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Rocket-Powered 21-Foot Long X-Wing Actually Flies
An anonymous reader writes to tell us that some crazy California enthusiasts have built a 21-foot long model of an X-Wing. While this might be impressive in its own right, this model actually flies. Powered by four solid-fuel rocket engines the group has high hopes for their launch next week. Let's hope the built-in R2 unit makes it out ok.
and that this x-wing will end up as a recreation of Porkins last flight.
"I am a kernel in the linux army"
...even an X-wing can fly.
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
X-wings aren't aerodynamical (i.e. not enough lift) - they're meant for zero atmosphere - in which case they wouldn't need wings.
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
I keep seeing this story in various places. They all say "this model actually flies." The thing is, afaict, it's only ever "flown" in simulation. I don't mean to be mean, but you can't really say an aircraft flies until it actually gets up off the ground.
"In case of emergency, break glass. Scream. Bleed to death."
...along a ballistic trajectory.
The headline is the same from Gizmodo. It's really an X-wing model he PLANS to fly. Check back next week for the success or failure.
This isn't a model. It's a freaking cruise missile! The builders aren't even sure the wings won't fall off in flight! The thing is going to use THREE man-sized parachutes to recover. Put survey-grade relative GPS and an autopilot on this thing, and you have a real cruise missile. (You can get millimeters accuracy out of GPS by using a base station as a reference and getting a delta. But the DOD wants to know about it before you do it!)
"R2, that stabilizer has broken free again... see if you can't lock it down...
While I applaud the effort, I have a bad feeling about this. If one of the four solid rocket motors fails to ignite or ignites early/late, you're going to have a 22 foot (or more) long pile of scrap wood and aluminum.
GetOuttaMySpace - The Anti-Social Network
TWO /. articles claiming that it "actually flies" when it actually has NOT flown and will more than likety completely self destruct in a giant fire ball when they attempt it...
:)
Well the video shuld be spectacular anyway.
But seriously, until it has flown it is entirely wrong to say that it actually flies, espceially something that has like a 5% chance of "flying" for any period of time at all.
Contrary to popular belief, coding is not all free blow-jobs and beer. Those things cost MONEY!
Were the origonial X-Wings made out of Birch wood as well? Maybe that would explain why they were so susceptible to tie fighter laser fire.
if you strap enough rockets to a rock it will fly too.
its the landing that is important.
Hey if you strap enough propellant on a pig it will fly. Nice work but the word "flies" is a real stretch
of the imagination.
Got Code?
Survey grade? Doesn't that imply letting it sit for at least a second before taking a reading? I thought GPS systems for high speed flight needs to be a specialized kind because its position changes so quickly.
All we need is for the empire to think there is a rebel base here, and they will send the death star to blow up Earth. In which case that thing better fly and it better have one hell of a pilot.
NEVER underestimate the power of geeks in large numbers!
It's impressive to see though, that is for sure. Can't wait to see the flight video, and if it's successful, what they will be adding to it's functionality.
At 1-800-ALQ-AEDA and warn them of this threat.
"We are greatly saddened today when we learned that while testing the rocket powered X-Wing fighter, a rocket powered bionic arm developed by the US military came out of nowhere and punched a hole through the engine compartment. Jek Porkins Jr., the pilot of the craft was quoted as last saying, 'NO, I'm all ri-- Aah!' as the plane plummeted to an unknown location."
-X-Wing fighter engineering staff
Is the person fourth from the left male or female?
Well, technically it's more of a SCUD missile, as it has no appreciable guidance. If you did put in GPS and terrain-following radar, then you'd have your cruise missile. And you'd be sure to get a visit from men in dark suits in the middle of the night...
GetOuttaMySpace - The Anti-Social Network
google=empire
All I have to do is throw it from my office window and watch as it "flies" down 19 floors to its destruction. "She always wanted to make a big slash on Broadway."
Better add this little toy to the top 10 list of geek gifts for Xmas.
call me when they do this with a b-wing... without recreating a giant, metal, rocket-powered helicopter seed.
Bury me in mashed potatoes.
