections across Warcraft history in Vikstone’s Howling Fjord Chronicles, along with the complete quest storyline.