Plane
- This article is about the planes from Diddy Konf Racing. For Funky Kong's plane from the Donkey Kong Country television series, see Plane (Donkey Kong Country television series).
- Not to be confused with Airplane.
Planes are one of the three vehicles in Diddy Kong Racing and its Nintendo DS port, the other two being the car and hovercraft. The plane is capable of flying up to higher locations that the car or hovercraft cannot reach normally, usually higher, alternate pathways. The plane can fly across nearly any terrain or obstacle. It has its own way of making a rocket boost. The pilot starts to go slow upside-down and then flips it fast and forward, unleashing teal fire and black smoke. Green fire and rainbow smoke are released if the A button is let go. Planes do not appear in any other games, though they were planned for the 2001 and 2003 versions of Diddy Kong Pilot before becoming Banjo-Pilot.
Like the car and hovercraft, each character's plane had its own color in Diddy Kong Racing, but in the remake, every plane is colored yellow by default. In Diddy Kong Racing DS, the player can enter Taj's Wishes Menu to customize the paint color of a plane and upgrade its speed, handling, and acceleration. However, altering the acceleration has no effect, as every plane has the same rate of acceleration regardless of which character uses it. The player can also create a unique, custom emblem for the planes, similarly to Mario Kart DS. The plane colors in the original versions are as follows:
Aside from traditional courses, planes are also used in the Fire Mountain battle stage, the race against Smokey, and the second race against Wizpig. Compared to the car and hovercraft, the plane is the least available in the courses, but is usually a default vehicle in courses where it does appear. It can only be used in 11 of the 20 courses, or 15 of the 24 courses in the Nintendo DS remake. Planes can be used in the following courses:
| Course | Availability | Default vehicle | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dino Domain | |||
| Ancient Lake | 
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| Fossil Canyon |
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| Jungle Falls |
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| Hot Top Volcano |
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| Boss level: Tricky Challenge |
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| Challenge Level: Fire Mountain |
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| Snowflake Mountain | |||
| Everfrost Peak |
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| Walrus Cove |
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| Snowball Valley |
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| Frosty Village |
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| Boss level: Bluey Challenge |
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| Challenge Level: Icicle Pyramid |
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| Sherbet Island | |||
| Whale Bay |
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| Crescent Island |
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| Pirate Lagoon |
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| Treasure Caves |
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| Boss level: Bubbler Challenge |
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| Challenge Level: Darkwater Beach |
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| Dragon Forest | |||
| Windmill Plains |
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| Greenwood Village |
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| Boulder Canyon |
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| Haunted Woods |
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| Boss level: Smokey Challenge |
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| Challenge Level: Smokey Castle |
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| Future Fun Land | |||
| Space Dust Alley |
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| Darkmoon Caverns |
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| Spaceport Alpha |
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| Star City |
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| Wizpig | |||
| Wizpig's First Strike |
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| Wizpig Strikes Back |
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Gallery[edit]
Timber
Pipsy
Drumstick
Mario, Diddy Kong, and Princess Peach from Mario no Bōken Land
