Too Close to the Sun

Too Close To The Sun is a Halo 3 achievement. It was originally awarded for destroying a Banshee in a ranked multiplayer playlist or campaign with an M6 Spartan Laser or LAU-65D/SGM-151 missile pod. Unlocking this achievement will unlock the Scout body in the game's armor customization. It is represented by a red ten-pointed star with a brown-winged white star. It is worth five Gamerscore.

Following the shutdown of Xbox 360 Halo online services on January 13, 2022, this achievement is no longer attainable in online multiplayer, and therefore can only be unlocked in the campaign.

Tips

 * An easy spot to complete this achievement is near the start of The Covenant, after the first batch of Brutes and Grunts. Banshees occupy the airspace there, and Master Chief spawns with a Spartan Laser. You can easily shoot down a Banshee in the area that the Pelican drops a Mongoose. But it is recommended to use the method below as the small flying banshees would be hard to aim among some players.
 * If this is still not good enough, save up your Spartan Laser ammo and fly the Hornet (the one to transport you to the third tower) and park it on the cliff between the tower with the Thunderstorm Skull and the entry to the 3rd tower. Around the cliff area, there should be an enemy Phantom and a ton of Banshees. From here, start shooting at the Banshees with your Laser. The Banshees shouldn't attack you since there are two Pelicans nearby that the Banshees will focus their fire on. If something goes wrong (like running out of ammo, all banshees destroyed, dying, etc.), you can always revert to the last checkpoint (which should be on the beach where you enter a Hornet or in midair in the Hornet).
 * Another easy spot is on The Storm, where the Scarab enters and there are stationary Missile Pods. Drive your Mongoose or Type-32 Ghost up to the Missile Pods as fast as possible, so the Banshees aren't killed by Hornets, then use the Missile Pods to shoot down the Banshees. Remember that you do not have to rip the Missile Pod off its base. If the Banshees in the lake bed are destroyed, you can take the turret off the stand, then walk through the next fight with Brutes in the warehouse. Use one on each of the Hunters at the end (one-hit kills, even on Legendary), and use it on the Banshees flying around the AA gun. This is simple because all they do is fly around waiting for you to kill them.
 * Another way to get this achievement was to kill an enemy Banshee on Sandtrap or Valhalla.

Trivia

 * The name of this achievement is a reference to the ancient Greek myth of Icarus. The inventor Daedalus and his son Icarus were imprisoned by King Minos of Crete, and in order to escape their captivity, Daedalus invented a pair of wings held together by wax. Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too high, or the sun would melt the wax and cause him to crash. Icarus was overjoyed by flight, however, and did not heed his father's warnings. Thus, he flew too close to the sun and fell to his death when his wings gave way as a result.