Every time Ava ranks up, she gets to unlock a brand new contraption that lets her soar through the skies in a different fashion! For the second rank contraption, we highly recommend the Yo-Yo. Unlike the other two contraptions, the yo-yo behaves - as you can probably guess - much differently than a glider. For one, you don't have to preserve momentum by dropping and rising. Ava free-falls with the yo-yo equipped. Tapping and holding will make her throw it upwards, and you can hold down to swing yourself forward. If you want a quick boost upwards, you can tap and hold for a brief momentum as the the initial momentum is enough to lift you up. When properly mastered, the yo-yo can carry you a VERY far distance, thanks to the way its physics work. Ultimately the choice is yours when it comes to contraptions, but the yo-yo will do you wonders for a very long time.
When you're flying through the air, occasionally you'll see a brightly colored present hanging onto some balloons. Run into it to collect it, and at the end of your run you'll be able to open it for a random puzzle piece of a new collectible you don't own yet. You can collect up to three presents in one run, however it's important to keep in mind that ONLY the first present you get is opened for free. The last two presents must be opened by either spending 40 sweets per present or by watching an advertisement. HOWEVER! There is currently a bug in the game affecting multiple devices - if you try to watch an advertisement to open a present for free, the game will crash. Normally this isn't a big deal but in this case you will LOSE the air miles you've earned from that run. So, in the mean time, do not use the advertisement option!
Very rarely you'll see a medium-sized green star with the number 1 on it pop up. If you run into it, it'll spawn another green star with 2 on it. This will continue on in a row, and if you manage to collect all five green stars, you'll be rewarded with 10-20 sweets. It's a pretty good way to get more sweets, so always be on the lookout for these green stars.
Once you've gone quite the distance, let's say about 2,000+, you'll notice that the game will pull out all the stops to try to stop you. Laser fields, bomb balloons, and inconveniently placed bouncy balloons will spawn in front of you. Even the laser fields will home in on you as if they're heat-seeking! There's no denying it - you WILL hit one of these hazards eventually and you will need to recover fast. When you're recovering, be sure to tap on both sides of the screen using both your thumbs for super fast recovery speed. Be warned - the more you need to recover, the longer the recovery bar gets. It's because of this that we recommend you stay as high as you can. Once you go up enough, you'll notice that the screen stops scrolling. If you go off the top of the screen, it'll begin to flash white, and if you stay off screen for more than a couple seconds, you'll be struck by an unknown force! So, stay high but not too high. The higher you are, the more time you have to recover.
Once you reach rank 3 "Bat", you'll unlock the appropriately named Batbat buddy. Batbat grants a +2% air mile bonus and a +5% sweets bonus. The sweets bonus is what you want, as sweets are pretty hard to come by consider you lose some every time you get hit during a run (which, as we mentioned, will happen frequently). Batbat only costs 50 sweets to buy anyways, so it's not too hard to get him.
More Gameplay Tips
Once you master the controls, the key to flying for a truly long distance is a good recovery. To recover after you smash into a black balloon or a laser barrier, you have to tap on the screen rapidly. Learn how to fly with fingers other than your thumb. Then, when you crash, tap on the screen rapidly with as many fingers as possible for swift and easy recoveries. The higher you are when you crash in the air, the better your chances of recovery.
Don't just go for distance though. Know what you can collect when you're flying around. Balloons give you sweets, which you can then use to buy new flying machines once they become available to you. Hoops give you experience points, which contribute to increasing your rank, and thus allowing you to unlock the ability to purchase more flying machines. Red/white rectangles give you a speed boost, and the rocket sends you flying at an insanely quick rate of speed for a sustained period of time.
Every flying machine has a VERY different method of control. Some are more like Pilotwings. Others, such as the fidget spinner, play like Spider Man, where you swing from a fixed point to move forward. Once you buy a new flying machine, don't worry about distance or time at first. Take a bit of time to fly around with it and master it. If you don't like it, then switch back to your old flying machine and upgrade it, rather than going forward with your new one.
To earn the most sweets and experience points possible, pick something that it's very easy to fly a loop in, such as the Waltzer. Fly around and fly through as many hoops and balloons as possible. Then do a loop and backtrack (stay upside down for longer if you need to backtrack farther, but don't go back too far or you'll crash). Fly through the hoops and balloons that you miss again. If you fly through a balloonless hoop, you'll earn experience points but not sweets.
Aside from the flying contraptions, you can unlock all sorts of collectibles and boosters using the prizes that you get from bonus boxes. Buddies increase your air mileage and candy multiplier. Helpers give you one free recovery. Launchers provide you an initial lift-off boost and add style to your launch pad. Charms give you a chance to win something after every battle. Lollies are just for fun. Trinkets, when equipped, can change the entire appearance of the game.