Won't you be getting a nasty visit from some government types if you launch a 21 ft rocket without some kind of clearance? The article didn't mention them telling the FAA or state authorities of their plans...
God made me an atheist. Who are you to question his wisdom?
For high-speed flight, you use an inertial navigation system for positioning. The GPS is just there to compensate for the inevitable drift in the INS.
"They redundantly repeated themselves over and over again incessantly without end ad infinitum" -- ibid.
No fly, jump good!
From my extensive model rocketry background getting multiple rockets to fire all at once is incredibly hard. getting 4 of them to fire at once spread out that far apart will be a nightmare. clustered together one misfire or late fire will not affect the trajectory too much, that far apart it will affect the trajectory dramatically, one not firing on one side will spin it out of control as soon as it leaves the launch rod. one late firing will turn it really hard at the end of the burn.
I hope they are completely ok with it pinwheeling out of control along the ground as the chances of that happening are higher than most suspect.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
not having sex, little kiddie.
Fromm the ammount of wood they used, I wonder if this one might actually float if it landed in a swamp
Life is pain. Anyone who says differently is selling something.
They would have modded a jet pack into a radio controlled R2-D2. Sure, it would only fly for about 30 seconds, but it'd be hella more impressive.
Yes, but you need to get a reference to your target to within a few feet. There are GPS based "cruise controls" for competition waterskiing now. They can get readings 1000 times a second.
Do you think the purpose of this x-wing may be to claim the Google Lunar X Prize? If so, it would probably burn up in the atmosphere on the way back down, being made of wood and all. Not the best planning, if I don't say so myself!
.sig
"if you put enough engines on it, a brick will fly"
laser weapons that make sound in the vacuum of space?
This can't possibly end well. Dude might want to make sure his life insurance is current...
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
I'd like to know if it can steer, and if it can land in such a way that it can fly again.
-- What you do today will cost you a day of your life.
"lost tiree, lost dutch,...
.. lost all sense of dignity, proportion and pride".
For gawds sake it was only a film. this is almost as tragic as the people who turn their homes into "fully functional" Star Trek starship cabins.
I like StarWars as much as the next person, but have some pride and dignity. These people are clearly smart, motivated engineers - is this really the best they could do with their time? If you are that interested then why no go the whole hog and build a little mini UAV or enter one of the DARPA challenges or something. Hell, even Robot Wars would be better then this.
I wish you well, I hope you have not built a 21st century spruce goose - but please, find a better outlet for your undoubted and evident talents.
They got radio-controlled motors to make the X-wings open and close during flight. Why? Doesn't it seem a lot more worthwhile, if you're going to go to all that trouble, to make actual control surfaces -- so you could maybe actually roll, or level out into level flight after hitting a certain altitude? It would seem a whole lot cooler to do that, and leave the wings fixed, rather than flap the wings around just so you can see them flapping around.
Perry Bible Fellowship
How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
None of this changes the fact that Star Wars is for kids.
Yes, Veruca dearest! But.. Daddy is about to earn his Darwin prize.
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
... Asking how much it costs and could you mass produce them?
Doesn't a cruise missile imply some form of direction control? Despite the separating S-foils, I see no direction control on this thing. It's a BALLISTIC missile.
SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
There are a couple of fundamental issues with the Xwing shape for conventional flight (i.e. with aerodynamics ).
The nose is so long and so far forward of the wings that it will just want to continually nose dive itself in the ground. One option might be to fit canards to the nose to provide some lift at the front but of course that would not be true to the movie.
The wings themselves can't provide any lift because they have no camber. Even if they were made with some camber, the wings not being horizontal to the ground or each other (when in the open position) would cause unnecessary countering stresses so issues in the overall efficiency and lift produced by the wings.
The wings are not swept back so all sorts of potentially terminal stress-related issues would occur at high speed, especially when approaching the speed of sound.
I don't see any control surfaces. There's no fundamental reason you couldn't build a rocket or jet propelled aircraft looking like that. Tailless aircraft have been built, although they have to be actively stabilized. But with no control surfaces at all, it's not going to be good for much except a launch in some random upward direction.
It would have been much cooler as a large maneuverable aircraft model. Fly-bys would look great. Something like this F-14 Tomcat model.
