Not Tropeworthy: Midflight Water Touching

1. Scene of Wonder: While clinging to the outside of the shuttle rocket, WALL•E escapes the lifeless clutter of his Crapsack World, and gazes in wonder at the infinitude of outer space. There's even a moment of Midflight Water Touching as he passes the ice rings of Saturn. In context as written, the pothole is illustrating the majesty of the ride.
2. InfinityTrainBoilingPoint.Tropes E To M: Skara does this while Amity's experiencing The Joy of First Flight in order to use her water powers to form a pillar to fly upwards. Midflight water touching is used to illustrate a character's water powers.

1. Vanity Plate: Paramount Pictures: A mountain surrounded by stars (usually 24, in reference to the number of big movie actors they had signed in The Silent Age of Hollywood), also known as "Majestic Mountain" or "Paramountain". During the Gulf & Western era, the mountain faded into a simplified dark-blue-and-white icon on a light blue background; this version of the logo was retired in 1987, replaced with an updated version of the "Majestic Mountain" which continued to be used following Viacom's acquisition of Paramount. The modern version usually features animated stars as they fly into the scene, complete with Midflight Water Touching, and take their place in formation around the mountain. X happens pothole, no further context as written.
2. Aladdin.Tropes M To R: During Aladdin and Princess Jasmine's first "A Whole New World" magic carpet ride together, the carpet swoops down to the surface of a river and splashes in it momentarily. Midflight water touching just happens.
3. AvatarTheLastAirbender.Tropes I To P: In "The Waterbending Scroll", Momo the flying lemur gets chased by a carnivorous reptile-bird owned by the villain of the week. At one point during the chase, they fly low over a river, and each trails the tip of one wing in the water while doing a banked turn. Midflight water touching just happens.
4. Film.Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban: When Harry flies around Hogwarts on the back of Buckbeak, the hippogriff flies close to the Hogwarts lake and touches the water with one of its talons. Midflight water touching just happens, as written.
5. Recap.Avatar The Last Airbender The Waterbending Scroll: Momo the flying lemur gets chased by a carnivorous reptile-bird owned by the villain of the week. At one point during the chase, they fly low over a river, and each trails the tip of one wing in the water while doing a banked turn. "X happens" as written.
6. Recap.Rupert S 03 E 10 Rupert And The Bell: When the Elfen Rail car they're in skims across a cavern full of water, Rupert reaches down and trails his finger in the water for a bit. "X happens" as written.
7. Webcomic.Guardian: A side-comic, Flight, shows Yuna contentedly dipping her fingers in the ocean while riding Valefor. Yuna's Final Aeon also skims her claws lightly in the water during her flight home. "X happens" as written.
8. WesternAnimation.How To Train Your Dragon 2010: Hiccup has his first test flight on Toothless over the sea. They fly close to the water, and at some point Toothless touches the water with his wing. Later, when Hiccup takes Astrid on a flight with Toothless, the dragon dives underwater mid-flight to mess with her. "X happens" as written.
9. WesternAnimation.How To Train Your Dragon The Hidden World: Flight of Romance: Toothless and the Light Fury engage in one after the former gets his fin fixed. Since the movie is set in the Grim Up North, the flight doesn't miss to include a romantic Wintry Auroral Sky. The scene surprisingly averts Midflight Water Touching though when both dragons fly close to the surface of the water. Aversion of "X happens" as written.
10. WesternAnimation.Mr Peabody And Sherman: When Sherman and Penny steal DaVinci's flying machine, they eventually fly over the Venice's canals, and Penny briefly puts her hand in the water. "X happens" as written.
11. WesternAnimation.Peter Pan: The "You Can Fly" segment where Peter gave the Darling children the ability to fly. Peter rides on the backs of two swans in a lake and Wendy flies a foot over the water, touching up her hair, only for Tinker Bell to deliberately break up her reflection. "X happens" as written.
12. WesternAnimation.The Rescuers Down Under: On their first flight together, Marahute holds Cody above a river and lets him skate on the surface. "X happens" as written.
13. WesternAnimation.Wall E: Accomplished by WALL•E while clinging to the outer hull of the shuttle rocket. As the rocket passes close to the ice rings of Saturn, the awestruck robot brushes the ice crystals with his mechanical hand. "X happens" as written.

1. Recap.Adventure Time S 4 E 9 Princess Monster Wife: In the "A Whole New World" parody sequence, just as in the original. ZCE.

1. Flight of Romance "See also" link.
2. Flying Tropes Index.
3. Administrivia.Pages Needing Wicks Index.
4. ImageSource.Disney Animated Canon Index.
5. Sandbox.Featured Trope Archive Sandbox index.

Whether it's achieved through magic, superpowers, some kind of machine or by riding an animal, the moment a character first takes flight is seen as euphoric, empowering and cathartic. Often, the first flight will be savored by characters and given a lot of screen time, often including soaring music, Scenery Porn which typically involves the character zooming around tall buildings and mountains, before skimming low over the surface of water and possibly reaching out to touch it, and maybe even a song — subsequent flights just don't capture the magic of first taking off.

Possibly due to its place as a character's emotional high point, First Flights are also prone to getting interrupted.

Standard trope for any character becoming the Dragon Rider. See also Flight Is the Final Power and Flight of Romance. Compare and contrast Die or Fly and Traumatic Superpower Awakening which may lead to a character discovering flight in decidedly unhappy circumstances.