DS Airship Fortress

Airship Fortress
Information
Appears in	Mario Kart DS (2005) Mario Kart 7 (2011) Mario Kart Tour (2020) Mario Kart World (2025)
Cup(s)	Star Cup (DS) Lightning Cup (7) Flower Cup (World)
Tour(s)	Pirate Tour Summer Festival Tour 1st Anniversary Tour Halloween Tour (2020) New Year's 2021 Tour Berlin Tour Mario Tour (2021) Yoshi Tour (2021) Bowser vs. DK Tour Trick Tour (2021) Summer Tour (2021) Los Angeles Tour (2021) Kamek Tour Space Tour (2021) Holiday Tour (2021) Mii Tour (2022) Yoshi Tour (2022) Amsterdam Tour Halloween Tour (2022) Peach vs. Bowser Tour (November–December 2022) Bowser Tour (2023)
Rally(s)	Cloud Rally Heart Rally
Based on	Super Mario Bros. 3's Airships
Online play	Was never available (DS) No longer available (3DS)
Music sample Mario Kart DS Mario Kart 7 / Mario Kart Tour Mario Kart 7 (frontrunning)
Course map Mario Kart DS Mario Kart 7 Mario Kart Tour Mario Kart World
Staff ghost(s) DS Ninten★シュン 2:07:748 7 Nin★OBSHNN 2:23.323 7 Expert Ret★Shane 2:07.704 World Nin★David 2:15.972

Airship Fortress is the fourth and final course of the Star Cup in Mario Kart DS. The course takes place both on a floating fortress in disrepair and on an airship. The course is inspired by the environment of boss levels seen in Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World. Other airships can be seen flying in the background.

Airship Fortress reappears in Mario Kart 7 as the third race of the Lightning Cup, in Mario Kart Tour starting with the Pirate Tour, and in Mario Kart World as the final course of the Flower Cup.

Mario Kart DS

Course layout

The race starts with a straightaway, where a barrage of Bullet Bills are shot from a Bill Blaster of the airship and cause players to flip over if they touch them. Passing this section of the track, players turn left with a right turn shortly after and get a boost by running over a Dash Panel, entering the deck of the airship, where Rocky Wrenches pop out from their trenches, hitting racers who drive over them. Proceeding inside the airship, players take a tight left turn and reach the cellar where some crates are spread throughout the room. They may contain a Mushroom or a Banana Peel if broken. The next room features a pair of burners moving sideways that cause players to spin out if they touch the fire. Players exit the airship by being launched by the airship's Pipe Cannon with a Dash Panel, similar to DK Mountain, aimed at a hole in the fortress tower. Following the corkscrew inside the tower, there's one last turn to finish the race. Just before the last turn, players can knock other racers off the course.

Missions

There are two missions that take place on Airship Fortress:

• Mission 6-2: The player controls Wario, who must use Stars to hit 15 Rocky Wrenches within 30 seconds.
• Mission 7-7: The player controls Bowser, who must collect 12 coins while driving in reverse. This requires the player to navigate a maze-like arrangement of wooden crates and then avoid the pair of burners.

Mario Kart 7

DS Airship Fortress in Mario Kart 7

Airship Fortress makes its classic course debut in Mario Kart 7 as the third course of the Lightning Cup. The grid has been recolored from black and yellow to red and white while the banner was changed to a unique, steel-framed wooden panel displaying the classic Mario Kart logo in orange. In the straightaway following the starting line, both drop-offs can be used to perform a trick and gain a small boost. The Bullet Bills have become Banzai Bills, are now shot out from the Banzai Bill Cannon at faster intervals, and are no longer visible on the bottom screen map. Some of the Banzai Bills are larger in scale compared to others. The interior of the airship has some minor changes, most notably the presence of a slight curve within the cellar, while the exterior of it has a Warp Pipe added near the Pipe Cannon (similar to Super Mario Bros. 3's) and the fortress section has additional towers. The burner room now has a ventilated floor exposing the sky underneath the airship, and the Rocky Wrenches now make sounds similar to Monty Moles. Hitting a Banzai Bill has the similar effect as getting struck by a Bob-omb, a Bullet Bill, a Spiny Shell, or a Super Star, causing the player to tumble and roll over sideways.