It doesn't mean it's practical or even aerodynamic.
Was it really necessary to tag this both "nerdgasm" and "blastoff"???
So many possible obligatories... so little time.
"All great wisdom is contained in .signature files"
Let's see if it actually lands. (In one piece, that is.)
I presume they'll be using Aerotech, but I'm curious what impulse level they're planning. At the take off weight, this is going to need some serious thrust. I'm not a high-power guy but a casual BAR (born-again rocketeer); I build and fly black-powder based models with my 5 year old, and just got my first composite mid-power kit airborne last week. Back in my day, mid/high power didn't even exist, as far as I know - the Estes D was the "big one". Those are little engines nowadays.
As for those asking "Why?" the answer is simple - because they can. Model rocketry is fun, and a bit of a show-off hobby (like many others). I don't have the spare change to go out and drop 4 figures on a big rocket, and then several hundred per flight on the propulsion. All depends on your priorities and what makes your nipples hard.
I hope it flies well and has a safe recovery. It's neat to see the hobby get some legs; it's one of those applied-science areas that kids can get involved in that's also a lot of fun.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
Porkin's last battle
They use elmers washable paper glue. I built an aircraft, and can assure you that this is not a good choice for an aircraft.
The structural parts altogether to be more for a movie prop than anything flying.
don't cut it off www.mgmbill.org
didn't the spruce goose teach us anything about building aircraft out of dead plant material? =p
http://kered.org
I say why strip off the rockets? Come on! Haven't you ever wanted to live in an X-wing.....this is perfect, but the rockets are dangerous......
This is what happens when people with too much time and hyper-morality decide to, rather than actually do something useful, break out their mobile pulpit from which they proclaim to everyone else what is right and wrong. Absolute Moral Authority: just quit your quest for it already...
damaged by dogma
Since these guys are trying to do it in the USA, they will definitely get arrested for this. The only question here is whether they'll get arrested after the flight or before the flight. There's no doubt that if they tried to pull something like that anywhere in the USA outside California, they'd be in Gitmo already. In California though they still have a chance to see the ignition. Let's hope they last as long.
No. It's not even close to a "cruise missle". Cruise missiles have horizontal flight capability. This has none (at least not for very long). Cruise missiles have an active guidance system. This has none. The number and size of parachutes aren't relevant. Large high-power models often use large parachutes. GPS is old hat. They're commonly flown in rocketry today, but strictly as a device to relay location, not to do any sort of craft guidance. The FAA requires clearance over a certain altitude. The ATF is always trying to regulate the hobby industry. Commerical M-size motors pretty much require a LEUP (Low Explosives User Permit). Tripoli and NAR both require L3 certification to burn motors of this size. Don't worry about somebody not knowing this thing is going to fly.
Hmmm. Fresh BBQ pork delivered straight to your door.
Why didn't you come up with this idea during the dot-com boom?
I GOTTTTA get one of these. I'll give my left nut or both my kids for this thing.
Every time you call tech support, a little kitten dies.
I don't suppose they actually mentioned where this flight will take place, or
at least tell us where we can get the video. BY next week, I'll have
completely forgotten about this, and unless there's a followup post
(there never usually are), then why post this in the first place?
I bet the huge question here is: does the model R2 run on Windows or Linux?
Like, actually, up there.
You know that it will happen, at some point.
I'm pretty sure I know which would win, but hey, it would still be cool to watch!
