The Y-Wing Underdog: Takeoff, Obliteration, and In-Flight Footage

The X-Wing fighter at Plaster Blaster 6 this weekend got all the glory. But the model rocket with the biggest heart/size ratio goes to the underdog of a model based on the space bomber Y-Wing fighter. Ion cannons? Check. More torpedoes than the X-Wing? Check. Fewer parts to tear off on liftoff? Check…not that it lived to see a second flight. This reel has a bit of friendly yet competitive smacktalk about the X-Wing, the liftoff, and even a bit of in flight camera salvaged from the fake black box the team rigged up. Let’s face it together, Star Wars nerds—as much as it gives us a giant collective nerd-boner to imagine real, flying Star Wars vehicles, buzzing the air traffic controllers at JFK Intl’ airport, these things were designed by Lucas’s film masters, not aerospace engineers. Video and reporting by James Lee and Jésus Diaz.