Launching out of the Pipe Cannon now encompasses a Glide Ramp. Players cannot aim their flight and they are also no longer immune to items while in the Pipe Cannon, and being hit by anything (or intentionally stowing their glider) results in having to be rescued by Lakitu.

This track and GBA Bowser Castle 1 are the only tracks to not appear in the credits.

Shortcuts

• Dropping onto the rail between the Banzai Bill section and first Dash Panel in order to take the turn tighter saves a minimal amount of time.
• Dropping onto the longer rail at the start of the lap is useful during races as, while not necessarily saving time, it allows the player to dodge items and Banzai Bills.
• A difficult shortcut can be performed by leaning off the curve on the second, smaller rail to gain an upwards angle and using a Mushroom. If the player goes far enough, Lakitu will place them just before the cannon. If done quickly, it saves around ten seconds.

Mario Kart Tour

DS Airship Fortress in Mario Kart Tour

Airship Fortress also returns in Mario Kart Tour starting with the Pirate Tour, with grand graphical changes. The main tower is now part of a larger fortress, with other towers in the background. The location of the course changes from the sky to a lava-filled ocean, as well as the sky being much more orange in color, as opposed to the purple hue it originally bestowed. Several lit torches were added to the sides of the track before the main airship and on each column of the main tower and hanging lanterns on the main airship's deck. The starting banner is now made of stone that is held up by two small towers, and the Mario Kart logo on the starting banner is the modern logo, colored cyan. The main airship and several others are a more lighter brown in color, with their masts now possessing propellers instead of sails. Hitting a Rocky Wrench now gives points to the player instead of making them spin-out, and players can now trick on top of Rocky Wrenches that poke their heads out of the ground. The tunnel leading to the main airship's cabin has also been given a redesign, with the doors being replaced by multiple portholes, lights, and groups of barrels and crates, while the wall separating the two rooms now resembling the type of wall seen inside a wine cellar. Additionally, the main airship's cabin has been redesigned to resemble a drinking bar, with Shy Guys sitting on stools, bottles on shelves, a dartboard, and several tables.

The course also appears as Airship Fortress R (reversed), Airship Fortress T (with ramps), and Airship Fortress R/T (reversed with ramps). The first two debuted in the Pirate Tour, while the third debuted in the 2021 Trick Tour. In the R and R/T variants, the Banzai Bills are gone. In the T variant, the cannon is removed, and racers use Kanaami Road to cross the gap. In the R/T variant, there is a row of Rocky Wrenches just before the finish line.

Appearances

For this course's tour appearances, see List of DS Airship Fortress tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.

Top-tier and middle-tier items

Select "show" to reveal the drivers, karts, and gliders for which DS Airship Fortress and its variants are always favored or favorite courses. For instances in which additional drivers, karts, and gliders temporarily had this course and its variants as favored or favorite courses, see List of DS Airship Fortress tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.

Course	Three-item drivers	Bonus points ×2 karts	Combo bonus ×3 gliders	Two-item drivers	Bonus points ×1.5 karts	Combo bonus ×2 gliders
Normal variant				*****	*********	*******
R variant				*****	******	****
T variant				*****	************	**********
R/T variant				********	******************	********
				*
* indicates a favored course upgraded to a favorite course after reaching level 3. ** indicates a favored course upgraded to a favorite course after reaching level 6. *** indicates a favored course upgraded to a favorite course after reaching level 8 for High-End items.

Bonus challenges

Ring Race
Icon	Course variant	Chosen driver	Chosen kart	Chosen glider	Grand Star scores	Tour appearances	Cup
	Regular	Baby Daisy	Pipe Frame	Super Glider	5 10 23	Pirate Tour	Toadette Cup
					10 16 23	Yoshi Tour (2022)	Peachette Cup

Do Jump Boosts
Icon	Course variant	Chosen driver	Chosen kart	Chosen glider	Grand Star scores	Tour appearances	Cup
	Regular	Morton	Pipe Frame	Super Glider	8 12 18	1st Anniversary Tour	Baby Peach Cup
					10 15 18	Bowser vs. DK Tour	Birdo Cup
						Halloween Tour (2022)	Metal Mario Cup