The X-Wing fighter will be launched (weather permitting) on Sat. October 6 at Plaster City, CA near El Centro. The rocket will be powered by 4 "M" class solid rocket motors. Each year Tripoli San Diego and DART rocket clubs hold their annual 4-day event called Plaster Blaster. This year it is titled Plaster Wars in honor of the 30th anniversary of the original Star Wars movie. Andy Woerner of What's Up Hobbies usually builds a wild and outrageous project for the event. With this years theme, he decided to build the X-Wing fighter. Another group is bringing a 9-10' (estimated from the picture) Y-Wing fighter and other attendees are encouraged to bring other Star Wars inspired rockets. If you are in or near southern California and want to come see this, visit plasterblaster.com for information, directions and saftey notices. There is no cost to come and watch. If you would like to launch your own rockets (A-M class), there is a flyers fee to cover the cost of permits and porta-potties. Several vendors will also be on site for all of your rocket buying impulses. You must have a certification card to buy H class and above propellent kits. This is really a fun event for all ages and the price is right. Chances are good that local news teams will be on hand to cover the event. Tech: Getting all of the motors to light is one of Andy's specialties and I've never seen him fail in it. It could happen, but the chances are small. There is no guidance system on hobby rockets as it is against the law. The X-Wing will be launched a fair distance from the flight line for safety and announcements will be made well in advance of the launch so everybody will pay attention. I have never seen anybody injured at a rocket launch in over 5 years that I have been back in the hobby. It is very safe.
Video
If you don't want to repeat the past, stop living in it.
You just want more, more MORE! From him. Leave PORKINS ALONE! I mean it...
Wow, neat. I drove by that probably shortly before that picture was taken. It was on Saturday out at Santee Lakes (northeast of San Diego) and we were on our way to our beer club's Oktoberfest picnic. My friend and I had no idea why there would be an X-Wing there (though we thought it was cool/amusing), and now I find out on Slashdot of all places. I'm sure nobody else cares, but there's just something really cool about that.
(As a side note, I can't actually vouch for whether it was still there on the way back out of the park... our beer club throws one mean Oktoberfest picnic...)
Well, you can navigate by GPS and doing dead-reckoning from one GPS fix to the other, if you're not moving too fast. Search for "navcom" on youtube and look at the airplane video -- that's how it's done. Not too fast but it did go its respectable 60mph.
(Disclaimer: I designed & built it, it's not for sale yet, and no you may not use it as a cruise missile!)
the smoking crater you're looking for
That was a long long time ago.
Then the thing will be not just amazingly pretty, but damn seriously COOL.
It does not count unless you strap rockets to it.
It actually works. Wood is a poor thermal conductor, so it protects the underlying materials. It has decent mechanical properties to withstand the load. It chars on the surface, slowing down the burn rate. A block of wood can stay mechanically sound in the middle of a fire for quite a while, and the hot phase of the reentry does not take that long.
Wow. Now there's the type of thinking that'll get you promoted to the upper echelons of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Maybe even a real DoD post! Some guys with a few extra bucks and one hell of a lot of ingenuity put together a 21-foot copy of a STAR WARS spaceship, post it all over the internet, conduct media interviews to tell the world about their intended cruise missile strike. "Buffoon, party of one? Your table is ready."
There was a star wars paper airplane kit you could build a flying x-wing with back in the day.
You kids really rediscover some cool stuff we did... less than 30 years ago.... MOO HOO HAHAHAHAHAHA
But keep trying...
Goatse
Slashdot - where whining about luck is the new way to make the world you want.
People just got too much time on their hands...
That may be one of the only times that site is, in any way, on topic.
Not a sentence!
I'm sorry, I really am, but four rockets attached to balsa wood held together with elmers glue and c-clamps (yes, seriously - check out the gallery), and there's a chance the wings might not stay intact? A *chance*?!?! Personally, I wish them all luck because they've obviously put in a *lot* of time and energy, but... I think those rockets are going to fire up and tear this thing to pieces as it flies all of 2 feet intact. Rockets... Elmers glue and c-clamps!!!
...that's falling with style!
That's no moon...
Please keep it professional your crappy editing poisons rss aggregators.
Most of us where mislead by the posting by the excerpt: "flying model".
I guess anything that can be propelled by a rocket or a slingshot into the air is
a "flying model"
The headline should read "rocket shaped like an X-Wing"
sheesh!
- these are not the droids you are looking for -
George Lucas will sue them for X-Wing design copyright infringement.
I'm just waiting to see if it comes close to an Air Force base when they test it. If they continue flying it, somethings tells me the military might take exception to a remote controlled aircraft powered by 4 rocket engines. Better hope this x-wing has one hell of a protection system for anti-aircraft weapons.
To live without killing is a thought which could electrify the world, if men were capable of staying awake long enough.
