since the rebels will probably pilfer the rest from the empire this is probably just for essentials.
Rogue Squadron: Unit of X-wings Kickstarts in response to Death Star
A duo of Empire-hating rebels have realised the Kickstarter Death Star is a threat to the Rebel Alliance and they're looking for all like-minded galactic citizens to chip in for a fleet of $11m X-Wings. Mechanical engineer Simon and his startup-founding buddy Ed reckon gnut.co.uk, the unnamed folks behind the crowdsourcing …
-
-
-
-
Tuesday 12th February 2013 15:32 GMT Dave 126
>Some people, intelligent ones too - have just way too much time on their hands.
It would be nice to think that millennia of technological progress had left us with more leisure time for activities of our own choosing; socialising, art, music and general farting around. Alas, it doesn't work out that way.
-
-
Tuesday 12th February 2013 09:03 GMT GCom
on a serious point...
Both these projects do go to show there is real desire amongst the world's citizens for pushing the boundaries of technology to boldly go where no one has before. There go politicians if you want to engage a new group of voters and stoke the western economies out of the duldrums, have some imagination. Build to the limits of our understanding not what's available today, a certain project to put man on the moon did just that 50 yrs ago!
-
-
Tuesday 12th February 2013 10:08 GMT Anonymous Coward
@Lamont Cranston
How dare you insinuate that Star Wars fans will buy anything related to Star Wars, I demand you retract this statement immediately before I send in my sith.
.
sent from my Millennium Falcon PC
-
-
-
-
-
-
Tuesday 12th February 2013 10:24 GMT Rameses Niblick the Third (KKWWMT)
Re: Supraluminal?
Yeah, we do. Luke used it in empire to get from Hoth to Degoba, then to Bespin. In Jedi, you see the entire fleet including A-Wings, B-Wings, X-Wings and Y-wings jump from Sullust to Endor to engage the second Death Star.
There is probably more, but that's just off the top of my head.
-
-
-
-
-
Sunday 24th February 2013 08:34 GMT Anonymous Coward
Bodily waste teleporters
What an excellent idea for those blokes of a certain age with prostate issues who feel the need to pee almost constantly. Also for ladies of a certain age who let a little out when laughing/'coughing/sneezing/being suprised.
Another Kickstarter project required for this one me thinks.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Tuesday 12th February 2013 12:46 GMT Helldesk Dogsbody
Re: uk.gov @Brewster's Angle Grinder
"It's okay, X-wings support a BYOD software component. (But whatever device you use must be well ruggedised.)"
Unfortunately you're somewhat mistaken there - that's the upgraded version for use only by the USA as the maguffin that enables the BYOD functionality is "Secret" :(
-
Tuesday 12th February 2013 13:19 GMT Brewster's Angle Grinder
Re: uk.gov @Helpdesk Dogsbody
Unfortunately you're somewhat mistaken there - that's the upgraded version for use only by the USA as the maguffin that enables the BYOD functionality is "Secret" :(
No you're wrong: the BYOD functionality is patent protected and available to licensed manufacturers. They sell the X-wings at a loss and make the money back on the R2 units.
-
-
-
-
Tuesday 12th February 2013 10:43 GMT Tom Servo
I'm waiting for Lewis Price to weigh in...
and write a 3 page rant on the Reg about how much cheaper it will be to buy pre built US starfighters and our spaceports aren't compatible and it's already way over budget with incompetent civil servants ad nauseum
Still, any proper geeks here should be picking up X Wing miniatures game by fantasy flight games. For he kids of course.....
-
Tuesday 12th February 2013 13:53 GMT The last doughnut
Re: I'm waiting for Lewis Price to weigh in...
I think you're right. It does have all the hallmarks of a BAe Systems project:
Seems cheap to begin with but somehow the costs escalate beyond all belief. Original schedule expanded to the point where working spacecraft only enter service once having become obsolete. Exhaust-port shooting abilities severely hampered by poor design specification - was originally designed for blasting swamp rats. Promised hyperdrive capability never actually delivered. Inability to be adapted for other missions despite initial promises, except at extreme cost and schedule overruns.
-
-
Tuesday 12th February 2013 11:01 GMT Anonymous Coward
Hmmm fan base bullshit aside
I would not be surprised if this "research" actually led to a new type of viable space drive that worked, from the ground to solar system type distances....
We still need the radiation shielding and things like that.
I have funny feeling that this might actually lead somewhere very remarkable.
-
Tuesday 12th February 2013 12:51 GMT Michael Habel
I always wondered how the X-Wing Snub Fighter could (would), have Hyperspace FTL Engine on board, while the opposition (TIEs), did not. given that they are both just your average Snub Fighter craft.
Besides how the Hell is the X-Wing meant to actually fly? Sure it was freaking cool in the Childhood of my yoof.
Now that I've become a rationally thinking adult, I come to realize that there is no way in Hell that the X<Wing could generate enough "Lift" for atmospheric flight,
Granted it wouldn't be an issue in the trench warfare scenario with the aforementioned Deathstar though.
-
Tuesday 12th February 2013 13:23 GMT PatientOne
As I recall, the Imperial concept was for carrier supported fighters where as the rebels lacked the carriers so opted for fighters that could operate independently. Hence the X-wing, Y-wing, A-Wing and B-Wing having hyperdrives where as the much smaller TIE/ln and Interceptor didn't.
As for how the X-wing was able to fly in atmosphere... so could the TIE series, and what about the Falcon? Simply put they'd use anti-gravity or other such fictional lift technology rather than wings as we do now. After all, those wings on the X-wing are there to support the weapons systems, not for flight controls. Although I recall the predecessor to the X-wing, the Z95 head hunter, was considered a superior atmospheric fighter as well as being an aged, but still capable, star fighter.
But I could be wrong - it's been a while since I was that much of a Starwars geek.
-
-
Tuesday 12th February 2013 14:21 GMT NukEvil
In the future...
...when aliens finally make contact with the floating debris field that Earth will become, they will glean information off one of our probes (or off one of our Mars rovers, whichever) that will tell them exactly how the Last Battle for Earth Supremacy went down.
And then they'll ask themselves "Why did those guys want this planet? They had their OWN planet. Why did they destroy the planet they wanted?"
Then, they'll find out that the Death Star's main laser accidentally fired because some IT person spilled coffee down the intake port of the firing computer and the lucky rebel X-wing fighter put its torpedo down the exhaust port a second later than what happened in SW, so Earth got destroyed, and the death star blew up, leaving only the lonely X-wing fighter alive (and slowly starving to death).
Then, they'll somehow figure out that the whole thing was started by something called "Kickstarter", which they'll then classify as a "Malevolent Intelligence", causing them to go on a seek-and-destroy mission of epic proportions, causing the end of all life in the galaxy and the death of the galaxy itself.
-
Wednesday 13th February 2013 00:39 GMT Idocrase
Stuff like X-Wings, Vipers, and really any spacecraft with a ground-to-space capability and tubes attached to it for 'thrust' are closer than ever to becoming real things.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skylon_%28spacecraft%29 <- These people need as much money as possible thrown at them, and a million nerds calling out in unison.