Big Reverse Race
Icon	Course variant	Opponents									Tour appearances	Cup
			7th	6th	5th	4th	3rd	2nd	1st	Extra
	Regular	Driver									Halloween Tour (2020)	Ice Mario Cup
		Kart
		Glider

Goomba Takedown
Icon	Course variant	Chosen driver	Chosen kart	Chosen glider	Item Box type found	Number of item slots	Grand Star scores	Tour appearances	Cup
	Regular	Waluigi	Pipe Frame	Super Glider	Bob-omb Mega Mushroom	1	10 25 38	Pirate Tour	Daisy Cup
								Los Angeles Tour (2021)	Toadette Cup
								Halloween Tour (2022)	Baby Peach Cup

Steer Clear of Obstacles
Icon	Course variant	Chosen driver	Chosen kart	Chosen glider	Obstacles	Tour appearances	Cup
	Regular	Rosalina	Pipe Frame	Super Glider	Banzai Bill Barrel Bomb Burner	Summer Festival Tour	Birdo Cup
						Kamek Tour	Baby Luigi Cup
						Amsterdam Tour	Bowser Cup
						Bowser Tour (2023)	Ludwig Cup

vs. Mega Bowser Jr.
Icon	Course variant	Mega opponent information				Tour appearances	Cup
		Driver	Kart	Glider	Items used
	Regular	Bowser Jr. (Pirate)	Landship	Great Sail	Bob-ombs Bob-omb Cannons	Pirate Tour	Koopa Troopa Cup
						Trick Tour (2021)	Diddy Kong Cup
						Peach vs. Bowser Tour (November–December 2022)	Dry Bowser Cup

Smash Small Dry Bones
Icon	Course variant	Chosen driver	Chosen kart	Chosen glider	Grand Star scores	Tour appearances	Cup
	Regular	Birdo (Yellow)	Pipe Frame	Super Glider	4 7 9	Mario Tour (2021)	Metal Mario Cup
					4 8 12	Space Tour (2021)	Mario Cup
						Peach vs. Bowser Tour (November–December 2022)	Bowser Cup

Time Trial
Icon	Course variant	Chosen driver	Chosen kart	Chosen glider	Grand Star scores	Tour appearances	Cup
	Regular	Luigi	Pipe Frame	Super Glider	2:30.00 2:15.00 1:55.00	Halloween Tour (2020)	Toad Cup
					2:15.00 2:05.00 1:53.00	Bowser vs. DK Tour
	R	Pink Shy Guy	Pipe Frame	Super Glider	2:30.00 2:15.00 1:58.00	New Year's 2021 Tour	Pauline Cup
					2:30.00 2:14.00 1:58.00	Summer Tour (2021)	Baby Rosalina Cup

Combo Attack
Icon	Course variant	Chosen driver	Chosen kart	Chosen glider	Highest combo counts	Tour appearances	Cup
	T	Red Yoshi	Pipe Frame	Super Glider	15 25 35	Yoshi Tour (2022)	Donkey Kong Cup
					15 20 30	Peach vs. Bowser Tour (November–December 2022)	Yoshi Cup

Mario Kart World

This section is referring to a subject in an upcoming or recently released game. When the game is released, or more information about this subject is found, this section may need major rewriting.
This notice should be removed after a month has passed since the game was first released.

The course icon in Mario Kart World

Airship Fortress makes its home console debut in Mario Kart World, appearing as the fourth and final course of the Flower Cup. The course is also the starting point of the Cloud Rally and the first checkpoint of the Heart Rally. The bar before the burner room has been removed, and the damage on the castle wall near the end of the track has been filled in with dirt, making it off-road. The section before the burners no longer has a slight bend in the road or crates. The tower now has a big "05" painted in white on it, likely referencing Mario Kart DS's release date in 2005. Grindrails have been added to various parts of the track. The course's map retains its more curved look it adopted in Tour, rather than its more angular appearance before. Chargin' Chuck, Hammer Bro, Pianta, and Rocky Wrench are the characters players may be turned into if a Kamek item is used on this course, allowing all except Hammer Bro to be unlocked for players if they have not been unlocked yet.

It is located in the northwestern volcanic region, just along the coast.

