Fan Turns Star Wars Speeder Bike into Real Flying Machine

Star Wars: The Force Awakens isn’t due to hit cinemas until later this year, but when has the intermediary between a Star Wars film ever stopped giving us things to talk about? For hardware engineer and RC nut Adam Woodworth, his latest aviation project wasn’t just about getting things up in the air, but about combining his passions to create something sure to intrigue.

It was important to Woodworth to create something that didn’t look like a toy with “just big quad rotor tacked on.”

Using the body of a Hasbro-made Imperial Speeder Bike toy as a base, Woodworth combined the aesthetics of one of Stars Wars fans’ most beloved vehicles, with the function of a quadcopter to create a flying machine that looks stunningly just like the “real” thing in action. It even comes equipped with a camera so you can enjoy the flight from a first person view (the likes of which initially inspired his design).

Of course, as with any creative process, there was a hiccup: The Stormtrooper weighed over 200g, which was a bit too much considering the bike itself was already taking up 475g of the 600g lift allowance. To combat this, Woodworth did what any good engineer would do — he took the damn thing apart. Woodworth created a new skeleton for the Stormtrooper, settling on old nerf darts and pipe cleaners to decrease mass, and as a result, increase flexibility.

The final result looks fantastic, and will surely inspire other forms of fandom within the community. In fact, Woodworth himself has already said he has plans for a few other Hasbro vehicles, as well as a Luke Skywalker version to race alongside his first incarnation. For more details on how this project was completed, check out the full development diary from Woodworth on Makezine.