Inspired by that wonderful scene in Return of the Jedi where Luke and Leia race through the trees of Endor using speeder bikes, there's a small group of enthusiasts who do the same thing using camera-equipped remote control drones. Like Adam Woodworth who decided to take his hobby one step further by building a quadcopter that looks exactly like a stormtrooper riding a speeder bike.
source & more:
http://toyland.gizmodo.com/a-star-wars-speeder-bike-quadcopter-looks-perfect-racin-1691311767
more details:
http://makezine.com/projects/fpv-star-wars-speeder-bike-quadcopter-puts-you-in-the-drivers-seat/
Comments
Very cool.
Fun! Must have been a bit of practice before risking your fine model work in flight... :-) +1 for earlier comments.
Love it, well done!!!
Standard copter are so ugly, common and uninteresting... your design brings a real interest in flying it even if performances are less.
WIN!!!
Agree, Quadzimodo, things like this would be guaranteed Kickstarter millions-makers.
The quality, cool factor and geek market appeal of your Speeder Bike design is undeniable. Perhaps it is worth your while reaching out to ascertain whether your creation could be officially licensed.
Commenters over at makezine have a point. Launched as a Kickstarter project, it would attract $100s of thousands of dollars worth of free press. Marketed intelligently and creatively, it could well attract millions worth of preorders.
I think I've got just enough room on the back to go up to the 8in prop without hitting the legs, so that would help too.
Thanks! Not particularly awesome flight times. Only around 3 minutes, but it's good enough to fly around making wooshing sounds. If I could cut another 100g out of it I think it would fly substantially better. The next build (for the Luke bike) I'm going to try a different power setup and see if I can get the weight down.
@Adam W - great job man! You have a great taste :). What flight time do you get?
Thanks guys! This is me :) Make did a nice job with the article, this is certainly blowing up more than I ever expected.
Haha,Interesting!