I was looking through some of Hulk's older comics and I noticed that he could change direction mid-air, double jump, and do all kinds of crazy aerial tricks. I haven't been reading much Hulk lately and was wondering if he was still capable of the aforementioned.

No.

It's highly unlikely that Hulk can be able to fly even though he was very agile back then.

Yeah I don't think he could every fly, as far as the change directions go, when skydiving by simply tilting your feet one way in mid air while you're free falling can result in sending you off at a very rapid speed laterally, with his mass, falling from his extreme jumps, the air is more like water (in the sense that it is a fluid, which air is) and a simple body movement would allow him to change directions relatively easy. To attain such height in his jumps he would have to be accelerating on the way up extremely fast to overcome gravity (and then would fall at same rapid rate according to physics on the way down) which is why air then takes on more "fluid-like" properties. Sorry for the nerd splurge, I have an engineering background and took a lot of physics and quantum mechanics :P

Only if he had fairy dust and thinks happy thoughts.

@TheGoldenOne said:

He can't fly.

I think it important to not take everything that ever happens on a comic book panel as serious.  In this case he is being portrayed as "able to fly" because of: 
 
A.  lazy writing 
B.  saving comic book space so as to not have to create two panels to show arbitrary changes in direction

@RazzaTazz said:

I think it important to not take everything that ever happens on a comic book panel as serious. In this case he is being portrayed as "able to fly" because of: A. lazy writing B. saving comic book space so as to not have to create two panels to show arbitrary changes in direction

I guess. Do you think you could do something on double jumping in your next "The Science of ___" blog?

I think in that case they are using the word "flying" in the sense that an object moving is flying thru the air, like the example "he tripped on the last stair and his books went flying thru the air" not that he is actually experiencing controlled soaring thru the air like a bird. But now that I think about it, with as powerful as the Hulk's "thunderclap" is, I think he could probably propel himself upward by flapping his arms, but who knows how long he could keep that up?

No, he can't.

He shouldn't ever be able to, either.

What is you definition of flying? A plane flies my a engine pushing it through the sit. A chopper's propellers spin fast enough to cause lift. A glider simply glides... What is the difference between that and Hulk being able to simply use the power of his own legs to lift off?

NO

@HughJass:

Not Fly, Jump Good

- Samurai Jack

...No.

I would not say he is able to fly

Yes... If you can jump into space then that is about as close to flight as it gets. No he can't levitate or flap his arms (we think) he probably can do that actually but he travels great distance through the air ! Thus he is flying to some degree..

He can jump really high and can change direction while in air but he can't fly.

yes, but he has to wear this red cape, white make-up and this giant "S" on his shirt. Oh, and for some reason they call him Superman...

What is a space shuttle doing ?...... Space shuttles are gliders that are peopelled into space by a rocker and do not 'fly' on their own power but rather glide back to Earth. Sustained movement in air IS FLYing....

no he can not fly