Hopeless flight? (3)
I believe the answer is:
hop
'flight?' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
I don't understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for hop that I've seen before include "Cone which flavours beer" , "Jump lightly" , "Beer flavouring; jump" , "Dried flower; jump" , "Dancing party (informal)" .)