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.
The results are surprisingly realistic, especially given Adam hacked apart an old Hasbro speeder bike toy to build his flying craft. It required some heavy modifications to add carbon fibre supports for the propeller motors and to make room for the batteries, wiring and electronics needed so it could be piloted remotely. And if that wasn’t enough, Adam even went so far as to hide a tiny camera in the stormtrooper’s helmet providing some awesome first-person footage while this thing is in flight.
If you’re reading this, Disney, this is exactly the kind of toys we’re expecting to be released alongside a Star Wars movie hitting theatres in 2015. You have the technology to make it happen, and we have the money to buy them up by the truckload. [Make]
Pictures: Adam Woodworth