sortie vs flying

sortie and flying both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
sortie	Yes	No	No	No
flying	Yes	Yes	No	No

As nouns, flying is a hypernym of sortie; that is, flying is a word with a broader meaning than sortie:

sortie: (military) an operational flight by a single aircraft (as in a military operation)
flying: an instance of traveling by air

Other hypernyms of sortie include flight.

sortie (noun)	flying (noun)
a military action in which besieged troops burst forth from their position	an instance of traveling by air
(military) an operational flight by a single aircraft (as in a military operation)

sortie (adjective)	flying (adjective)
	hurried and brief
	moving swiftly