Star Wars RC Star Destroyer - Will It Fly?

by FliteTest | December 21, 2015 | (17) Posted in Projects

Behold The Star Destroyer!

It surprisingly flies ok, flying this model is similar to flying a normal delta that is a touch unstable at slower speeds.

Slow speed performance isn't very good, however the model gets a pass since its a Star Destroyer!

Behold The BIGGER Star Destroyer!!!!

After assembling the smaller model, in true Flite Test spirit we built a HUGE version of the small one!

Giant batteries were needed so we made this 8000 mah 12S pack!

The battery link for this was sketchy, since the ESC's didint have BEC's, we wired up some AA batteries to power the servos of this monster!

It really is quite big once compared to this truck!

Dark helmet prepares for launch!

It Flies! 

Shortly after launch one of the hatches comes off!

The bridge is collapsing!

AAAnnnnnd its GONE!

It still flies, even with loosing the bridge!

Well let's just try and roll it over for good meausure!

Didn't work so well.... 

The wreckage was actually not too bad, just a slightly crumpled nose!

COMMENTS

scotty1186 on December 21, 2015
Awesome shot from that Versacopter!
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Digital Wolf on December 21, 2015
Awesome episode! Do more giant things! Make a giant Santa Claus in a sleigh with reindeers in front of it! 😜
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MOcchionero on December 21, 2015
Epic in its Awesomeness!
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MOcchionero on December 21, 2015
Watched it twice. Cannot give it more stars. At least 7 out of 5 stars!

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The-One-Who-Never-Crashes on December 21, 2015
Wow! Saw this the other day on Periscope. Can't wait to watch it!
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LordVader on December 21, 2015
So awesome. You guys make this hobby a blast. Love it.
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Imaxinar DM on December 21, 2015
Loved it.. but one thing is obvious. With Peter around you need a bigger door for the shop. I suspect that limited his build size.
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TimmyGT on December 21, 2015
What happened to the Millennium Falcon portion of this episode??
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FixedRotor on December 23, 2015
Seriously! I was so pumped to see that! Does anyone else know?
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flyingsquirrelrc on February 16, 2016
I know I saw that too.

Kind of bummed... :(
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Matiti on December 22, 2015
Great video, what motors did you use for the Giant Destroyers?
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Antonin on December 22, 2015
Awesome, I always like these "warpdrives"
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Szilard on December 22, 2015
Magnificooooooo :-)
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Ron DuBray on December 22, 2015
that looked fun and mist have been awesome to see live, but I think you skipped all your building big reinforcement tricks :) to get it done fast..... Thank for that. Makes me want to try it as a pusher.

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Boris on December 22, 2015
"What should our next project be??"
A death star naturally!
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HilldaFlyer on December 22, 2015
Great fun! Love it.
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Rasterize on December 22, 2015
Awesome! The hugeness of the ISD was mind blowing. One reason I love Flite Test is that they make my RC dreams come true! Well done "Commander Sripol" and "Darth Bixler"!
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TurboNinjaStix on December 22, 2015
(Insert face palm) Peter,Peter,Peter. Star Wars has hyperdrives, Star Trek has warp drives. I can't believe you got that mixed up. I'm surprised Austin and Alex let that slip 😜 And for the record, Battlestar Galactic has FTL (Faster Than Light) drives. Yeah, they all sound silly. FTL's and hyperdrives are technically more similar as they allow a ship to travel at light speed or a little faster, where as a warp drive is exponentially faster, depending on the Warp Factor. 🤓
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Petrie on December 22, 2015
Wow when Peter first started at FT I thought bitterly " Peter is no David Windestal " After seeing this today I say, " Peter is no David Windestal !!! ". And thank goodness, I think that RC, is a much more interesting place with both of them in the world!
-Sam

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1959cutter on December 22, 2015
those motors look like the big .90 size they sell at grayson.
I LOVE this motor, as they can handle anything you want to fly ,and for 100.00 dollars with ESC and BEC!
I think they are Suppo brand.
great video!
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anonymoose on December 22, 2015
What the heck is the matter with you guys?
This is the kind of crap that pisses off the FAA.
This is not cool, this is not awsome. This is stupid.
This is what is causing the registration and restrictions.
I suppose you have already registered, contrary to what the AMA suggested.
You are risking your full-scale pilot certificate.
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d2it4me on December 24, 2015
What the heck is wrong with you? These guys are the best thing for the hobby. They provide a huge amount of education and do these things with safety in mind. They provide much more education than the dang FAA registration process provides and they done the whole registration thing on the basis of educating the public. The registration site did not even explain how far from airports you should be from them other than don't fly near them.
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anonymoose on December 25, 2015
The FAA registration process is not there to educate you.The FAA is there to restrict you, fine you, and confiscate your airplanes. If they had their way, there would not be any model flying. The FAA doesn't want us in "their" air. If you were an AMA member you would know what the airport and altitude restrictions are already in place, and you would know what they are.
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Paddy Dill on December 23, 2015
Always amazed with the innovation your team creates, and the education you provide your vast audience. With education and safety in mind, please consider the inclusion of a disclaimer that the fixation of explosives to a flying model is against many regulations. Most of we hobbyists consider ourselves professionals, and are very passionate about our hobby. Yet it is the actions of novices who are unaware of policies that have caused a major shift and national attention with having to register our models with the FAA. You have a mass audience, for whom you cannot control their actions upon building or altering their aircraft. Please continue to provide us watchers with the greatest ideas and entertainment value, but consider the legal ramifications that may befall your great website should someone (a moron likely) cause an issue that brings bad light to our hobby and to the superb team at Flite Test.

All my very best,
Paddy
Beaufort SC
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anonymoose on December 25, 2015
You are absolutely correct.
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themajik1 on December 28, 2015
You guys made the top of the page on Yahoo!!! https://www.yahoo.com/autos/watch-15-foot-star-wars-star-destroyer-airborne-130004243.html

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hotroder69 on December 30, 2015
Great job guy's. I think if you would have put another motor in the nose it would have free better. Air across the control services and all.
Thanks
Charlie
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CRJEEA on January 1, 2016
http://www.instructables.com/id/Plain-paper-plane/

Build a giant one of these please. It doesn't have to be paper or card. Strong foam would be nice. It has to be well balanced.
I would love to see if it works full scale.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Plain-paper-plane/


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sierraflyer on January 3, 2016
Saw this when you posted it, and just now saw this reposted on hackaday! Quite the complement from us electronic nerds! Fun project! Peter, this starship needs more VTOL expertise! You can do it!
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thomashyland on January 6, 2016
Amazing! Bravo!
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flyingsquirrelrc on February 16, 2016
I think when you shut off the tail motor it really started to get unstable. Basically, I think it was tail heavy....

Nice though.

I might have to make the image of the explosion from the fireworks my desktop background.... XD
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Star Wars RC Star Destroyer - Will It Fly?