You can strap rocket engines to anything and make it 'fly', if it could really fly, now that would be something to write about.
You guys have no sense of humor at all. I am MAKING FUN of the Dept. of Security Theater AND the huge and frivolous ambitions of these model builders. (And a certain amount of engineering cavalierness on their part.)
It an old nurfherder saying, I know...
"The Adobe Updater must update itself before it can check for updates. Would you like to update the Adobe Updater now?"
I'm sure ol' George won't let this get far, he'll probably sue for millions, like that chap in London who made the replica/recast the original stormtrooper outfits. I wonder how he got on?
Pull out Wedge! You can't do anymore good back there.
Why would anyone build white combat spacecraft? pretty dumb from a camo perspective?
Two Words: Bring Marshmallows
I took video of it today: http://view.break.com/378238
This is what happens when geeks try to pretend to be engineers. This whole thing just was so ridiculous in the first place. Unfortunately, can't say I'm surprised it'd been on Slashdot before the launch though. It's not that hard to make a model rocket that can launch without disintegrating people.
>> How about the homeless build their own damn house? Why do people
>> with jobs, and houses, have to support every one that does not.
> Because a society without such safety nets will accumulate large
> amounts [sic. That's "numbers" - "amount" implies something that
> cannot be enumerated, like water] of disenfranchised people who
> have nothing to lose but their chains, and the choices at that
> point are brutal oppression to keep them down or a bloody revolution.
Or we could admit that most of these poor, deprived people are already
enmeshed in these "safety" nets and considering bloody revolution as
their only way out of them. Governments cannot create value. That is
by their very nature, and why we have capitalism today - well, half
capitalism, since the government's "budget" takes up more than the other
half, making half our economy a soviet-style command economy, and we all
know how well that worked for the Russians, don't we?
When government tries to "solve" problems it does so by stealing from
one category of citizens in order to give the money to another category.
But the amount given out is never as large as the amount taken,
and is usually an order of magnitude difference.
Want proof? Go back to the Kennedy administration and add up all the
money spent since then "helping" people. You will find we have spent
nearly enough to make every human being under the poverty line a
millionaire. But, of course, had we done that we would never have
our present array of fine bureaucratic departments intended to "help"
the poor.
Want more proof? Go find out exactly what benefits are available to
a poor person in your state. Do it for real, and you will
need a lawyer, but when you get that result find out how many poor
people are getting this amount. You will find that zero - that's
"0", zip, goose egg, nada, ziltch - get this amount, and that only
about half of those eligible get anything at all. Now go
back to your lawyer and go through his legal bill for you, and then
ask yourself how a poor person can afford such a good lawyer.
You want to sleep safely in your bed? Stop making poor people
with government's "help". Leave people alone in freedom and the
vast majority will not only find a way to support themselves, but will
generate new value in our economy. Proof of that, you say? How much
did the US government GNP rise in constant dollars from 1776 through
to the second Roosevelt administration? Answer, a lot more than it
has ever since - and this despite the fact that the electronic revo-
lution forced the whole country up economic river for nearly 20 years,
before copyrights, patents, and government "help" managed to stall it
and send all those nice jobs, and money, overseas. But then, we couldn't
employ all those beancounters and managers. And lawyers. Lots
and lots of lawyers. Remember, maggots only eat dead flesh.
You are just like every Liberal I've ever met. Heart's in the right
place. Brain isn't.
*sigh* The 19th century is calling, and they want their kids working on mines, the women as second class citizens, and the robber barons back.
Yet another libertarian that wants to get back to the good old days of libertarian supply-side economics, which ended up in the economic meltdown that was the depression of 1929. Every time we try your approach we end up with bread lines, and the last time we tried a massive liberal approach: the new deal, we ended up with a society that was able to take on 2 fronts in a world war and win it, the largest economic expansion in the past couple of centuries, the extension of the average life span by almost 2 decades, and Americans playing golf on the moon.
But, noooo... you'd assume that after being wrong on almost every issue, social Darwinists would just shut the hell up.
Hopefully the ejector seat worked... or will this be included in this years Darwin Awards.