Routes

• 

  From Shy Guy Bazaar

• 

  From Wario Stadium (used in the Flower Cup)

• 

  From Dry Bones Burnout

• 

  From Toad's Factory

• 

  From Bowser's Castle

Profiles

Mario Kart DS

• Website description:
  • English (British):
    Bowser should be right at home in these ships in the sky. Race across the decks of these floating wrecks, get blasted from cannons and dodge oncoming missile fire, as you fight to stay in one piece long enough to take the pole position.

Mario Kart Tour

• Mario Kart Tour Twitter: It's time for the Pirate Tour! The DS Airship Fortress course makes its debut in Mario Kart Tour. It's a long way down from this floating fortress, so make sure you stay on course!

Gallery

Mario Kart DS

• 

  Rocky Wrench section

• 

  The crate room

• 

  Peach being shot away by the Pipe Cannon

Mario Kart 7

• 

  Bowser starts the race with a Rocket Start.

• 

  Luigi and Bowser race on the track.

• 

  Metal Mario racing on the course

• 

  Metal Mario approaching a Rocky Wrench

• 

  The burner room

• 

  Bowser approaching the Pipe Cannon

Mario Kart Tour

Course icons

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Mario Kart Tour race course icons (DS courses) § Airship Fortress.

• 

  The course icon

• 

  The course icon of the R variant

• 

  The course icon of the T variant

• 

  The course icon of the R/T variant

Screenshots

• 

  View of the cabin area of the main airship

• 

  Dry Bowser, Dry Bones, Pauline, King Boo (Luigi's Mansion), and Bowser Jr. (Pirate) on the course

• 

  Bowser, Dry Bowser, King Boo (Luigi's Mansion), and Dry Bones (Gold) tricking on the course

• 

  King Bob-omb throwing a Green Shell at Mario on the course

• 

  King Bob-omb, Dry Bowser, and Bowser Jr. (Pirate) tricking

• 

  Funky Kong and Dry Bowser gliding on the course

• 

  Bowser in the Bullet Blaster with a Bullet Bill

Mario Kart World

• 

  World map icon

• 

  Overview of the starting line

• 

  Bowser Jr. flying through the course

• 

  Rocky Wrench and Dolphin drifting on the deck of the airship

• 

  Sticker showing Airship Fortress

Naming

Internal names

Game	File	Name	Meaning
Mario Kart DS		airship_course	Airship course
Mario Kart 7		Gds_AirshipFortress	Grand Prix DS Airship Fortress

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	キラーシップ[?] Kirā Shippu	Bullet Bill Ship
Chinese (simplified)	炮弹刺客飞船[?] Pàodàn Cìkè Fēichuán	Bullet Bill Airship
	弹头杀手飞船[?] Dàntóu Shāshǒu Fēichuán		Mario Kart 7
Chinese (traditional)	砲彈刺客飛船[?] Pàodàn Cìkè Fēichuán	Bullet Bill Airship
Dutch	Vliegende Vesting[?]	Flying Fortress
French	Bateau Volant	Flying Ship
German	Fliegende Festung[?]	Flying Fortress
Italian	Fortezza Volante[?]	Flying Fortress
Korean	킬러 해적선[?] Killeo Haejeokseon	Bullet Bill Pirate Ship
Portuguese (NOA)	Fortaleza Voadora[?]	Flying Fortress	Mario Kart World
	Fortaleza Aérea[?]	Aerial Fortress	Mario Kart Tour
Portuguese (NOE)	Fortaleza Voadora[?]	Flying Fortress
Russian	Воздушная крепость Vozdushnaya krepost	Aerial Fortress	Mario Kart 7
	Корабельная крепость Korabelnaya krepost	Ship Fortress	Mario Kart World
Spanish	Fortaleza Aérea	Aerial Fortress

Notes

• Airship Fortress is one of two courses in the Mario Kart series that has had three different starting line logos, it used the same design as Figure-8 Circuit, Yoshi Falls, Desert Hills, and Wario Stadium in Mario Kart DS with the 5 Nintendo logo-styled Mario Kart logos in a row, the classic Mario Kart logo in Mario Kart 7, and the modern Mario Kart logo in Mario Kart Tour. Coincidentially, both are from Mario Kart DS, with the other one being Waluigi Pinball.
• In Mario Kart 7, the course shares the same skybox as Bowser's Castle and N64 Big Donut.