Whatever your thoughts may be on the use of drones, they obviously have many practical uses beyond warfare, from appraising fields of crops to filming movies to documenting climate changes. But the best kind of technology is always part practical, part recreational. And that's where the Millennium Falcon comes into the picture.
Han Solo's well-known craft that "made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs" from the original "Star Wars" trilogy is undoubtedly one of the most iconic spaceships in pop culture. It's no wonder then that a drone aficionado, named Olivier, sought to combine the affordable power and speed of today's drones with the distinguished shape and sleek design of the Millennium Falcon.
According to a piece at CNET (via a Reddit thread on the site's DIY forum), Olivier described that he built the Falcon around a powerful quadcopter model. The quadcopter "is an overpowered little beast," he wrote, adding that it was "easily capable of 90km/h [56 miles per hour] horizontal speed." With his special customizations, however, that dropped to "probably about 30km/h," or 19 mph.
"If I try to go faster with more angle it's making a cool backflip," Olivier added.
The entire project cost just over 1,000 Euros, or $1,142, with the vast majority of those funds going into the quadcopter unit and its radio controller.
You can watch the radio-controlled Falcon's first two flights below. And as you do, please try to resist the urge to do your own version of the Wookie roar...
